May 7, 2025 • 29 mins
What happens when a millennial with a higher ed background takes the wheel of a legacy transit agency? You get 207 new bus stops, a real-time tracking app, and a fresh vision for Western Kentucky mobility.
In this episode of Transit Unplugged Podcast, Paul Comfort talks with Jeremi Bumpus, Executive Director of Paducah Transit Authority, about leading change in a small but mighty system. Jeremi shares how he transitioned from higher education into transit, what it means for Paducah to move from rural to small urban funding, and how he and his team replaced an outdated “wave your hand” bus system with a structured, tech-enabled network. Topics include:
- Modernizing a hail-based system with 207 fixed bus stops
- Launching a real-time rider app and 24/7 info kiosk
- Balancing new technology with legacy organization culture
- Navigating the shift from state funding to FTA direct funding
If you’re into small agency innovation, smart leadership, or just want to know what goes into transforming transit at the ground level—this one’s a must-listen.
Credits:
Host & Producer: Paul Comfort
Podcast Manager & Newsletter Guy: Chris O'Keeffe
Executive Producer: Julie Gates Special thanks to:
Brand Design: Tina Olagundoye
Social Media: Tatyana Mechkarova
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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the guests, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Modaxo Inc., its affiliates or...
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:10):
Hey, do you know where your favoritefuturistic ice cream dipping Dots
is headquartered here in the U.S.
That's right, Paducah, Kentucky,and today on Transit Unplugged.
We're heading there to talk withone of Transit's Rising Stars.
I'm your host, Paul Comfort, andI'm joined today by Jeremy Bumpus,
executive director of the PaducahArea Transit System, or Pats, as
(00:32):
it is known, in just three years inthe transit industry and only two.
As executive director, Jeremy isalready leading a transformation
from a ride hail only rural system.
To moving toward launching morethan 200 fixed route bus stops.
Pats is redefining what mobility lookslike for a growing small urban region.
(00:52):
We'll explore how Jeremy and his teamare preparing for big events like the
American Quilter Society Quilt Week,and what it means to scale up service
in a close knit community, and howinnovation and energy are driving
the future of transit in Paducah.
Hey, if you like what you hear today,don't forget to follow U.S. on your
favorite platform and leave U.S. a review.
(01:13):
It helps more people discoverthe voices of tomorrow's transit
leaders like Jeremy Bumps.
Paul Comfort (01:21):
Great to have Jeremy Bumpus with me today.
He's the executive director ofPaducah Transit Authority, and
I guess you're calling in fromyour office in Paducah, Kentucky.
Huh?
Jeremi Bumpus (01:31):
I am, I am straight from the office.
Paul Comfort (01:33):
That's great, man.
Well, good to see you again.
Uh, Jeremy and I were justtogether at the TripSpark Ignite
Conference, , a week or two ago.
And, um, we connected up and he's gotsuch a great operation, a great story.
I wanted to get him on the podcast.
Um, so, uh, tell U.S.some about your service.
Some Jeremy, where you guys are at, likegeographically for people can position.
Where Paducah is.
(01:54):
Everybody's heard of Paducah,Kentucky, but I don't know if
people know exactly where it's at.
Jeremi Bumpus (01:58):
Yeah.
So Paducah, Kentucky, we'relocated in Kentucky, but we're in
the far western part of Kentucky.
So we are right on the border of Illinois.
Um, it's about five minutes northof U.S. and about 30 minutes
West is the border of Missouri.
So we're tucked off in thefar western part of Kentucky.
Paul Comfort (02:16):
And about how big is Paducah population wise?
Jeremi Bumpus (02:18):
I always like to say, if you look it up on Google, it'll
say Paducah's about 27,000 people.
However, that's justwithin the city limits.
The actual city of Paducah.
, we're in . McCracken County, Kentucky.
The only city in McCrackenCounty, Kentucky is Paducah.
Okay.
And that consists of about 67,000 people.
But you have county versuscity, but it's all Paducah.
(02:40):
So we're, we're a communityof about 67,000 people.
Paul Comfort (02:44):
That's great, man.
So tell me some about your service.
, Jeremi Bumpus (02:47):
Paducah Transit Authority, you know, we operate at, we do business
as Paducah area, transit system.
Um, 'cause we serve fourcounties in Western Kentucky.
Um, we have two modes oftransit, transportation, we do
fixed route and paratransit.
Of course, you know, those in the transitworld, we call it demand and response.
But for those outside thetransit world, I always like to
say scheduled transportation.
(03:07):
That seems to.
Be a little bit, seems to be alittle bit better to understand.
Uh, yeah.
So those are our two modes.
Uh, and again, we are thelargest public transportation
provider in western Kentucky.
Very
good.
So again, we cover four countiesalong with two other smaller
public transit agencies.
Paul Comfort (03:26):
Gotcha.
And let's talk about your journey.
Uh, how'd you find your way into publictransportation and what has it been
like leading Pats and now in yoursecond year as executive director?
Jeremi Bumpus (03:36):
Wow.
Good question.
Um, I. What I found in transit is, ismost people, um, who are in transit
never intended on being in transit.
It kind of just happened.
Yeah, that's true, isn't it?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And for me, that's, that's what happened.
Um, I spent probably 10 years inhigher education, , and my wife
and I, we, you know, we spentsome time in North Carolina.
We lived in Tennessee.
, we relocated to Kentuckyin Paducah is her hometown.
(03:58):
And, um, at the time I wasworking for a higher education
institution here in Paducah.
, and then Covid hit.
Oh yeah.
And I just, you know, I had a lot oftimes on my hands, like most people, um,
a lot of time to sit, think, and reflect.
And, um, I, I was just at a point in lifewhere I wanted to do something different.
, and so I had known, uh, theprevious director, I'd met
him while I was in college.
(04:20):
Uh, we reconnected whenI moved, uh, to Paducah.
And, you know, we hadn't spoken for years.
Uh, but when I moved toPaducah, we reconnected and
sure enough he was retiring.
, and so essentially he had,was, was looking for someone
to, um, take over for him.
And so he asked me ifI would be interested.
, and again, I tell people this,uh, I wasn't guaranteed anything.
(04:42):
He said, Hey, I'm gonna be retiring.
We're looking for an assistant directorand hopefully this person will take
over once I retire in two years.
, he said, you can apply andyou know, we'll go from there.
, I applied, I interviewedwith the board of directors.
. So I was hired as assistant directorand that's how I began my, job.
In, my first job in transitwas as assistant director.
Paul Comfort (05:03):
Okay.
And what did you do in that role?
What was your function?
, Jeremi Bumpus (05:07):
we're a small transit agency, so what I found was the executive
director wore very, wore many hats.
he didn't just push papers.
Yeah.
So I spent a year and a half as assistantdirector learning, , not only under
the current executive director, but Ispent time with the operations manager.
I spent time with the accountingdepartment, HR director, office
manager, um, our mechanics.
(05:27):
Pretty much learning all the ins andouts of transit and our services.
so I did everything that you can thinkof, that goes on in a transit agency.
Yeah.
So I spent a year and a half that.
Paul Comfort (05:39):
So coming from outside of the traditional transit world,
kinda what fresh perspectives do youthink you brought into Pats and how
has that impacted the way your teamapproaches service and innovation?
Jeremi Bumpus (05:50):
So I'm 37 years old.
I came in, I was 35.
Um, and it's funny, the younger kidsthink I'm old, but everyone here
thinks I'm super, I'm very young.
Yeah.
Um.
Our average age here at the agencyis 54, so I came as the young guy.
Yep.
And a millennial.
So essentially when I walk into, whenI walk into the building, my generation
(06:11):
we're really big on technology andusing technology to make life easier.
Um, I do that in my personal life.
So that was one of the things thatI noticed here, , at our agency.
