August 27, 2025 • 31 mins
We’re getting the band back together.
In this special episode of Transit Unplugged, Paul catches up with longtime contributors Mike Bismeyer (a.k.a. the King of Kindness) and Elea Carey, marketing strategist and founder of Transit Happy. These two familiar voices helped shape the podcast during the pandemic—and now they’re shaping the industry.
Mike shares how kindness has become a key leadership trait, and how mentorship continues to change his career and others'. Elea gets into what works—and doesn’t—with marketing in 2025, and how social media and AI are shifting the landscape for transit agencies.
Together, the group dives deep on:
- Using kindness as a competitive advantage
- Building sustainable, people-first transit culture
- The real risks and rewards of AI in marketing
- Why relationships—not tech—are the future of our industry
This one’s personal, practical, and packed with ideas you’ll want to steal for your own agency.
Reach out to them here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/eleacarey/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kindnessiscoolbythebiz/
Podcast Credits
Transit Unplugged is brought to you by Modaxo, passionate about moving the world’s people.
Creator, Host & Producer — Paul Comfort
Executive Producer — Julie Gates
Producer & Newsletter Editor — Chris O’Keefe
Associate Producer — Cyndi Raskin
Podcast Intern — Desmond Gates
Special thanks to:
Brand Design — Tina Olagundoye
Social Media — Tatyana Mechkarova
Got a question or comment? Email us at info@transitunplugged.com
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 subsidiaries, or any entities they represent. This production belongs to Modaxo and may contain information subject to trademark, copyright, or other intellectual-property rights and restrictions. This production provides general information and should not be relied on as legal advice or opinion. Modaxo specifically disclaims all warranties, express or implied, and will not be liable for any losses, claims, or damages arising from the use of this presentation, from any material contained in it, or from any action or decision taken in response to it.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
We're getting the band back together.
That's right.
I'm Paul Comfort, and on this episodeof Transit Unplug, the podcast we bring
back in two friends of the show, whoyou may have heard quite a bit a few
years ago, regular contributors, MikeBismeyer, the King of Kindness, and
Alaya Carey, our marketing expert.
Both of them now have after theyappeared for a couple years,
(00:20):
pretty much every other week onthe Transit Unplugged Podcast,
during and just after the pandemic.
Uh, they've now gone on to become, um,well known in the transit industry.
Both of them are speakers and trainers.
Keynote.
Mike speaks as keynotes at conferencesall over and Alaya, I've seen her.
Uh, she's amazing, the talk and she talkstoday about some of the great things you
(00:41):
can do right now to market your system.
What the role of AI is.
Uh, Mike talks about the powerof mentorship in his life and in
others and in this transit industry.
It's a great blend.
At the end, we talk about kind of theantidote to artificial intelligence, which
is real personal relationships and therole they play in public transportation.
I think you'll find this afascinating discussion between two.
(01:03):
Now, three good friends on this episode.
I also wanna bring your attention to whatwe've got coming up for you in September.
We're gonna have a super Septemberhere on, uh, transit Unplugged.
I feel like one of thoseguys on TV selling cars.
We're gonna have a super September,but we are, man, you will not
believe the guests that we are gonnahave lined up for you the best.
(01:24):
The biggest guests inAmerica are coming on.
Transit unplugged in September.
Some of the top CEOs of the largesttransit agencies are coming on.
Take a look at our socialmedia to find out more.
It is gonna be one super September.
If you ever wanted to invitea friend to listen to Transit
Unplugged, now's the time.
(01:45):
Tune them in to September's allfour episodes for the Top Leaders in
Transit in America on Super September.
For those of you who, uh, havebeen listening to our podcast for
a while, you might, . Rememberthe voices of Mike and Elea.
They were both regulars on our show,, through the pandemic, and, uh, thought
(02:10):
we'd get the band back together, as Eleasaid, and, uh, catch up with everyone.
So, uh, Mike used to do so.
Y'all remember during the pandemic,things got crazy and, uh, people got a
little out there and outta hand sometimes.
And so Mike was the, uh, kingof kindness and still is.
And so I thought it'd be greatto have a friendly, uh, reminder,
about the importance of kindness.
I mean, really, Mike, that's whatthat's at the soul of what we
(02:33):
do right, is kindness to others.
Yeah, it is, it's great.
I mean, I, I've always said, uh,I believe that, uh, transit is
kindness and action, so, right.
We're giving people opportunity,uh, that they may not have without
the availability of transit.
So, uh, inherently it's goodand I think it's important to.
To bring that through to the workplaceand build our own sort of brands
internally and sort of lead with that.
And, uh, as, as we know, thingshave changed and, uh, it was very
(02:56):
crazy for a while, which, uh,we talked about quite regularly.
But I want, you know, one of the reallyneat things that's evolved is sort of
kindness really has become, uh, one ofthe key leadership traits now when you
read a lot of the new literature and alot of the new studies, a lot of the new
public speakers that are talking about it.
And for me it's.
, I've had a lot more interest to,to come and speak to workplaces
(03:16):
about sort of workplace culture.
So, yeah, it's great, Paul.
It was a great platform and of course,uh, it was a great segue with, uh,
you know, Elea's, uh, mix of howwe change branding at at agencies
that sort of all played together.
So it was great.
Uh, uh, I, you know, as much as we don'talways wanna say we enjoyed the pandemic,
it was great to be part of that for sure.
Yeah.
And Alaya, your, your regular contributionto the show was, uh, marketing
(03:39):
agencies, uh, during the pandemic.
Ridership dropped down dramatically.
Uh, I used, I was calling it a gutpunch, uh, to the industry where
most, uh, agencies dropped more than.
Half the regular writers and as westarted to come back, you're a marketing
expert and uh, so we had you talking totransit agencies about how to improve
their marketing and reach more customers.
(04:00):
Yep.
That was a great opportunity for me.
As you well know, I came out ofSilicon Valley , in the pandemic and
really, uh, when the pandemic hit, Iwanted to do something that, I love
that phrase, kindness in action.
You know, I wanted to do somethingthat would really leave a great
legacy for, for, uh, wider.
Wider group of people and Ifound you and Comfort's Corner,
(04:22):
the old version of the podcast.
And I started listening to, um,people in transit, uh, talking leaders
in transit, talking about transit.
And I was like, wow, Iwanna be a part of this.
So I think I shot you a note onLinkedIn and we started talking about
what Transit really could be doing.
And we both saw that moment ofthe pandemic as this incredible
(04:43):
moment of opportunity.
For people to, um, really be able topromote transit and really people to,
for the public to see what was reallyvital and important about transit.
And so I got the opportunityto talk about how to promote
all of Transit's great aspects.
. And since then, you both havegone on to some amazing things.
(05:04):
We, I'd like to think maybe we had alittle something to help you do that,
but both of you, both of you werevery busy and active during that time.