. We needed updated technology andwe needed to update some of our
practices and things that we didjust to make things more efficient.
, what I found is that, , peopleand agencies and, and businesses,
sometimes they just, they're, they're.
(06:32):
It's used to the norm.
Things have been away for somany years, so many decades.
And hey, if it's not, if, ifit's not broke, don't fix it.
, I don't necessarilylook at things that way.
I'm always looking at, Hey, how canwe improve this and how can we use the
technology that's available to U.S.
to improve our servicesand things of that nature.
So, um, that's theperspective that I brought in.
I think it was essentially my age, , andmy experiences with technology and just
(06:56):
kind of the way that I live my life.
. That helped me come in and kind ofjust see things and say, Hey, maybe
we could do this differently, orwe can add this, or, change this
to make things a little efficient.
. Paul Comfort (07:09):
You know, I had the same experience when I started Jeremy.
I was a little bit younger than you.
I was 22 when I started, and Iwas in a county about the size
of yours, and I was the county'sfirst transportation director.
And, uh, I was just over theretoday meeting with him 'cause we're
gonna be filming an episode ofour TV show coming up soon there.
And, but I remember everybodythat worked for me could have been
my parents or my grandparents.
And so it's a big deal when youcome in like that, isn't it?
Jeremi Bumpus (07:33):
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
It is.
It is.
And, and it's funny, um, I, I,I thought there would be some
resistance to that when I came in.
because again, when you get sometimes,and I've, I've worked in other places
where you come in as the young guy and thepeople that you're working with are old
enough to be your parents or grandparents.
And, you know, I've had resistancein the past, but coming here,
I experienced none of that.
Everyone.
(07:53):
Oh, that's great, man.
Very welcoming with open arms.
Now some of the changes that were made,you know, everyone wasn't officially,
but you know, everyone working with wasopen in arms and I think some of them
really looked forward to some changeand, hey, yeah, we're kind of looking
for a fresh start and, and new ideas.
And the new and the current executivedirector at the time have, was still
have a very, very good relationshipwith him, have a lot of respect for him.
(08:16):
He knew that and he would say it publicly.
He would say, Hey.
He would introduce me, he'dsay, Hey, this is Jeremy.
This is the assistant director.
He's the new young guy coming in withthe new ideas, and I'm just gonna
turn it over to him and let him run.
Oh, that's nice.
Uh, and I really appreciate him.
Yeah, yeah.
No, he would joke and say, no,you can't do this until I retire.
But, uh, you know, he, he knew thatI was gonna come in and change some
(08:37):
things and, um, he was all for it.
He was very supportive.
Paul Comfort (08:40):
What's the structure
there?
So you're a transit authority.
Do you report to like a board ofdirectors that are appointed or
work for the county government.
City government.
Jeremi Bumpus (08:48):
Yeah.
So the structure we're, we'rea quasi-government agency.
Okay.
Um, so essentially, um, the KentuckyRevised statutes allow municipalities
to create a transit authority.
so we're not owned or operatedby the city or county government.
Okay.
County government.
It's our board that governsand directs U.S. but that's the
only tie we have to the city.
So we're our own independent agency.
(09:10):
That has a governing body,that's chosen by the city.
so a lot of people here in thiscommunity, um, who are unfamiliar
with pets, they always say, Hey,well I'm gonna call the city.
And I'm like, well, uh,I communicate with luck.
With luck, right.
And I'm like, we're ourown standalone agency.
Um, we, we work very closely with thecity, but um, our board is where it stops.
Paul Comfort (09:31):
Yeah.
Jeremi Bumpus (09:31):
So, um, that's.
Kind of our structure.
And then of course we report to FTAand, um, our Kentucky Transportation
cabinet, which is our state transportationagency that, um, provides U.S.
funding.
So.
Gotcha.
Yeah.
Paul Comfort (09:45):
where do, where do you get your funding from?
Is it a combination?
Who provides the most and all that stuff?
Jeremi Bumpus (09:50):
Well, uh, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, which is
the Office of Transportation andDelivery, um, they provide all of our
funding, but we are going through atransition period, which is interesting.
okay.
We are transitioning from rural tosmall urban, so we'll be receiving
funding directly from FTA and from theKentucky Transportation Cabinet, which
(10:13):
makes for some interesting, Yeah, soessentially two pots of two pots of
money, which is always, which is great.
But, um, you know, we're notdone with the process to become
a direct recipient from FTA yet.
Okay.
Um, hopefully we'll be done, donewith that this summer, but, uh, it's
been a kind of a learning curve.
Uh,
Paul Comfort (10:32):
so explain that process a little bit.
It's an interesting time, uh, to, toswitch from, uh, a rural to a small urban.
Is it because the lastcensus you had more people?
Then explain how all that worksif you, if you don't mind.
Yep.
Jeremi Bumpus (10:44):
So the 2020 census data came out and our urbanized area growth.
Okay.
Um, it, so we surpassed 50,000people, which I believe put U.S.
into the small urban category.
Yeah.
Um.
A portion of that is in Illinois.
Okay.
Which is right across the river fromU.S. So, um, you know, that triggered
(11:05):
a bunch of different things and itstarted receiving communication from FTA.
and we started this process a year,probably a year and a half ago.
Um, getting everything setup and I didn't realize it.
Yeah.
I didn't realize it, it, it's,it's a lot, it's a lot of work.
Yeah.
Paul Comfort (11:21):
and, but will you end up with more money at the end?
Jeremi Bumpus (11:24):
That's still kind of undetermined.
Okay.
Because apparently we after, and you knowI'm gonna speak in our transit language.
Yeah.
Um, fiscal.
Which the feds, you know, is SeptOctober one to September 30th.
Right.
Um, that's when the FTA dollars becameavailable to U.S. We still have yet
(11:46):
to access those because we haven'tgone through the entire process yet.
Okay.
So essentially we have two yearscoming up on three years of money
that we can access from FTA.
But we're still being fullyfunded by the state of Kentucky.
Once we're able to access that money,the state of Kentucky is going to
reduce the amount of funding, butthat hasn't been determined yet.
(12:07):
Okay, I gotcha.
So we're still kind of in limbo.
Yeah.
Um, until hopefully,
Paul Comfort (12:13):
you know, this summer when we, we get an answer.
And what part of what FTAregion are you a part of?
Four.
Four, okay.
Yeah.
Region four.
Um, and, and I, I understandthat's very interesting.
Thank you for sharing that.
I think, uh, I don't think we've everhad a conversation about that before
on the show, so that's, it's good.
A little bit of educationfor people, how that works.
Your, yeah.
When your census, uh, of yoururban, what do they call that?
(12:35):
Your consolidated metropolitan area?
Statistical or something?
Statistical area, when it grows abovea certain amount, 50,000 and then
200,000 I think is the next one.
Right.
You, uh, end up in a differentcategory and the funding, you get the
formula funding, which comes throughthe federal government changes.
Mm-hmm.
It's a, it's actually a good primer forpeople as we think about reauthorization.
So the federal government has their,uh, every five or six years they
(12:58):
put out a reauthorization act.
Uh, the last one was, youknow, colloquially called the
Bipartisan Infrastructure Act.
And inside of that was our reauthorizationand funding went up dramatically for most
of the categories, 40% in some categories.
We were just in Washington recentlytalking with the House Transportation
Infrastructure Committee andthey were talking about that.
Now they've started the reauthorizationprocess again for the next version,
(13:22):
which will kick in at the end of 2026.
So the House TransportationInfrastructure Committee, their
highways and transportationsubcommittee is working on that.
So it's all part of, um, the formulafunds that come out of Washington.
And it's very important, isn'tit, for systems like yours, right.
For smaller systems, theyrely on a lot of those funds.
I.