But since then, uh, Mike, tell U.S.um, well, well, let's start here.
Actually, the day you and I are talking,uh, is a big day in the electric bus
industry because John Walsh, our, ourbuddy just got announced today as, uh.
(05:24):
Uh, president and CEO of some of thefolks that are helping run what's,
uh, what was Proterra and I thinkwhen, when you and I got together,
that's where you were working right.
Right.
Yeah, that's a great segue for sure.
I mean, uh, April of 2019 is whenI joined Proterra, uh, April Fool's
Day, which I guess will alwaysresonate with me, but, uh, but yeah,
I mean, I, I believe I was, uh.
(05:46):
You know, and I was therefour years, had a great run.
It was a great day, but I, I thinkit was my first week in, um, you
happened to be in, on a, uh, sortof a leadership call internally.
And then, uh, you and I connectedon, uh, sort of Facebook and
all the platforms after that.
We connected.
You were in Vancouver shortly thereafter,and sort of, uh, yeah, had a great, uh,
sort of great forming of a, a peer-to-peerfriendship that's, that's really grown.
(06:07):
I'm still, you know, in the e mobility.
Side on the charge management softwareon my day-to-day, but have really
sort of, as you said, you know, theplatform of, of Mike's minute on
comfort's corner, you know, for sure.
Really, um, helped propelthat public speaking.
And I can tell you I probably do sixto eight functions a year now just on
sort of workplace culture for agencies.
I was just in Ohio last week foran architecture firm that brought
(06:29):
me in that had been at a transitconference where they saw me speak.
So yeah, I mean, I, I owe a lot of.
Uh, kudos to you and, and Elea forbeing such good advocates together.
I think we had a, a great thing, butyeah, I mean, this industry's amazing.
There's a lot of good people, andyou're right, it does go full circle
to, you know, our friends keepshowing up in, in new, new roles,
different challenges, and, uh, yeah,never, never a dull moment for sure.
(06:51):
Yeah, the industry constantly changes.
Elea, you've, um, you also tell U.S.about what you've been doing lately.
You've been doing more of this.
I've seen you both in action.
Actually just recently.
Mike, I saw you speak at a TripSparkconference as a keynote speaker.
You were phenomenal, by the way.
I mean, I've seen you before, but.
Really good.
Uh, keynote talk you've beengiving and Elea, I saw you at the
Transportation Association of Marylandconference, I think last year,
(07:14):
which is coming up again real soon.
And you were speaking there andI think I've seen you somewhere
else lately talk and just amazing.
Tell U.S. what you do now.
Yeah, you and I were at CTAAin San Diego in was that
That's where I just saw you in June.
Yeah,
May.
Yep.
Yep.
Early June.
Yeah, so Transit Happy is the companythat I launched, , with somewhat having
(07:34):
this platform from you of being able totalk to, to trans people about marketing.
And I've grown that companyto, um, I couldn't tell you how
many clients I have right now.
Maybe I should know thatnumber, but I don't.
, But I've got clients all over thecountry and they are mostly small,
urban and rural public transit agents.
, Writing marketing plans for them,which is a great, um, thing.
(07:56):
I love to research.
We also produce full campaigns, uh,conceptualized , promotional campaigns,
and then produce and implement campaigns.
I work with a graphic designer,um, who's probably the single
most experienced person.
In, uh, transit graphic designwho working on his own in the
country, a guy named Rick Schuster.
And I also get to work with Selena Barlow,who is, uh, on the verge of retiring and,
(08:22):
um, supporting me a lot, mentoring me.
, Mike has talked a lot aboutthe importance of mentoring.
So if you, Paul, by the way, and Selena.
, 30 plus years in marketing forpublic transit, rural and small
urban public transit, and, , hasbeen very supportive of me.
So I just got off the phone, , talkingin Southern California about a new
(08:43):
campaign that we wanna launch that'sboth a clean air, it has both clean
air element and also a, um, trade.
Trade.
One of your.
Car trips a wink for transit,uh, to take a transit trip.
And this just gets right to the heartof what I want to do real, um, behavior
change and marketing for behaviorchange and promoting public transit..
(09:05):
We now produced both this, uh, podcast,but also a TV show where we're traveling.
I'm traveling all the time to differentcities, um, and, uh, showcasing.
Their food fun and culture and theirpublic transportation behind the scenes.
I also, , wrote a book, the New FuturePublic Transportation, which was a
compilation book like most of themhave been, where I included 30 other
(09:26):
folks in the book that are leadersof various segments of the industry.
And, uh, and we've done a bunchof book signings together, , and,
and various events together.
Mike was in the cookbook, my latestbook is, um, coming out next year.
I think I've written a book a year for sixyears and I'm writing one in the seventh
year, but it probably won't be publisheduntil, it won't be published until 26.
(09:47):
'cause I'm working with areally big publisher and those
timelines take a lot longer.
It's like a nine month processto get a book out and it's more
of a personal development book.
So we've all had a lot of things going on.
In our lives, but our focusstill remains the same.
Mike, uh, one of the things that, uh,that Elea mentioned earlier is that
you've been focused on mentorshipand kindness and talk to U.S.
(10:08):
about that.
You're, you're real active in CUTA, theCanadian Urban Transportation Association.
You and I will be up theretogether this fall at a conference
where we'll be filming anepisode of our show in Montreal.
But tell U.S. about the, therole of mentorship, uh, and what
you're doing there with CUTA.
Sure, no.
Great.
And yeah, so some of the other changes,I mean, as things have migrated over
(10:28):
the years, you know, I, I ran for aposition with the business members.
I, I sort of got elected and so throughaggregation, you know, served, served
a, you know, a secretary and then vicechair, I just moved into the chair of
the business members on the CTA in.
Canada at the May Spring Conference.
Yeah, we have our fall conference,but I've also been heavily involved
the last two and a half yearswith the, um, uh, leaders building
(10:48):
Leaders mentorship program that, uh,initiated, uh, through, through CUTA
through the Young Emerging LeadersTask Force, which I'm also part of.
So, um, yeah, it's really exciting.
And this fall we will have, soevery second year with CUTA,
the fall show is our YoungEmerging Leaders, uh, conference.
So we'll have the Young LeadersSummit, uh, that's tied into CUTA.
Um, there is a mentorship part of that.
I'm actually speaking at that as wellduring the sort of speed networking event.
(11:13):
But yeah, I mean, uh, for me,mentorship has been really the
key to my career, I would say.
And I, and I, I, I know I say this everytime I speak, is that people say, you
know, what sort of education do you have?
And I always say, I have APTA and CUTA.
And they always look at me 'cause Ihave no idea what I'm talking about.
And I, and to me it's really beenthe key to the success is meeting our
peers that wanna share the stories.
(11:33):
, I always say, um, you know, beinginvited into the rooms and, and just
transit is a very unique business wherepeople want to share hits, misses,
successes, and they want to see everybody.
They want to be a thought leaderand then they want to be an, and.
I'm, I continue to be amazed, and thisis probably the next question, but
just on, you know, from a mentorshipperspective, it's, it's great to have
all these people that you can get.
(11:54):
You know, sort of these value adds andput 'em into your own personal tool case.
But the adaptability of ourindustry always amazes me too.
And just the people that are in it.
So I think that's something we'regonna talk about a little later,
but that's one of the thingsthat continues to inspire me.
But mentorship, uh, itmeans a lot to me this year.
I'm going through as actually a mentee,so I'm being mentored by, uh, I, I chose
to go through our program the other way.
(12:15):
I've, I've mentored someone for thelast years and this year I have a
transit director, uh, on the East coast.
Uh, Judy out in St. John's.
That's being my, , mentor and she'sjust teaching me a lot about just sort
of how she prepares for board meetingsand some of the political stuff.
And I just love to hear thedifferent challenges and
stories from, from our CEOs.
I think people have no ideawhat goes on to get a bus on the
(12:35):
road really behind the scenes.
So really, really inspiring for sure.
If you like this episode of theTransit Unplugged Podcast, then you
will love what we have coming up.
We're calling it Super Septemberbecause we're creating an All
star guest lineup just for you.
Let's face it, the world is rapidlychanging and everything is so fast,
(12:56):
and our industry is speeding up.
So in September, the Transit Unplugteam is bringing you some of the biggest
voices in the industry from New York,Chicago, maybe even at the federal level.
I don't wanna tip our hand yet.
But you'll get a chance to learn how tomanage all the policy and funding changes
the post COVID funding, fiscal Cliff,how to do all of it, and so much more.
(13:17):
If you haven't yet subscribedto the podcast, do it now so you
don't miss a thing when TransitUnplug brings you Super September.
Subscribe right now before you getdistracted because we know something's
gonna ping or a squirrel will come by,so please subscribe and we'll bring you
some great shows in Super September.
Now back to Paul Comfort and thisepisode of the Transit Unplugged Podcast.
(13:40):
Elea, one
of the, um, one of the things that'salso changed, I think since the pandemic
when we were doing our show togetheris, um, social media has become even
more relevant in people's lives.
There's a new saying called doomscrolling, which, uh, I'm not a
hundred percent sure what, I knowwhat it is, but I think it's when you
just sit there on your couch and youjust scroll through your Instagram
(14:01):
feed or your TikTok or whatever,
, Especially young people, but even,you know, adults really spend a
lot of their time on social mediaand transit agencies have gotten
into social media in a big way.
I know when I was at the MTA, I wasjust back visiting the Baltimore
MTA recently for an episode ofour TV show for September and, um.
I remember we were there, we got on 10social media platforms, uh, and we had a
(14:24):
different, different goal for each one.
You know, Twitter would be,now it's X, but it would be
service disruptions, right?
Facebook would be stories of ourdrivers, and Instagram would be pictures
of cool places you could go writingthe system and those kind of things.
Tell U.S. about the role of socialmedia and transit now as you see it.
Yeah, I mean, I'm glad you mentioneddoom scrolling because transit's got an
(14:45):
opportunity to offer something to theDoom scrollers that isn't so doomy, right?
Like, we can, we have good newsto share about transit and as you
mentioned, um, you know, certain,some channels you can also share
alerts, uh, uh, rider alerts as well.
But, um, I just wannamake sure that we're not.
That we're not thinking of socialmedia as a marketing cure all.
(15:08):
It doesn't do everything for you.
You know, your, your criticalpieces of information are, uh, your
passenger information, and thatmight be print or on your website.
Um, you might have a system for alerts,like simplify transit, for example, or
something that, um, Modaxo offers that is,you know, people can sign up for alerts.
(15:29):
Um, so social media is.
It's a place for your community togather to see what's new with you.
But, , in terms of like your, yourbiggest news and things that you really
need to get out there, , there thereshould be other channels and social
media shouldn't be used for that.
I love the ideas you mentioned, um,Instagram for beautiful pictures of
(15:51):
your system, and I think that's a great.
, Opportunity, including a great opportunity, for riders and other people in the
public to contribute those images.
, I've been working right now with YARTS,which is the Yosemite area Regional
Transit System, and they recently setup a second Instagram account , that
riders can contribute their photos ofYosemite two and then YARTS will, um.
(16:13):
Promote those photos and it's sortof like a scrapbook of Yosemite that
YARTS, that YARTS is developing.
Yeah.
And then the other, the other opportunitythat I think is Metrolink does this,
um, they also do a daily kind of,we're here for you on Facebook.
They used to put their alertsout on Facebook, but they got
a system for their alerts.
(16:34):
They now, instead of putting their alertsout, they remind everybody every morning,
Hey, we're here for you from 6:00 AM to.
11:59 PM or whatever it is, and theypost , an image of that somebody
in the community has sent them.
So they have like a guest photographerevery day from their ridership group
that they post on Facebook and thatkind of thing gets a lot of engagement.
(16:56):
Finally, , something else I see that'sreally very popular and uplifting on,
um, especially Facebook and Instagram.
Is, interns, transit interns makingvideo because you've got some 21 year
olds or some college students, they'refantastic at that kind of thing.
They're digital natives.
They're not just digital natives,they're social media natives and
(17:17):
they know, um, you know, they cando this kind of stuff very quickly
and, and put out really cute videos.
Plus they have social communitiesof their own, like real live in,
in-person social communities.
And those people willfollow that social media.
So it's a nice way to grow your market.
Yeah, Elea, I love, I like that.
And, and Paul, one of thethings I'll add about the social
media for sure, I think, yeah.
(17:38):
And then I know you've seen mespeak, but I typically have a
slide where I talk about, you know,sort of changing your feed, right?
Like, because the more you clickonto some sort of thing, the
more, and, and you know, from,and me, I obviously talk about.
Sort of workplace culture, kindness andtrying to search some of those items.
But the one thing I willsay, I love social media.
I think we all, it's part of our brands,whether we think it is or not, we've
really seen, um, just an abundant amountof how people have changed from links
(18:01):
to QR codes and all these really coolthings that take you to different places.
I mean, LinkedIn does it now too, butone of the things I will say that I've
noticed even myself in the last two,three weeks on the social media aspect is
just with all the ai, just how much fake.
Information is like constantlybombarding each day.
So I think we need to be careful, andI've even seen it where they've, they've
(18:21):
made fun of someone else's socialcampaign and, and they've twisted it.
And so, you know, it's, I Iimagine this is gonna pose another
challenge for, uh, our transitagencies and, and their campaigns.
I mean, I, I, I live in,in Vancouver, BC and we.
Both BC Transit and TransLink,absolutely incredible at their marketing.
I mean, uh, TransLink, TransLink justhad a big promotion on the weekend.