Jeremi Bumpus (13:41):
Yeah, absolutely.
Absolutely.
I mean, without those funds, obviouslywe wouldn't be able to operate.
And then of course, you know, justwith limited resources, we don't, we
don't receive, uh, any other funding.
We receive a little bit of fundingfrom our, uh, city of Paducah.
Okay.
and as, and we're, we're supergrateful for that, those funds.
But you know, it's just enough.
It's not even enough.
It's not enough to cover the fuel.
(14:02):
Right.
I gotcha.
Right.
And outside of that, we don't,we don't have enough to, you
know, run our operations orsustain what we have going on.
So, we're heavily reliant on that funding.
And I'm, I'm hoping you know, the waythings look, we'll, we'll be okay.
But I'm, I'm hoping that this processis, is done sooner rather than later.
Paul Comfort (14:21):
How many employees
Jeremi Bumpus (14:21):
do you have there?
Paul Comfort (14:22):
I.
Jeremi Bumpus (14:23):
So we're about 45 employees.
Paul Comfort (14:24):
Okay, very
Jeremi Bumpus (14:25):
good.
45 employees.
So yeah, we're in, and it'sfunny as a, when I travel, you
know, to some that's large and tosome, you know, it's minuscule.
So, I still feel, extremely smalland I still feel understaffed.
so I, I'm sure you know, a lot of othertransit agents feel the exact same way.
Paul Comfort (14:41):
Yeah.
What's your total annual
Jeremi Bumpus (14:42):
budget?
So
Paul Comfort (14:44):
about
Jeremi Bumpus (14:44):
$4 million.
Paul Comfort (14:45):
Okay.
Very good.
Yep.
That's great.
About 4 million.
Julie Gates (14:51):
Hi, I am Julie Gates, executive producer at Transit Unplugged.
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Paul Comfort (15:35):
So you've also been working on improving your fixed route system.
Right?
Can you walk U.S. through what that,uh, what that's happening there and
what that'll mean for riders in Paducah?
Jeremi Bumpus (15:44):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So when I came to Pat's, as we referto it, I did not realize that our fixed
route system did not have bus stops.
And up until last week at Ignite, Imet another transit agency in South
Dakota that has a similar fixed route.
they operate on a hailsystem just like we do.
And so for anyone that doesn't know, ahail system is anywhere along the route.
(16:07):
Someone can stand and hail down thebus or flag wave their hand, right?
Nope.
And just wave their hand.
as long as it's in a safe area.
Right, right.
When I came on, I said,wow, this is crazy.
I said, this is crazy.
and I learned, um, over time, uh, forU.S. it, it caused a lot of issues.
you know, it's, it'sinefficient, it's dangerous.
(16:28):
People who come into the communitywho weren't familiar with the system
didn't know where to go because ifyou're coming from other cities,
whether you know, small, large, ormedium sized, they have bus stops.
And so when you wanna accessa fix route, you typically
find where the bus stops are.
Through some app or a map orsomething and you catch the bus
to get you where you need to go.
(16:49):
Well, that wasn't thecase here in Paducah.
so I decided, uh, once, you know,the previous director, uh, retired
and I explained his plan to him.
He's like, Hey, you got it.
I want you to be successful.
Do it.
I said, Hey, we're gonna do it.
We're gonna hit the ground running.
So as a part of U.S. changingor transitioning to a 53 0 7.
(17:10):
Which is, you know, the, the smallurban, as you you're probably familiar,
an MPO was formed a metropolitanplanning organization in our area.
And through that MPO, they received theMPO received, some additional funding
and it was decided amongst that execboard that that funding can be used
for U.S. to conduct a transit study.
(17:30):
To study our fixed routes andessentially to make them more efficient.
And this was kind of the, this is thefirst thing that needed to happen before.
We put in the bus stops.
So I worked with the, well I'm onthe exec board, but essentially
I asked for that funding.
Yeah.
Um, they allowed me to use it.
We worked with a local consulting firm.
Actually it's a national consultingfirm that has an office here in Paducah.
(17:53):
Okay.
Um, we started that transitstudy in December, I'm sorry,
in September of last year.
Um, we've pretty much finished it up andwe determined where those stops should be.
. We're almost done.
, I'm working with our localgovernment here to get those, , bus
stops made and, , implemented.
But on the flip side, I also, and thisagain, this is where the technology
piece comes in, I said, well, hey, weneed some sort of technology or app
(18:18):
that allows people to see the busesin real time and track the buses.
We know this technology exists.
It's all over the country.
We don't have it here, andI'm gonna make that happen.
So.
That's where TripSpark came in andworked with the TripSpark, purchased the
street software, and the My Ride app.
And we're working through that now,and we're about 90% complete on that.
(18:38):
So we're looking to launch the app,and the bus stop signs and all of that.
I'm looking to launch that all byJuly one, so Oh, that's awesome, man.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's, it's gonna be a completegame changer for our community, so.
Paul Comfort (18:52):
Do you know?
So you don't know how many busstops you're gonna get yet 'cause
your study's not done right?
Jeremi Bumpus (18:56):
Oh, well, the study's done.
Yeah.
Okay.
207, 207 bus stops.
Really?
Yes.
From nothing to 200.
Yes.
From nothing to 200.
So designated stops.
Um, again, it's gonna be acomplete game changer for our city.
Um, in terms of, you know, economicdevelopment, you know, uh, the,
the morale, the passengers, uh.
(19:17):
You know, just the reputation that Pat'shas, you know, uh, and it also cut down on
calls that we receive here in the office.
So our staff, that's just oneless thing that they have to do.
yeah, again, you kind of putsome of the power back into
the hands of the passengers.
Hey, they can plan out their trips.
They can set reminders on their phoneto say, Hey, I catch this bus at this
location every day to get to work.
(19:38):
Now I don't necessarily need to call.
I can just plan it andreceive a text notification.
When that bus is on its way, and I can haI can set that to remind me every day when
I need to catch this bus at this location.
Yeah.
So again, it's, it's a game changerfor U.S. and I'm, I'm excited.
Yeah, that's
Paul Comfort (19:52):
wonderful because people then know where to be at what time the
bus will definitely be there, right?
Yeah.
Right.
That's great, man.
switching, uh, switchingtopics slightly here.
Uh, Paducah has a uniquecultural identity.
When people think about Paducah,Kentucky, I mean, it's in my mind.
What, what, what are you known for?
Jeremi Bumpus (20:11):
Two things.
of course you've heard of Dipping Dots,
Paul Comfort (20:14):
correct?
Yes.
Jeremi Bumpus (20:15):
Yes.
Did you know that they'reheadquartered here in Paducah?
Paul Comfort (20:18):
Dipping Dots Ice cream is headquartered in Paducah.
No, I did not know that.
Wow.
Yes.
Jeremi Bumpus (20:23):
Yep.
So that's one, which is a co fact.
actually, I told someone there atIgnite, there was a dipping Dots
stand there and I said, Hey, you know,that's headquarters where I live.
Idea.
And also the National QuiltMuseum is located in Paducah.
And so every year the American QuilterSociety holds an annual quilt week,
and you have thousands of people thattravel from all over the country that
(20:46):
are really into quilting and the historyof it and all these different things.
they travel here to Paducah andit's, it's great for our economy.
influx of money and tourism, um,goes up and it's something that
we all look forward to this year.
And, uh, we play a reallyvital role in that.
our role has kind of transitionedand changed over the years, again,
that's, that's one of the thingswe're known for is quilt week.
(21:07):
So, dipping ducks.
Yeah.
Paul Comfort (21:09):
Quilt.
So what do you, yeah, that's great.
What does your service actually, do?
You say you play an important role.
Tell U.S. about it.
Jeremi Bumpus (21:13):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So at one point we provided alltransportation for quilt week.
Okay.
So we would run our fixed routes and wewould run additional vehicles to transport
all of the quilters is what we call them.
Yeah.
Um, all over the city and over time.
There were some, and this was,this was before my time, but there
were some, uh, things that came up.
(21:35):
And essentially we hadto reduce our service.
So now what we're doing is we havea couple of trolleys that we run.
We start that halfway through the weekand we run it through the weekend and
it's a complimentary trial, so no.
So there's no cost associated with it.
Uh, we work with our local visitorsbureau and the convention center
and the Quilt Museum, and our, wecall them our Paducah ambassadors.
(21:55):
We hold, they hold this meeting,we all work together and we
coordinate this transportation.
and again, it's, it's great forthe community, it's great for U.S.
and people just love to see that trolley.
and those trolleys running aroundour city, knowing that, hey, when
you see those trolleys at this timeof year, you know, it's quilt week.
So yeah.
Paul Comfort (22:12):
That's awesome, man.
Jeremi Bumpus (22:13):
Yeah, it's
Paul Comfort (22:13):
great.
So you, one of the cool things about,uh, that I have found about being in a
smaller agency is you get to wear a lotof hats most people in these jobs don't
complain about it because it's fun.
I mean, I've got a chapter inmy upcoming book called, do Not
Despise The Day of Small Beginnings.
A great quote, you know,from the good book.
And, uh, I started out mycareer in a small transit system
and got to wear all the hats.
But you there, you do a lot, right?
(22:35):
You're the head of media andmarketing for your own agency.
And, uh, as such, how do you, uh,spread the word about what's working for
you guys and how's it working so far?
Jeremi Bumpus (22:44):
Yeah, so a couple things.
Um, when I started, there was nomarketing, and we didn't have any media.
The extent of our marketing andmedia was our local newspaper.
Okay.
Um, which again, it, it kinda speaksto the generational differences.
Between myself and the,the former director.
I've come in, I've started thesocial media pages, which, you know,
they're not as active as they were.
(23:06):
when I was assistant director, Iwas a little more active with those.
But as director, I've kind oftapered back a little bit, but,
um, our social media pages, andthen, uh, using the local media.
So again, still using newspaper.
'cause I understand we have a largepopulation of our, uh, community
that still reads a newspaper,um, using the local news station.
then one of the key things thatI've done is I've worked with
(23:27):
TripSpark and Message Point Media.
I've added a kiosk outsideof our building, which again,
for some agencies around thecountry, that's a complete norm.
It's total game changer for U.S. becausethen we essentially have a 24 hour
kiosk that is outside of our buildingthat we can use for advertising,
we can use for announcements, so wecan use for things of that nature.
Also, with U.S. using the appMy Ride, we'll be able to put
(23:49):
things out to all passengers usingthat via the, OR using the app.
Um.
That allows U.S. to marketand reach a broader audience
quicker, and it's cheaper.
So, um, that's one ofthe things that I do.
And I have a couple of people on my team,you know, that assist with that, but Yeah.
Um, again, director, we wear many hats.
That's right, man.
So when it comes to marketing, it'slike, hey, I'm the, I'm the go-to.
(24:13):
And, you know, I'm not above it.
You know, things have to happen.
We all, we all are busy, but youknow, it's what I signed up for.
It's a job.
That's wonderful.
Paul Comfort (24:21):
Well, when you're not leading Pats, I know you're into
fitness, I met you and your wife therein, in, uh, at the conference and at
the ball game, and you like to traveland spend times with loved ones.
How do those passions rechargeyou as a leader and do they
influence your approach to work?
Jeremi Bumpus (24:35):
They do.
Um, the way that they rechargeme as a leader is I'm really
big into compartmentalization.
I, I absolutely believe inwork-life balance, and that
doesn't look the same for everyone.
So I always tell people, Hey, when I'mnot working, I'm not working right.
When I'm off, I'm off.
Um, now that doesn't meanI won't answer my phone.
(24:55):
That doesn't mean I won't respond, butI love to enjoy time away from work.
And so what that allows me to dois it allows me to decompress.
And it allows me to think, get newfresh ideas, think how I'm gonna do
this, what do I need to do tomorrow?
It kind of just resets me.
So if I go home and I'm able towork out, or I can just spend some
time with my kids and I can justnot necessarily think of work when I
(25:17):
get back into the office, I'm fresh.
Paul Comfort (25:20):
Yeah.
Jeremi Bumpus (25:20):
And for me to, for me, that helps eliminate, or it, it helps keep, um.
It helps keep me from feeling burnt outbecause when you're running 24 7 and it's
just work, work, work, work, work, it's eit's really, really easy to get burnt out.
Especially in transit in a small transitagency where you are wearing many hats.
'cause there are gonna bedays where you're frustrated.
(25:41):
things are not gonna go your way.
And you know, you know this where intransit it's never if something is going
to happen, it's just when That's right.
You know, that's a.
Yeah, go ahead.
Something's gonna happen.
No, something's gonna happen.
And that's right.
You know, to, I, I never wannaallow myself to be jaded.
So some, it's good to just stepaway, compartmentalize, and
(26:03):
hey, if I'm in the gym and I'mworking out, that's all I'm doing.
If I'm playing with my kids,I'm playing with my kids.
If my wife and I are on a datesomewhere, we're on a date,
I'm not thinking about work.
Now.
If they call me, if something work comesup, you know, I gotta take care of it.
But I just compartmentalize.
And I just, I, I, I, Ilike, I like my life.
I like to live my life that way, so
Paul Comfort (26:23):
very, very good.
And looking ahead, last question.
What's your vision for Pat?
Where, where do you thinkit'll be in two or three years
from now into your leadership?
I. Uh, two to
Jeremi Bumpus (26:32):
three years from now.
it's a good question.
Where do I see pets?
I see pets, um, just continuing to improveour services, looking at technology,
how we can use it to improve ourservices, to make them more efficient.
I will say this, one of thethings that recently I've come
across is some AI software.
That will allow U.S. to monitormaintenance issues on our
(26:53):
vehicles in real time and notnecessarily wait for a breakdown.
So as technology improves, it evolves.
Those are the things that I'malways looking into, talking with
my team about getting new ideas,um, and not just myself always.
I have an open door policyand I communicate with my
team and our employees daily.
And when people have ideas orthoughts on something, I never
(27:14):
shoot them down immediately.
I always hear them out and,and people do it often.
Hey Jeremy, what do you think about this?
And I'm like, okay,yeah, that's a good idea.
Or Hey, yeah, we can do that, but we needto find the money for it or the funding.
I see Pats just continuing to moveforward, improve our services, and,
and trying to catch up to some of theother transit agencies in the country
(27:34):
that, that have a little more resources.
Um, you know, I don't want peopleto look at Pats and say, okay, well
Pats is functioning like it's 2005.
No.
I want people to look at Patsand say, Hey, pats is functioning
like the times we're in.
They have the technology, they havethe resources that they need to provide
the best service that they can provide.
Paul Comfort (27:52):
That's awesome, man.
Great vision.
I love it.
And this has been a greatconversation, very informative for
people to see a mid-size, smaller,mid-size agency and how you operate.
Uh, when you get to your newfixed routes and you implement the
software seriously, send me anothernote and gimme an update on it.
We'll, we'll let folksknow how it's going.
Jeremi Bumpus (28:10):
Oh yeah, for sure.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Paul Comfort (28:12):
Thank you Jeremy Bump U.S. for being our guest today.
Best wishes as you continue tolead Paducah Transit authorities
or executive director.
It was great meeting you and we,I hope to see you again sometime
at another TripSpark conference.
Julie Gates (28:37):
Thank you for listening to this week's episode
of the Transit Unplugged Podcast.
We're so glad you're here.