(18:42):
They did their first ever tradingcards, and it's got all the old, and,
and it was, I mean, it was lined uparound the block people to get these.
But you know, it's interesting.
You still see these naysayers andall these other things that this
creates, which is unfortunate, butI think we've gotta remain positive
and, and it's an amazing tool.
, There is a, there is a verydifferent side of it with AI and
how that's evolved since probablywe all were last together as well.
(19:05):
Yeah, well, I'll talk to Ale about that injust a minute about the AI thing, but I, I
do wanna comment on that with Kevin Quinn.
Uh, that, that idea of doing the tradingcards, what did you think of that Alay?
You saw that, I'm sure.
I thought it was a brilliant idea.
Yeah, it's fantastic and it, it willwork for agencies like TransLink.
Uh, I know, um, king County Metro, , SEPTAin, um, Southeast Pennsylvania, , muni
(19:29):
bart, they have significant fan basesand they're also in locations where
there's like a high concentration of.
Transit geeks and city planninggeeks and very engaged citizens.
, That builds loyalty and awareness.
It doesn't reach out super broadly.
You know, it's not gonna bring youa lot of, , new followers who are
(19:51):
like, oh, I like trading cards, butI've never thought of transit before.
Like, that's not gonna happen, right?
They're starting with transit, butit will deepen your relationship with
your already established community.
And this just comes on the heels.
They, they just did another promotionprobably two months ago where they,
they partnered with, um, a local breweryto do a, a transit collaboration beer.
(20:13):
And it was a, it was called pla,it was called Platform Pilsner.
And it has the can isthe front of a train.
And again, it.
Created a bunch of buzz.
People went to this, they wanted tobuy the four pack and take pictures.
I mean, I went with my family just 'causeI'm in transit and I know them very well.
And it was funny, the day I actuallytook my, my in-laws for lunch to
the brewery, I ran into the head ofmarketing and, and, uh, community
(20:33):
outreach for translate was there,grabbed a four pack as well of his own.
It was own branded beer,so it was pretty funny.
Uh, but, uh, but yeah, they.
They've sort of taken it tothe next level on things they
do, and I, I really like that.
Again, the passion in our industry andjust how people will, will think outside
of the box and, and take a chance, right?
I mean, that's really whatit's all about sometimes too.
Yeah.
The next, um, conference presentation Iwanna do, you talked about running into
(20:57):
each other at conferences recently is Iwanna do, um, big, big city ad campaigns
and how smaller agencies can get those.
That kind of bang andum, on their own budgets.
Yeah.
. Yeah.
Well, we, speaking of, uh, of gettingBig Bang outta it, we're gonna have,
um, Kevin Quinn, the CEO of TransLink,uh, who used to be the CEO of the
(21:18):
Maryland Transit Agency here as well.
W he's gonna be Mike with U.S. at CUTAat the fall conference in Montreal.
And he'll be on a CEO round table thatI'm hosting, uh, beyond the CUTA schedule.
So if you wanna.
See and hear more, I'm gonna ask himto bring some of those trading cards
with him and show everybody kind ofwhat he's doing there because they
are a big city agency, but Elea, asyou mentioned, could, could smaller
(21:39):
agencies kind of pick up ideas from that.
And, and, uh, one of the thingsthat people are doing now that Mike
mentioned that I want to ask youabout though even more Alea is ai.
Um, and, uh, what is therole of AI in marketing?
Yeah.
So I mean, it depends on thesize of your agency, right?
If you're, if you have a big agency,you're already implementing AI tools,
(22:01):
they're, um, you know, they, they couldbe very useful in project management.
They can be useful in content creation.
, You know, it's a little bit like turninga 4-year-old loose on, on certain things,
you know, you've gotta pay attention to.
What you get out.
But, um, for example, for YARTS,I just used, uh, an AI platform
to quickly write up three blogsfor, for them just as samples of
(22:25):
what they might put in their blog.
, So bigger agencies definitelyI know are already very
plugged in, , smaller agencies.
I feel like they might be experiencingsome fomo, some fear of missing out,
that they're not up to speed on ai.
But I wanna reassure people thatyou, you can be, um, uh, you know,
(22:45):
it, it's not gonna change yourlife in, in these enormous ways.
It's not gonna do your marketing.
It still can't really do great campaignslike a human being can think up.
, It might be able to make some of yourworkflows more efficient, uh, and it
might be able to save you a little bitof time, but it's not, it should not.
(23:07):
, Replace your CMO or your,um, your marketing staff?
One of the, you know, one of thefear pieces I've heard about ai,
of course, that we've all heard, isthat it's gonna make U.S. lose jobs.
The level I see that happeningat is sort of that intern level.
Um, you know, produce, produce thisthing for me really fast or set up
this spreadsheet for me really fast.
(23:29):
Um, so, uh, as a young person beingable to, to use the, you know, AI
to make that tool happen, I thinkis gonna be a very important skill.
But I don't see it replacing, um,CMOs and, and senior marketing people.
I certainly hope it doesn't,and I also don't see it.
Um, putting anybody in a position wherethere can be, you know, on a beach
(23:51):
with a, with a nice cocktail while, uh,AI does their marketing job for them.
I think still thinking about, um, stillthinking from the human perspective
and also managing human from the humanperspective is still really important.
And I think that the, um.
The really the most criticalthing we do in marketing.
(24:13):
There's so much fun stuff you coulddo, you know, trading cards and beers
or just a couple, couple of examples.
But really I think the most importantthing we do in marketing and
transit is working directly withour community partners and having,
you know, a hand, even just a hand.
Full of community partners whorun, uh, social service agencies,
educational institutes, uh, governmentoffices and marketing through them.
(24:39):
That's, that's your real kind of, uh,real art, real intelligence, right?
Is being able to scale your marketing.
By having a handful of contacts to whomyou push out your marketing materials,
and then they market to their audiencesbecause those audiences, you know,
people who might be the audience ofmarketing or might be in the lobby of
(25:00):
a social service agency, they're notfollowing the Transit Agency's Facebook
page, they're not looking at the TransitAgency's website, but they may see a
lobby sign that changes their lives andreally makes them understand that they
can get to their appointments affordably.
That is.
Still the core of marketing andbuilding those relationships is
still really critical to success.
(25:21):
Yeah, I think that's agreat, great, uh, comment.
You know, this sort of hold U.S. cross,uh, I call it cross-contamination, right?
The friends who know the friends andit's sort of like relationship building,
but when you see, like, for instance,a lot of the sports teams now, right?
When you download a ticket, it'sgot the link on the back to take.
Public transit to an event.
Right?
Those are the type of things where you gettogether and you leverage off one another.
(25:41):
You know, I remember during the pandemicwe saw some pretty unique things too,
as people were trying to save service,rebrand service, or do certain things.
But I remember Missoula Transit up inMontana, Jen and her team, I remember
they did this, um, live music series.
I think it was on like every second Friday
that was him.
They, they brought an artist onto the bus.
I thought it was just.
Absolutely.
I mean, you know, Paul resonates,uh, being a ex dj like, like you I
(26:05):
am as well, you know, just this livemusic and bringing in local artists
and then they had art on the bus.
I mean, I think these are just some greatideas of how the transit agencies, right,
they touch these other entities thatthen also leverage back and, and they get
that extra amplification from, from thosepartners that Lea was referencing, right?
So it's great.
, One more comment on the AI Elea.
(26:25):
I was just listening to a podcast thismorning with Doug Ellen, Hollywood
producer, uh, I like his podcastand he was talking about how he
was using AI to write basically ascript and the pitch notes to pitch
a new show to the network and how.
Everything that AI did for himis what an assistant used to do
for him, a writer's assistant.
And he said, just what you said.
(26:46):
He said, I don't think it's gonnareplace like the main ideas.
'cause if you ask it just to comeup with an idea, it's not there yet.
But he said, I'm talking in my phone.
I'm giving the whole spiel for 45 minutes.
And then I ask it to shape up what I said,organize it, put it in a pitch point.
And he said, that's what I usedto have a younger assistant do.
And so, I mean, I've seen, uh,comments from senior leaders.
(27:06):
Outside of the industry, but in bankingto say that, you know, within six months
to a year, we're not gonna recognizethis world, the jobs that are gonna be
adjusted and changed as a result of ai.
As the mother of, uh, twokids in their twenties.
, You know, I'm holding out some hopethat there's still some work for
young, young careers to develop.
(27:27):
I'll tell you, I used, I recentlyused, um, AI to build a, um, list of.
Facebook pages in a county in Californiathat I needed for, for a project
in, in Butte County, California.
And um, it populated the list.
I watched it happen and it populatedthe list so fast that I actually
(27:48):
said the words, I love you.
While it was doing this.
It just blew me away.
And then I had the thought,I better check on these.
And I would say.
I'm gonna say close to 90% did notexist, and it had completely halluc
these, these, these Facebook accounts.
(28:08):
And I started going down thelist and I was like, well,
that account doesn't exist.
That account doesn't exist.
And then I called a, a young adminperson and said, you know, I don't
have time to go through the restof these to see if they exist.
Would you please see.
If they exist.
And so I got the real humanintelligence back involved.
And um, basically it had producedan almost useless list for me.
(28:30):
Well that, that goes into really ourlast point I wanted to talk about, and
that is the power of human interactionand the power of human relationships.
Um, I mean, I met both of you, youknow, basically through LinkedIn.
Uh, and uh, and then weformed real relationships.
It wasn't my AI assistant talkingto yours, which didn't, wasn't
even a thing seven years ago.
Yeah, I'm so glad you brought that up.
(28:52):
I mean, especially on the tales of ai.
AI is, you know, we're on theverge of a loneliness epidemic and
AI is not gonna make that better.
And our real lives people are, youknow, the people who matter to U.S.
are people who are not perfect.
And we continue to love them and dothings with them, even if they're messy.
And AI gives U.S. the opportunity toengage with something that is not messy.
(29:15):
It just gives U.S. what we want.
And ultimately, that'snot good for human beings.
You know, we need to know how to negotiateour difference with other human beings.
Um, transit is wonderful in that it bringspeople together in a very messy human way.
And sometimes that's notperfect, and sometimes that's why
people stay away from transit.
But ultimately, the reason, forexample, that the three of U.S.
(29:35):
are here talking is because.
We like to engage with peopleand we like to, um, we like to
kind of negotiate our differenceand get to know somebody deeper.
And if an AI is writing my press release,that's one opportunity that I've lost
to mentor a young person in how to.
And how to write a press release.
So all of those thoughts I think arerelated to social engage engagement
(30:00):
and yeah, really, I mean, we wouldn'tbe here if we didn't love Transit.
And we, um, and we know thattransit really does bring
real human beings together.
The AI is just a little bit of a toolthat can, um, help U.S. maybe be together
more efficiently as real human beings.
. Well, thank you both for being, uh,my guest today on Transit Unplugged.
(30:23):
Great to hear from you and catch up,uh, to have you back on the program.
If you wanna, uh, get ahold ofMike Bismeyer or Elea Carey, we'll
put links, uh, to how you can getahold of them in the show notes.
And remember that, uh, this isa podcast that is here for you.
We talk to transit leadersaround the world every week.
And, uh, great to catchup with both of you.
You guys are, uh, I wouldn't sayup and coming because you already
(30:43):
established stars in our industrynow, and appreciate you taking
your time to be with U.S. today.
Paul, thank you so much.
Yep.
Great to see you as well, Alaya.
Thanks for listening to Transit Unplugged.
I'm executive producer Julie Gates,and this episode was created by host
and producer Paul Comfort, producerChris O'Keefe, associate producer Cindy
(31:07):
Raskin and podcast intern Des Gates.
Transit Unplugged is being broughtto you by Modaxo, passionate
about moving the world's people.
If you wanna dive deeper behind thetransit headlines and get boots on the
ground intel on important updates likethe Trump Administration's transit
priorities, or how to get fundingcheck out Transit Unplugged Insider,
our new YouTube show where Paul andI take you inside today's hot topics.
(31:32):
Paul knows what's going on inWashington DC and has the inside scoop.
He's taking a lot of meetings witha lot of people and we wanna make
sure you know what's going on.
You can watch and subscribe to TransitUnplugged Insider on the Transit
Unplugged Podcast page on YouTube.
Thanks for listening, and we'll catch youon the next episode of Transit Unplugged.
We're getting the band back together.
That's right.
I'm Paul Comfort, and on this episodeof Transit Unplug, the podcast we bring
back in two friends of the show, whoyou may have heard quite a bit a few
years ago, regular contributors, MikeBismeyer, the King of Kindness, and
Alaya Carey, our marketing expert.
Both of them now have after theyappeared for a couple years,
(00:20):
pretty much every other week onthe Transit Unplugged Podcast,
during and just after the pandemic.
Uh, they've now gone on to become, um,well known in the transit industry.
Both of them are speakers and trainers.
Keynote.
Mike speaks as keynotes at conferencesall over and Alaya, I've seen her.
Uh, she's amazing, the talk and she talkstoday about some of the great things you
(00:41):
can do right now to market your system.
What the role of AI is.
Uh, Mike talks about the powerof mentorship in his life and in
others and in this transit industry.
It's a great blend.
At the end, we talk about kind of theantidote to artificial intelligence, which
is real personal relationships and therole they play in public transportation.
I think you'll find this afascinating discussion between two.
(01:03):
Now, three good friends on this episode.
I also wanna bring your attention to whatwe've got coming up for you in September.