My name is Julie Gates.
I'm the executive producer of theshow, and our goal is to create
programs that promote the great thingsgoing on in the transit industry
by providing you with behind thescenes access with industry executive
leadership so we can work together tofind innovative industry solutions.
(28:58):
We would love to have you be a partof the Transit Unplugged community by
having you sign up for our newsletter.
Head to the show notes to find the link.
Thanks for listening to Transit Unpluggedwith Paul Comfort, our favorite transit
evangelist, and we'll catch you next week.
Thanks for tuning in.
Hey, do you know where your favoritefuturistic ice cream dipping Dots
is headquartered here in the U.S.
That's right, Paducah, Kentucky,and today on Transit Unplugged.
We're heading there to talk withone of Transit's Rising Stars.
I'm your host, Paul Comfort, andI'm joined today by Jeremy Bumpus,
executive director of the PaducahArea Transit System, or Pats, as
(00:32):
it is known, in just three years inthe transit industry and only two.
As executive director, Jeremy isalready leading a transformation
from a ride hail only rural system.
To moving toward launching morethan 200 fixed route bus stops.
Pats is redefining what mobility lookslike for a growing small urban region.
(00:52):
We'll explore how Jeremy and his teamare preparing for big events like the
American Quilter Society Quilt Week,and what it means to scale up service
in a close knit community, and howinnovation and energy are driving
the future of transit in Paducah.
Hey, if you like what you hear today,don't forget to follow U.S. on your
favorite platform and leave U.S. a review.
(01:13):
It helps more people discoverthe voices of tomorrow's transit
leaders like Jeremy Bumps.
Paul Comfort (01:21):
Great to have Jeremy Bumpus with me today.
He's the executive director ofPaducah Transit Authority, and
I guess you're calling in fromyour office in Paducah, Kentucky.
Huh?
Jeremi Bumpus (01:31):
I am, I am straight from the office.
Paul Comfort (01:33):
That's great, man.
Well, good to see you again.
Uh, Jeremy and I were justtogether at the TripSpark Ignite
Conference, , a week or two ago.
And, um, we connected up and he's gotsuch a great operation, a great story.
I wanted to get him on the podcast.
Um, so, uh, tell U.S.some about your service.
Some Jeremy, where you guys are at, likegeographically for people can position.
Where Paducah is.
(01:54):
Everybody's heard of Paducah,Kentucky, but I don't know if
people know exactly where it's at.
Jeremi Bumpus (01:58):
Yeah.
So Paducah, Kentucky, we'relocated in Kentucky, but we're in
the far western part of Kentucky.
So we are right on the border of Illinois.
Um, it's about five minutes northof U.S. and about 30 minutes
West is the border of Missouri.
So we're tucked off in thefar western part of Kentucky.
Paul Comfort (02:16):
And about how big is Paducah population wise?
Jeremi Bumpus (02:18):
I always like to say, if you look it up on Google, it'll
say Paducah's about 27,000 people.
However, that's justwithin the city limits.
The actual city of Paducah.
, we're in . McCracken County, Kentucky.
The only city in McCrackenCounty, Kentucky is Paducah.
Okay.
And that consists of about 67,000 people.
But you have county versuscity, but it's all Paducah.
(02:40):
So we're, we're a communityof about 67,000 people.
Paul Comfort (02:44):
That's great, man.
So tell me some about your service.
, Jeremi Bumpus (02:47):
Paducah Transit Authority, you know, we operate at, we do business
as Paducah area, transit system.
Um, 'cause we serve fourcounties in Western Kentucky.
Um, we have two modes oftransit, transportation, we do
fixed route and paratransit.
Of course, you know, those in the transitworld, we call it demand and response.
But for those outside thetransit world, I always like to
say scheduled transportation.
(03:07):
That seems to.
Be a little bit, seems to be alittle bit better to understand.
Uh, yeah.
So those are our two modes.
Uh, and again, we are thelargest public transportation
provider in western Kentucky.
Very
good.
So again, we cover four countiesalong with two other smaller
public transit agencies.
Paul Comfort (03:26):
Gotcha.
And let's talk about your journey.
Uh, how'd you find your way into publictransportation and what has it been
like leading Pats and now in yoursecond year as executive director?
Jeremi Bumpus (03:36):
Wow.
Good question.
Um, I. What I found in transit is, ismost people, um, who are in transit
never intended on being in transit.
It kind of just happened.
Yeah, that's true, isn't it?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And for me, that's, that's what happened.
Um, I spent probably 10 years inhigher education, , and my wife
and I, we, you know, we spentsome time in North Carolina.
We lived in Tennessee.
, we relocated to Kentuckyin Paducah is her hometown.
(03:58):
And, um, at the time I wasworking for a higher education
institution here in Paducah.
, and then Covid hit.
Oh yeah.
And I just, you know, I had a lot oftimes on my hands, like most people, um,
a lot of time to sit, think, and reflect.
And, um, I, I was just at a point in lifewhere I wanted to do something different.
, and so I had known, uh, theprevious director, I'd met
him while I was in college.
(04:20):
Uh, we reconnected whenI moved, uh, to Paducah.
And, you know, we hadn't spoken for years.
Uh, but when I moved toPaducah, we reconnected and
sure enough he was retiring.
, and so essentially he had,was, was looking for someone
to, um, take over for him.
And so he asked me ifI would be interested.
, and again, I tell people this,uh, I wasn't guaranteed anything.
(04:42):
He said, Hey, I'm gonna be retiring.
We're looking for an assistant directorand hopefully this person will take
over once I retire in two years.
, he said, you can apply andyou know, we'll go from there.
, I applied, I interviewedwith the board of directors.
. So I was hired as assistant directorand that's how I began my, job.
In, my first job in transitwas as assistant director.
Paul Comfort (05:03):
Okay.
And what did you do in that role?
What was your function?
, Jeremi Bumpus (05:07):
we're a small transit agency, so what I found was the executive
director wore very, wore many hats.
he didn't just push papers.
Yeah.
So I spent a year and a half as assistantdirector learning, , not only under
the current executive director, but Ispent time with the operations manager.
I spent time with the accountingdepartment, HR director, office
manager, um, our mechanics.
(05:27):
Pretty much learning all the ins andouts of transit and our services.
so I did everything that you can thinkof, that goes on in a transit agency.
Yeah.
So I spent a year and a half that.
Paul Comfort (05:39):
So coming from outside of the traditional transit world,
kinda what fresh perspectives do youthink you brought into Pats and how
has that impacted the way your teamapproaches service and innovation?
Jeremi Bumpus (05:50):
So I'm 37 years old.
I came in, I was 35.
Um, and it's funny, the younger kidsthink I'm old, but everyone here
thinks I'm super, I'm very young.
Yeah.
Um.
Our average age here at the agencyis 54, so I came as the young guy.
Yep.
And a millennial.
So essentially when I walk into, whenI walk into the building, my generation
(06:11):
we're really big on technology andusing technology to make life easier.
Um, I do that in my personal life.
So that was one of the things thatI noticed here, , at our agency.
. We needed updated technology andwe needed to update some of our
practices and things that we didjust to make things more efficient.
, what I found is that, , peopleand agencies and, and businesses,
sometimes they just, they're, they're.
(06:32):
It's used to the norm.
Things have been away for somany years, so many decades.
And hey, if it's not, if, ifit's not broke, don't fix it.
, I don't necessarilylook at things that way.
I'm always looking at, Hey, how canwe improve this and how can we use the
technology that's available to U.S.
to improve our servicesand things of that nature.
So, um, that's theperspective that I brought in.
I think it was essentially my age, , andmy experiences with technology and just
(06:56):
kind of the way that I live my life.
. That helped me come in and kind ofjust see things and say, Hey, maybe
we could do this differently, orwe can add this, or, change this
to make things a little efficient.