We're gonna have a super Septemberhere on, uh, transit Unplugged.
I feel like one of thoseguys on TV selling cars.
We're gonna have a super September,but we are, man, you will not
believe the guests that we are gonnahave lined up for you the best.
(01:24):
The biggest guests inAmerica are coming on.
Transit unplugged in September.
Some of the top CEOs of the largesttransit agencies are coming on.
Take a look at our socialmedia to find out more.
It is gonna be one super September.
If you ever wanted to invitea friend to listen to Transit
Unplugged, now's the time.
(01:45):
Tune them in to September's allfour episodes for the Top Leaders in
Transit in America on Super September.
For those of you who, uh, havebeen listening to our podcast for
a while, you might, . Rememberthe voices of Mike and Elea.
They were both regulars on our show,, through the pandemic, and, uh, thought
(02:10):
we'd get the band back together, as Eleasaid, and, uh, catch up with everyone.
So, uh, Mike used to do so.
Y'all remember during the pandemic,things got crazy and, uh, people got a
little out there and outta hand sometimes.
And so Mike was the, uh, kingof kindness and still is.
And so I thought it'd be greatto have a friendly, uh, reminder,
about the importance of kindness.
I mean, really, Mike, that's whatthat's at the soul of what we
(02:33):
do right, is kindness to others.
Yeah, it is, it's great.
I mean, I, I've always said, uh,I believe that, uh, transit is
kindness and action, so, right.
We're giving people opportunity,uh, that they may not have without
the availability of transit.
So, uh, inherently it's goodand I think it's important to.
To bring that through to the workplaceand build our own sort of brands
internally and sort of lead with that.
And, uh, as, as we know, thingshave changed and, uh, it was very
(02:56):
crazy for a while, which, uh,we talked about quite regularly.
But I want, you know, one of the reallyneat things that's evolved is sort of
kindness really has become, uh, one ofthe key leadership traits now when you
read a lot of the new literature and alot of the new studies, a lot of the new
public speakers that are talking about it.
And for me it's.
, I've had a lot more interest to,to come and speak to workplaces
(03:16):
about sort of workplace culture.
So, yeah, it's great, Paul.
It was a great platform and of course,uh, it was a great segue with, uh,
you know, Elea's, uh, mix of howwe change branding at at agencies
that sort of all played together.
So it was great.
Uh, uh, I, you know, as much as we don'talways wanna say we enjoyed the pandemic,
it was great to be part of that for sure.
Yeah.
And Alaya, your, your regular contributionto the show was, uh, marketing
(03:39):
agencies, uh, during the pandemic.
Ridership dropped down dramatically.
Uh, I used, I was calling it a gutpunch, uh, to the industry where
most, uh, agencies dropped more than.
Half the regular writers and as westarted to come back, you're a marketing
expert and uh, so we had you talking totransit agencies about how to improve
their marketing and reach more customers.
(04:00):
Yep.
That was a great opportunity for me.
As you well know, I came out ofSilicon Valley , in the pandemic and
really, uh, when the pandemic hit, Iwanted to do something that, I love
that phrase, kindness in action.
You know, I wanted to do somethingthat would really leave a great
legacy for, for, uh, wider.
Wider group of people and Ifound you and Comfort's Corner,
(04:22):
the old version of the podcast.
And I started listening to, um,people in transit, uh, talking leaders
in transit, talking about transit.
And I was like, wow, Iwanna be a part of this.
So I think I shot you a note onLinkedIn and we started talking about
what Transit really could be doing.
And we both saw that moment ofthe pandemic as this incredible
(04:43):
moment of opportunity.
For people to, um, really be able topromote transit and really people to,
for the public to see what was reallyvital and important about transit.
And so I got the opportunityto talk about how to promote
all of Transit's great aspects.
. And since then, you both havegone on to some amazing things.
(05:04):
We, I'd like to think maybe we had alittle something to help you do that,
but both of you, both of you werevery busy and active during that time.
But since then, uh, Mike, tell U.S.um, well, well, let's start here.
Actually, the day you and I are talking,uh, is a big day in the electric bus
industry because John Walsh, our, ourbuddy just got announced today as, uh.
(05:24):
Uh, president and CEO of some of thefolks that are helping run what's,
uh, what was Proterra and I thinkwhen, when you and I got together,
that's where you were working right.
Right.
Yeah, that's a great segue for sure.
I mean, uh, April of 2019 is whenI joined Proterra, uh, April Fool's
Day, which I guess will alwaysresonate with me, but, uh, but yeah,
I mean, I, I believe I was, uh.
(05:46):
You know, and I was therefour years, had a great run.
It was a great day, but I, I thinkit was my first week in, um, you
happened to be in, on a, uh, sortof a leadership call internally.
And then, uh, you and I connectedon, uh, sort of Facebook and
all the platforms after that.
We connected.
You were in Vancouver shortly thereafter,and sort of, uh, yeah, had a great, uh,
sort of great forming of a, a peer-to-peerfriendship that's, that's really grown.
(06:07):
I'm still, you know, in the e mobility.
Side on the charge management softwareon my day-to-day, but have really
sort of, as you said, you know, theplatform of, of Mike's minute on
comfort's corner, you know, for sure.
Really, um, helped propelthat public speaking.
And I can tell you I probably do sixto eight functions a year now just on
sort of workplace culture for agencies.
I was just in Ohio last week foran architecture firm that brought
(06:29):
me in that had been at a transitconference where they saw me speak.
So yeah, I mean, I, I owe a lot of.
Uh, kudos to you and, and Elea forbeing such good advocates together.
I think we had a, a great thing, butyeah, I mean, this industry's amazing.
There's a lot of good people, andyou're right, it does go full circle
to, you know, our friends keepshowing up in, in new, new roles,
different challenges, and, uh, yeah,never, never a dull moment for sure.
(06:51):
Yeah, the industry constantly changes.
Elea, you've, um, you also tell U.S.about what you've been doing lately.
You've been doing more of this.
I've seen you both in action.
Actually just recently.
Mike, I saw you speak at a TripSparkconference as a keynote speaker.
You were phenomenal, by the way.
I mean, I've seen you before, but.
Really good.
Uh, keynote talk you've beengiving and Elea, I saw you at the
Transportation Association of Marylandconference, I think last year,
(07:14):
which is coming up again real soon.
And you were speaking there andI think I've seen you somewhere
else lately talk and just amazing.
Tell U.S. what you do now.
Yeah, you and I were at CTAAin San Diego in was that
That's where I just saw you in June.
Yeah,
May.
Yep.
Yep.
Early June.
Yeah, so Transit Happy is the companythat I launched, , with somewhat having
(07:34):
this platform from you of being able totalk to, to trans people about marketing.
And I've grown that companyto, um, I couldn't tell you how
many clients I have right now.
Maybe I should know thatnumber, but I don't.
, But I've got clients all over thecountry and they are mostly small,
urban and rural public transit agents.
, Writing marketing plans for them,which is a great, um, thing.
(07:56):
I love to research.
We also produce full campaigns, uh,conceptualized , promotional campaigns,
and then produce and implement campaigns.
I work with a graphic designer,um, who's probably the single
most experienced person.
In, uh, transit graphic designwho working on his own in the
country, a guy named Rick Schuster.
And I also get to work with Selena Barlow,who is, uh, on the verge of retiring and,
(08:22):
um, supporting me a lot, mentoring me.
, Mike has talked a lot aboutthe importance of mentoring.
So if you, Paul, by the way, and Selena.
, 30 plus years in marketing forpublic transit, rural and small
urban public transit, and, , hasbeen very supportive of me.
So I just got off the phone, , talkingin Southern California about a new
(08:43):
campaign that we wanna launch that'sboth a clean air, it has both clean
air element and also a, um, trade.
Trade.
One of your.
Car trips a wink for transit,uh, to take a transit trip.
And this just gets right to the heartof what I want to do real, um, behavior
change and marketing for behaviorchange and promoting public transit..
(09:05):
We now produced both this, uh, podcast,but also a TV show where we're traveling.
I'm traveling all the time to differentcities, um, and, uh, showcasing.
Their food fun and culture and theirpublic transportation behind the scenes.
I also, , wrote a book, the New FuturePublic Transportation, which was a
compilation book like most of themhave been, where I included 30 other
(09:26):
folks in the book that are leadersof various segments of the industry.
And, uh, and we've done a bunchof book signings together, , and,
and various events together.
Mike was in the cookbook, my latestbook is, um, coming out next year.
I think I've written a book a year for sixyears and I'm writing one in the seventh
year, but it probably won't be publisheduntil, it won't be published until 26.
(09:47):
'cause I'm working with areally big publisher and those
timelines take a lot longer.
It's like a nine month processto get a book out and it's more
of a personal development book.
So we've all had a lot of things going on.
In our lives, but our focusstill remains the same.
Mike, uh, one of the things that, uh,that Elea mentioned earlier is that
you've been focused on mentorshipand kindness and talk to U.S.
(10:08):
about that.
You're, you're real active in CUTA, theCanadian Urban Transportation Association.
You and I will be up theretogether this fall at a conference
where we'll be filming anepisode of our show in Montreal.
But tell U.S. about the, therole of mentorship, uh, and what
you're doing there with CUTA.
Sure, no.
Great.
And yeah, so some of the other changes,I mean, as things have migrated over
(10:28):
the years, you know, I, I ran for aposition with the business members.
I, I sort of got elected and so throughaggregation, you know, served, served
a, you know, a secretary and then vicechair, I just moved into the chair of
the business members on the CTA in.
Canada at the May Spring Conference.
Yeah, we have our fall conference,but I've also been heavily involved
the last two and a half yearswith the, um, uh, leaders building
(10:48):
Leaders mentorship program that, uh,initiated, uh, through, through CUTA
through the Young Emerging LeadersTask Force, which I'm also part of.
So, um, yeah, it's really exciting.
And this fall we will have, soevery second year with CUTA,
the fall show is our YoungEmerging Leaders, uh, conference.
So we'll have the Young LeadersSummit, uh, that's tied into CUTA.
Um, there is a mentorship part of that.
I'm actually speaking at that as wellduring the sort of speed networking event.
(11:13):
But yeah, I mean, uh, for me,mentorship has been really the
key to my career, I would say.
And I, and I, I, I know I say this everytime I speak, is that people say, you
know, what sort of education do you have?
And I always say, I have APTA and CUTA.
And they always look at me 'cause Ihave no idea what I'm talking about.
And I, and to me it's really beenthe key to the success is meeting our
peers that wanna share the stories.
(11:33):
, I always say, um, you know, beinginvited into the rooms and, and just
transit is a very unique business wherepeople want to share hits, misses,
successes, and they want to see everybody.
They want to be a thought leaderand then they want to be an, and.
I'm, I continue to be amazed, and thisis probably the next question, but
just on, you know, from a mentorshipperspective, it's, it's great to have
all these people that you can get.
(11:54):
You know, sort of these value adds andput 'em into your own personal tool case.
But the adaptability of ourindustry always amazes me too.
And just the people that are in it.
So I think that's something we'regonna talk about a little later,
but that's one of the thingsthat continues to inspire me.
But mentorship, uh, itmeans a lot to me this year.
I'm going through as actually a mentee,so I'm being mentored by, uh, I, I chose
to go through our program the other way.
(12:15):
I've, I've mentored someone for thelast years and this year I have a
transit director, uh, on the East coast.
Uh, Judy out in St. John's.
That's being my, , mentor and she'sjust teaching me a lot about just sort
of how she prepares for board meetingsand some of the political stuff.
And I just love to hear thedifferent challenges and
stories from, from our CEOs.
I think people have no ideawhat goes on to get a bus on the
(12:35):
road really behind the scenes.
So really, really inspiring for sure.
If you like this episode of theTransit Unplugged Podcast, then you
will love what we have coming up.
We're calling it Super Septemberbecause we're creating an All
star guest lineup just for you.
Let's face it, the world is rapidlychanging and everything is so fast,
(12:56):
and our industry is speeding up.
So in September, the Transit Unplugteam is bringing you some of the biggest
voices in the industry from New York,Chicago, maybe even at the federal level.
I don't wanna tip our hand yet.
But you'll get a chance to learn how tomanage all the policy and funding changes
the post COVID funding, fiscal Cliff,how to do all of it, and so much more.
(13:17):
If you haven't yet subscribedto the podcast, do it now so you
don't miss a thing when TransitUnplug brings you Super September.
Subscribe right now before you getdistracted because we know something's
gonna ping or a squirrel will come by,so please subscribe and we'll bring you
some great shows in Super September.
Now back to Paul Comfort and thisepisode of the Transit Unplugged Podcast.
(13:40):
Elea, one
of the, um, one of the things that'salso changed, I think since the pandemic
when we were doing our show togetheris, um, social media has become even
more relevant in people's lives.
There's a new saying called doomscrolling, which, uh, I'm not a
hundred percent sure what, I knowwhat it is, but I think it's when you
just sit there on your couch and youjust scroll through your Instagram
(14:01):
feed or your TikTok or whatever,
, Especially young people, but even,you know, adults really spend a
lot of their time on social mediaand transit agencies have gotten
into social media in a big way.
I know when I was at the MTA, I wasjust back visiting the Baltimore
MTA recently for an episode ofour TV show for September and, um.
I remember we were there, we got on 10social media platforms, uh, and we had a
(14:24):
different, different goal for each one.
You know, Twitter would be,now it's X, but it would be
service disruptions, right?
Facebook would be stories of ourdrivers, and Instagram would be pictures
of cool places you could go writingthe system and those kind of things.