. Paul Comfort (07:09):
You know, I had the same experience when I started Jeremy.
I was a little bit younger than you.
I was 22 when I started, and Iwas in a county about the size
of yours, and I was the county'sfirst transportation director.
And, uh, I was just over theretoday meeting with him 'cause we're
gonna be filming an episode ofour TV show coming up soon there.
And, but I remember everybodythat worked for me could have been
my parents or my grandparents.
And so it's a big deal when youcome in like that, isn't it?
Jeremi Bumpus (07:33):
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
It is.
It is.
And, and it's funny, um, I, I,I thought there would be some
resistance to that when I came in.
because again, when you get sometimes,and I've, I've worked in other places
where you come in as the young guy and thepeople that you're working with are old
enough to be your parents or grandparents.
And, you know, I've had resistancein the past, but coming here,
I experienced none of that.
Everyone.
(07:53):
Oh, that's great, man.
Very welcoming with open arms.
Now some of the changes that were made,you know, everyone wasn't officially,
but you know, everyone working with wasopen in arms and I think some of them
really looked forward to some changeand, hey, yeah, we're kind of looking
for a fresh start and, and new ideas.
And the new and the current executivedirector at the time have, was still
have a very, very good relationshipwith him, have a lot of respect for him.
(08:16):
He knew that and he would say it publicly.
He would say, Hey.
He would introduce me, he'dsay, Hey, this is Jeremy.
This is the assistant director.
He's the new young guy coming in withthe new ideas, and I'm just gonna
turn it over to him and let him run.
Oh, that's nice.
Uh, and I really appreciate him.
Yeah, yeah.
No, he would joke and say, no,you can't do this until I retire.
But, uh, you know, he, he knew thatI was gonna come in and change some
(08:37):
things and, um, he was all for it.
He was very supportive.
Paul Comfort (08:40):
What's the structure
there?
So you're a transit authority.
Do you report to like a board ofdirectors that are appointed or
work for the county government.
City government.
Jeremi Bumpus (08:48):
Yeah.
So the structure we're, we'rea quasi-government agency.
Okay.
Um, so essentially, um, the KentuckyRevised statutes allow municipalities
to create a transit authority.
so we're not owned or operatedby the city or county government.
Okay.
County government.
It's our board that governsand directs U.S. but that's the
only tie we have to the city.
So we're our own independent agency.
(09:10):
That has a governing body,that's chosen by the city.
so a lot of people here in thiscommunity, um, who are unfamiliar
with pets, they always say, Hey,well I'm gonna call the city.
And I'm like, well, uh,I communicate with luck.
With luck, right.
And I'm like, we're ourown standalone agency.
Um, we, we work very closely with thecity, but um, our board is where it stops.
Paul Comfort (09:31):
Yeah.
Jeremi Bumpus (09:31):
So, um, that's.
Kind of our structure.
And then of course we report to FTAand, um, our Kentucky Transportation
cabinet, which is our state transportationagency that, um, provides U.S.
funding.
So.
Gotcha.
Yeah.
Paul Comfort (09:45):
where do, where do you get your funding from?
Is it a combination?
Who provides the most and all that stuff?
Jeremi Bumpus (09:50):
Well, uh, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, which is
the Office of Transportation andDelivery, um, they provide all of our
funding, but we are going through atransition period, which is interesting.
okay.
We are transitioning from rural tosmall urban, so we'll be receiving
funding directly from FTA and from theKentucky Transportation Cabinet, which
(10:13):
makes for some interesting, Yeah, soessentially two pots of two pots of
money, which is always, which is great.
But, um, you know, we're notdone with the process to become
a direct recipient from FTA yet.
Okay.
Um, hopefully we'll be done, donewith that this summer, but, uh, it's
been a kind of a learning curve.
Uh,
Paul Comfort (10:32):
so explain that process a little bit.
It's an interesting time, uh, to, toswitch from, uh, a rural to a small urban.
Is it because the lastcensus you had more people?
Then explain how all that worksif you, if you don't mind.
Yep.
Jeremi Bumpus (10:44):
So the 2020 census data came out and our urbanized area growth.
Okay.
Um, it, so we surpassed 50,000people, which I believe put U.S.
into the small urban category.
Yeah.
Um.
A portion of that is in Illinois.
Okay.
Which is right across the river fromU.S. So, um, you know, that triggered
(11:05):
a bunch of different things and itstarted receiving communication from FTA.
and we started this process a year,probably a year and a half ago.
Um, getting everything setup and I didn't realize it.
Yeah.
I didn't realize it, it, it's,it's a lot, it's a lot of work.
Yeah.
Paul Comfort (11:21):
and, but will you end up with more money at the end?
Jeremi Bumpus (11:24):
That's still kind of undetermined.
Okay.
Because apparently we after, and you knowI'm gonna speak in our transit language.
Yeah.
Um, fiscal.
Which the feds, you know, is SeptOctober one to September 30th.
Right.
Um, that's when the FTA dollars becameavailable to U.S. We still have yet
(11:46):
to access those because we haven'tgone through the entire process yet.
Okay.
So essentially we have two yearscoming up on three years of money
that we can access from FTA.
But we're still being fullyfunded by the state of Kentucky.
Once we're able to access that money,the state of Kentucky is going to
reduce the amount of funding, butthat hasn't been determined yet.
(12:07):
Okay, I gotcha.
So we're still kind of in limbo.
Yeah.
Um, until hopefully,
Paul Comfort (12:13):
you know, this summer when we, we get an answer.
And what part of what FTAregion are you a part of?
Four.
Four, okay.
Yeah.
Region four.
Um, and, and I, I understandthat's very interesting.
Thank you for sharing that.
I think, uh, I don't think we've everhad a conversation about that before
on the show, so that's, it's good.
A little bit of educationfor people, how that works.
Your, yeah.
When your census, uh, of yoururban, what do they call that?
(12:35):
Your consolidated metropolitan area?
Statistical or something?
Statistical area, when it grows abovea certain amount, 50,000 and then
200,000 I think is the next one.
Right.
You, uh, end up in a differentcategory and the funding, you get the
formula funding, which comes throughthe federal government changes.
Mm-hmm.
It's a, it's actually a good primer forpeople as we think about reauthorization.
So the federal government has their,uh, every five or six years they
(12:58):
put out a reauthorization act.
Uh, the last one was, youknow, colloquially called the
Bipartisan Infrastructure Act.
And inside of that was our reauthorizationand funding went up dramatically for most
of the categories, 40% in some categories.
We were just in Washington recentlytalking with the House Transportation
Infrastructure Committee andthey were talking about that.
Now they've started the reauthorizationprocess again for the next version,
(13:22):
which will kick in at the end of 2026.
So the House TransportationInfrastructure Committee, their
highways and transportationsubcommittee is working on that.
So it's all part of, um, the formulafunds that come out of Washington.
And it's very important, isn'tit, for systems like yours, right.
For smaller systems, theyrely on a lot of those funds.
I.
Jeremi Bumpus (13:41):
Yeah, absolutely.
Absolutely.
I mean, without those funds, obviouslywe wouldn't be able to operate.
And then of course, you know, justwith limited resources, we don't, we
don't receive, uh, any other funding.
We receive a little bit of fundingfrom our, uh, city of Paducah.
Okay.
and as, and we're, we're supergrateful for that, those funds.
But you know, it's just enough.
It's not even enough.
It's not enough to cover the fuel.
(14:02):
Right.
I gotcha.
Right.
And outside of that, we don't,we don't have enough to, you
know, run our operations orsustain what we have going on.
So, we're heavily reliant on that funding.
And I'm, I'm hoping you know, the waythings look, we'll, we'll be okay.
But I'm, I'm hoping that this processis, is done sooner rather than later.
Paul Comfort (14:21):
How many employees
Jeremi Bumpus (14:21):
do you have there?
Paul Comfort (14:22):
I.
Jeremi Bumpus (14:23):
So we're about 45 employees.
Paul Comfort (14:24):
Okay, very
Jeremi Bumpus (14:25):
good.
45 employees.
So yeah, we're in, and it'sfunny as a, when I travel, you
know, to some that's large and tosome, you know, it's minuscule.
So, I still feel, extremely smalland I still feel understaffed.
so I, I'm sure you know, a lot of othertransit agents feel the exact same way.
Paul Comfort (14:41):
Yeah.
What's your total annual
Jeremi Bumpus (14:42):
budget?
So
Paul Comfort (14:44):
about
Jeremi Bumpus (14:44):
$4 million.
Paul Comfort (14:45):
Okay.
Very good.
Yep.
That's great.
About 4 million.
Julie Gates (14:51):
Hi, I am Julie Gates, executive producer at Transit Unplugged.
Thank you so much for listening.
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(15:14):
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We're committed to telling transitstory in bigger and better ways.
Stay tuned.
There's even more coming later this year.
Thanks for being on thisjourney with U.S. and thanks for
listening to Transit Unplugged.
Paul Comfort (15:35):
So you've also been working on improving your fixed route system.
Right?
Can you walk U.S. through what that,uh, what that's happening there and
what that'll mean for riders in Paducah?
Jeremi Bumpus (15:44):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So when I came to Pat's, as we referto it, I did not realize that our fixed
route system did not have bus stops.
And up until last week at Ignite, Imet another transit agency in South
Dakota that has a similar fixed route.
they operate on a hailsystem just like we do.
And so for anyone that doesn't know, ahail system is anywhere along the route.
(16:07):
Someone can stand and hail down thebus or flag wave their hand, right?
Nope.
And just wave their hand.
as long as it's in a safe area.
Right, right.
When I came on, I said,wow, this is crazy.
I said, this is crazy.
and I learned, um, over time, uh, forU.S. it, it caused a lot of issues.
you know, it's, it'sinefficient, it's dangerous.
(16:28):
People who come into the communitywho weren't familiar with the system
didn't know where to go because ifyou're coming from other cities,
whether you know, small, large, ormedium sized, they have bus stops.
And so when you wanna accessa fix route, you typically
find where the bus stops are.
Through some app or a map orsomething and you catch the bus
to get you where you need to go.
(16:49):
Well, that wasn't thecase here in Paducah.
so I decided, uh, once, you know,the previous director, uh, retired
and I explained his plan to him.
He's like, Hey, you got it.
I want you to be successful.
Do it.
I said, Hey, we're gonna do it.
We're gonna hit the ground running.
So as a part of U.S. changingor transitioning to a 53 0 7.
(17:10):
Which is, you know, the, the smallurban, as you you're probably familiar,
an MPO was formed a metropolitanplanning organization in our area.
And through that MPO, they received theMPO received, some additional funding
and it was decided amongst that execboard that that funding can be used
for U.S. to conduct a transit study.
(17:30):
To study our fixed routes andessentially to make them more efficient.
And this was kind of the, this is thefirst thing that needed to happen before.
We put in the bus stops.
So I worked with the, well I'm onthe exec board, but essentially
I asked for that funding.
Yeah.
Um, they allowed me to use it.
We worked with a local consulting firm.
Actually it's a national consultingfirm that has an office here in Paducah.
(17:53):
Okay.
Um, we started that transitstudy in December, I'm sorry,
in September of last year.
Um, we've pretty much finished it up andwe determined where those stops should be.
. We're almost done.
, I'm working with our localgovernment here to get those, , bus
stops made and, , implemented.
But on the flip side, I also, and thisagain, this is where the technology
piece comes in, I said, well, hey, weneed some sort of technology or app
(18:18):
that allows people to see the busesin real time and track the buses.
We know this technology exists.
It's all over the country.
We don't have it here, andI'm gonna make that happen.
So.
That's where TripSpark came in andworked with the TripSpark, purchased the
street software, and the My Ride app.
And we're working through that now,and we're about 90% complete on that.
(18:38):
So we're looking to launch the app,and the bus stop signs and all of that.
I'm looking to launch that all byJuly one, so Oh, that's awesome, man.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's, it's gonna be a completegame changer for our community, so.
Paul Comfort (18:52):
Do you know?
So you don't know how many busstops you're gonna get yet 'cause
your study's not done right?
Jeremi Bumpus (18:56):
Oh, well, the study's done.
Yeah.
Okay.
207, 207 bus stops.
Really?
Yes.
From nothing to 200.
Yes.
From nothing to 200.
So designated stops.
Um, again, it's gonna be acomplete game changer for our city.
Um, in terms of, you know, economicdevelopment, you know, uh, the,
the morale, the passengers, uh.
(19:17):
You know, just the reputation that Pat'shas, you know, uh, and it also cut down on
calls that we receive here in the office.
So our staff, that's just oneless thing that they have to do.
yeah, again, you kind of putsome of the power back into
the hands of the passengers.
Hey, they can plan out their trips.
They can set reminders on their phoneto say, Hey, I catch this bus at this
location every day to get to work.
(19:38):
Now I don't necessarily need to call.
I can just plan it andreceive a text notification.
When that bus is on its way, and I can haI can set that to remind me every day when
I need to catch this bus at this location.
Yeah.
So again, it's, it's a game changerfor U.S. and I'm, I'm excited.
Yeah, that's
Paul Comfort (19:52):
wonderful because people then know where to be at what time the
bus will definitely be there, right?
Yeah.
Right.
That's great, man.
switching, uh, switchingtopics slightly here.
Uh, Paducah has a uniquecultural identity.
When people think about Paducah,Kentucky, I mean, it's in my mind.
What, what, what are you known for?
Jeremi Bumpus (20:11):
Two things.
of course you've heard of Dipping Dots,
Paul Comfort (20:14):
correct?
Yes.
Jeremi Bumpus (20:15):
Yes.
Did you know that they'reheadquartered here in Paducah?
Paul Comfort (20:18):
Dipping Dots Ice cream is headquartered in Paducah.
No, I did not know that.
Wow.
Yes.
Jeremi Bumpus (20:23):
Yep.
So that's one, which is a co fact.
actually, I told someone there atIgnite, there was a dipping Dots
stand there and I said, Hey, you know,that's headquarters where I live.
Idea.
And also the National QuiltMuseum is located in Paducah.
And so every year the American QuilterSociety holds an annual quilt week,
and you have thousands of people thattravel from all over the country that
(20:46):
are really into quilting and the historyof it and all these different things.
they travel here to Paducah andit's, it's great for our economy.
influx of money and tourism, um,goes up and it's something that
we all look forward to this year.
And, uh, we play a reallyvital role in that.
our role has kind of transitionedand changed over the years, again,
that's, that's one of the thingswe're known for is quilt week.
(21:07):
So, dipping ducks.
Yeah.
Paul Comfort (21:09):
Quilt.
So what do you, yeah, that's great.
What does your service actually, do?
You say you play an important role.
Tell U.S. about it.
Jeremi Bumpus (21:13):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So at one point we provided alltransportation for quilt week.
Okay.
So we would run our fixed routes and wewould run additional vehicles to transport
all of the quilters is what we call them.
Yeah.
Um, all over the city and over time.
There were some, and this was,this was before my time, but there
were some, uh, things that came up.
(21:35):
And essentially we hadto reduce our service.
So now what we're doing is we havea couple of trolleys that we run.
We start that halfway through the weekand we run it through the weekend and
it's a complimentary trial, so no.
So there's no cost associated with it.
Uh, we work with our local visitorsbureau and the convention center
and the Quilt Museum, and our, wecall them our Paducah ambassadors.
(21:55):
We hold, they hold this meeting,we all work together and we
coordinate this transportation.
and again, it's, it's great forthe community, it's great for U.S.
and people just love to see that trolley.
and those trolleys running aroundour city, knowing that, hey, when
you see those trolleys at this timeof year, you know, it's quilt week.
So yeah.
Paul Comfort (22:12):
That's awesome, man.
Jeremi Bumpus (22:13):
Yeah, it's
Paul Comfort (22:13):
great.
So you, one of the cool things about,uh, that I have found about being in a
smaller agency is you get to wear a lotof hats most people in these jobs don't
complain about it because it's fun.
I mean, I've got a chapter inmy upcoming book called, do Not
Despise The Day of Small Beginnings.
A great quote, you know,from the good book.
And, uh, I started out mycareer in a small transit system
and got to wear all the hats.
But you there, you do a lot, right?
(22:35):
You're the head of media andmarketing for your own agency.
And, uh, as such, how do you, uh,spread the word about what's working for
you guys and how's it working so far?
Jeremi Bumpus (22:44):
Yeah, so a couple things.
Um, when I started, there was nomarketing, and we didn't have any media.
The extent of our marketing andmedia was our local newspaper.
Okay.
Um, which again, it, it kinda speaksto the generational differences.
Between myself and the,the former director.
I've come in, I've started thesocial media pages, which, you know,
they're not as active as they were.
(23:06):
when I was assistant director, Iwas a little more active with those.
But as director, I've kind oftapered back a little bit, but,
um, our social media pages, andthen, uh, using the local media.
So again, still using newspaper.
'cause I understand we have a largepopulation of our, uh, community
that still reads a newspaper,um, using the local news station.
then one of the key things thatI've done is I've worked with
(23:27):
TripSpark and Message Point Media.
I've added a kiosk outsideof our building, which again,
for some agencies around thecountry, that's a complete norm.
It's total game changer for U.S. becausethen we essentially have a 24 hour
kiosk that is outside of our buildingthat we can use for advertising,
we can use for announcements, so wecan use for things of that nature.
Also, with U.S. using the appMy Ride, we'll be able to put
(23:49):
things out to all passengers usingthat via the, OR using the app.
Um.
That allows U.S. to marketand reach a broader audience
quicker, and it's cheaper.
So, um, that's one ofthe things that I do.
And I have a couple of people on my team,you know, that assist with that, but Yeah.
Um, again, director, we wear many hats.
That's right, man.
So when it comes to marketing, it'slike, hey, I'm the, I'm the go-to.
(24:13):
And, you know, I'm not above it.
You know, things have to happen.
We all, we all are busy, but youknow, it's what I signed up for.
It's a job.
That's wonderful.
Paul Comfort (24:21):
Well, when you're not leading Pats, I know you're into
fitness, I met you and your wife therein, in, uh, at the conference and at
the ball game, and you like to traveland spend times with loved ones.
How do those passions rechargeyou as a leader and do they
influence your approach to work?
Jeremi Bumpus (24:35):
They do.
Um, the way that they rechargeme as a leader is I'm really
big into compartmentalization.
I, I absolutely believe inwork-life balance, and that
doesn't look the same for everyone.
So I always tell people, Hey, when I'mnot working, I'm not working right.
When I'm off, I'm off.
Um, now that doesn't meanI won't answer my phone.
(24:55):
That doesn't mean I won't respond, butI love to enjoy time away from work.
And so what that allows me to dois it allows me to decompress.
And it allows me to think, get newfresh ideas, think how I'm gonna do
this, what do I need to do tomorrow?
It kind of just resets me.
So if I go home and I'm able towork out, or I can just spend some
time with my kids and I can justnot necessarily think of work when I
(25:17):
get back into the office, I'm fresh.
Paul Comfort (25:20):
Yeah.
Jeremi Bumpus (25:20):
And for me to, for me, that helps eliminate, or it, it helps keep, um.
It helps keep me from feeling burnt outbecause when you're running 24 7 and it's
just work, work, work, work, work, it's eit's really, really easy to get burnt out.
Especially in transit in a small transitagency where you are wearing many hats.
'cause there are gonna bedays where you're frustrated.
(25:41):
things are not gonna go your way.
And you know, you know this where intransit it's never if something is going
to happen, it's just when That's right.
You know, that's a.
Yeah, go ahead.
Something's gonna happen.
No, something's gonna happen.
And that's right.
You know, to, I, I never wannaallow myself to be jaded.
So some, it's good to just stepaway, compartmentalize, and
(26:03):
hey, if I'm in the gym and I'mworking out, that's all I'm doing.
If I'm playing with my kids,I'm playing with my kids.
If my wife and I are on a datesomewhere, we're on a date,
I'm not thinking about work.
Now.
If they call me, if something work comesup, you know, I gotta take care of it.
But I just compartmentalize.
And I just, I, I, I, Ilike, I like my life.
I like to live my life that way, so
Paul Comfort (26:23):
very, very good.
And looking ahead, last question.
What's your vision for Pat?
Where, where do you thinkit'll be in two or three years
from now into your leadership?
I. Uh, two to
Jeremi Bumpus (26:32):
three years from now.
it's a good question.
Where do I see pets?
I see pets, um, just continuing to improveour services, looking at technology,
how we can use it to improve ourservices, to make them more efficient.
I will say this, one of thethings that recently I've come
across is some AI software.
That will allow U.S. to monitormaintenance issues on our
(26:53):
vehicles in real time and notnecessarily wait for a breakdown.
So as technology improves, it evolves.
Those are the things that I'malways looking into, talking with
my team about getting new ideas,um, and not just myself always.
I have an open door policyand I communicate with my
team and our employees daily.
And when people have ideas orthoughts on something, I never
(27:14):
shoot them down immediately.
I always hear them out and,and people do it often.
Hey Jeremy, what do you think about this?
And I'm like, okay,yeah, that's a good idea.
Or Hey, yeah, we can do that, but we needto find the money for it or the funding.
I see Pats just continuing to moveforward, improve our services, and,
and trying to catch up to some of theother transit agencies in the country
(27:34):
that, that have a little more resources.
Um, you know, I don't want peopleto look at Pats and say, okay, well
Pats is functioning like it's 2005.
No.
I want people to look at Patsand say, Hey, pats is functioning
like the times we're in.
They have the technology, they havethe resources that they need to provide
the best service that they can provide.
Paul Comfort (27:52):
That's awesome, man.
Great vision.
I love it.
And this has been a greatconversation, very informative for
people to see a mid-size, smaller,mid-size agency and how you operate.
Uh, when you get to your newfixed routes and you implement the
software seriously, send me anothernote and gimme an update on it.
We'll, we'll let folksknow how it's going.
Jeremi Bumpus (28:10):
Oh yeah, for sure.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Paul Comfort (28:12):
Thank you Jeremy Bump U.S. for being our guest today.
Best wishes as you continue tolead Paducah Transit authorities
or executive director.
It was great meeting you and we,I hope to see you again sometime
at another TripSpark conference.
Julie Gates (28:37):
Thank you for listening to this week's episode
of the Transit Unplugged Podcast.
We're so glad you're here.
My name is Julie Gates.
I'm the executive producer of theshow, and our goal is to create
programs that promote the great thingsgoing on in the transit industry
by providing you with behind thescenes access with industry executive
leadership so we can work together tofind innovative industry solutions.
(28:58):
We would love to have you be a partof the Transit Unplugged community by
having you sign up for our newsletter.
Head to the show notes to find the link.
Thanks for listening to Transit Unpluggedwith Paul Comfort, our favorite transit
evangelist, and we'll catch you next week.
Thanks for tuning in.
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