Tell U.S. about the role of socialmedia and transit now as you see it.
Yeah, I mean, I'm glad you mentioneddoom scrolling because transit's got an
(14:45):
opportunity to offer something to theDoom scrollers that isn't so doomy, right?
Like, we can, we have good newsto share about transit and as you
mentioned, um, you know, certain,some channels you can also share
alerts, uh, uh, rider alerts as well.
But, um, I just wannamake sure that we're not.
That we're not thinking of socialmedia as a marketing cure all.
(15:08):
It doesn't do everything for you.
You know, your, your criticalpieces of information are, uh, your
passenger information, and thatmight be print or on your website.
Um, you might have a system for alerts,like simplify transit, for example, or
something that, um, Modaxo offers that is,you know, people can sign up for alerts.
(15:29):
Um, so social media is.
It's a place for your community togather to see what's new with you.
But, , in terms of like your, yourbiggest news and things that you really
need to get out there, , there thereshould be other channels and social
media shouldn't be used for that.
I love the ideas you mentioned, um,Instagram for beautiful pictures of
(15:51):
your system, and I think that's a great.
, Opportunity, including a great opportunity, for riders and other people in the
public to contribute those images.
, I've been working right now with YARTS,which is the Yosemite area Regional
Transit System, and they recently setup a second Instagram account , that
riders can contribute their photos ofYosemite two and then YARTS will, um.
(16:13):
Promote those photos and it's sortof like a scrapbook of Yosemite that
YARTS, that YARTS is developing.
Yeah.
And then the other, the other opportunitythat I think is Metrolink does this,
um, they also do a daily kind of,we're here for you on Facebook.
They used to put their alertsout on Facebook, but they got
a system for their alerts.
(16:34):
They now, instead of putting their alertsout, they remind everybody every morning,
Hey, we're here for you from 6:00 AM to.
11:59 PM or whatever it is, and theypost , an image of that somebody
in the community has sent them.
So they have like a guest photographerevery day from their ridership group
that they post on Facebook and thatkind of thing gets a lot of engagement.
(16:56):
Finally, , something else I see that'sreally very popular and uplifting on,
um, especially Facebook and Instagram.
Is, interns, transit interns makingvideo because you've got some 21 year
olds or some college students, they'refantastic at that kind of thing.
They're digital natives.
They're not just digital natives,they're social media natives and
(17:17):
they know, um, you know, they cando this kind of stuff very quickly
and, and put out really cute videos.
Plus they have social communitiesof their own, like real live in,
in-person social communities.
And those people willfollow that social media.
So it's a nice way to grow your market.
Yeah, Elea, I love, I like that.
And, and Paul, one of thethings I'll add about the social
media for sure, I think, yeah.
(17:38):
And then I know you've seen mespeak, but I typically have a
slide where I talk about, you know,sort of changing your feed, right?
Like, because the more you clickonto some sort of thing, the
more, and, and you know, from,and me, I obviously talk about.
Sort of workplace culture, kindness andtrying to search some of those items.
But the one thing I willsay, I love social media.
I think we all, it's part of our brands,whether we think it is or not, we've
really seen, um, just an abundant amountof how people have changed from links
(18:01):
to QR codes and all these really coolthings that take you to different places.
I mean, LinkedIn does it now too, butone of the things I will say that I've
noticed even myself in the last two,three weeks on the social media aspect is
just with all the ai, just how much fake.
Information is like constantlybombarding each day.
So I think we need to be careful, andI've even seen it where they've, they've
(18:21):
made fun of someone else's socialcampaign and, and they've twisted it.
And so, you know, it's, I Iimagine this is gonna pose another
challenge for, uh, our transitagencies and, and their campaigns.
I mean, I, I, I live in,in Vancouver, BC and we.
Both BC Transit and TransLink,absolutely incredible at their marketing.
I mean, uh, TransLink, TransLink justhad a big promotion on the weekend.
(18:42):
They did their first ever tradingcards, and it's got all the old, and,
and it was, I mean, it was lined uparound the block people to get these.
But you know, it's interesting.
You still see these naysayers andall these other things that this
creates, which is unfortunate, butI think we've gotta remain positive
and, and it's an amazing tool.
, There is a, there is a verydifferent side of it with AI and
how that's evolved since probablywe all were last together as well.
(19:05):
Yeah, well, I'll talk to Ale about that injust a minute about the AI thing, but I, I
do wanna comment on that with Kevin Quinn.
Uh, that, that idea of doing the tradingcards, what did you think of that Alay?
You saw that, I'm sure.
I thought it was a brilliant idea.
Yeah, it's fantastic and it, it willwork for agencies like TransLink.
Uh, I know, um, king County Metro, , SEPTAin, um, Southeast Pennsylvania, , muni
(19:29):
bart, they have significant fan basesand they're also in locations where
there's like a high concentration of.
Transit geeks and city planninggeeks and very engaged citizens.
, That builds loyalty and awareness.
It doesn't reach out super broadly.
You know, it's not gonna bring youa lot of, , new followers who are
(19:51):
like, oh, I like trading cards, butI've never thought of transit before.
Like, that's not gonna happen, right?
They're starting with transit, butit will deepen your relationship with
your already established community.
And this just comes on the heels.
They, they just did another promotionprobably two months ago where they,
they partnered with, um, a local breweryto do a, a transit collaboration beer.
(20:13):
And it was a, it was called pla,it was called Platform Pilsner.
And it has the can isthe front of a train.
And again, it.
Created a bunch of buzz.
People went to this, they wanted tobuy the four pack and take pictures.
I mean, I went with my family just 'causeI'm in transit and I know them very well.
And it was funny, the day I actuallytook my, my in-laws for lunch to
the brewery, I ran into the head ofmarketing and, and, uh, community
(20:33):
outreach for translate was there,grabbed a four pack as well of his own.
It was own branded beer,so it was pretty funny.
Uh, but, uh, but yeah, they.
They've sort of taken it tothe next level on things they
do, and I, I really like that.
Again, the passion in our industry andjust how people will, will think outside
of the box and, and take a chance, right?
I mean, that's really whatit's all about sometimes too.
Yeah.
The next, um, conference presentation Iwanna do, you talked about running into
(20:57):
each other at conferences recently is Iwanna do, um, big, big city ad campaigns
and how smaller agencies can get those.
That kind of bang andum, on their own budgets.
Yeah.
. Yeah.
Well, we, speaking of, uh, of gettingBig Bang outta it, we're gonna have,
um, Kevin Quinn, the CEO of TransLink,uh, who used to be the CEO of the
(21:18):
Maryland Transit Agency here as well.
W he's gonna be Mike with U.S. at CUTAat the fall conference in Montreal.
And he'll be on a CEO round table thatI'm hosting, uh, beyond the CUTA schedule.
So if you wanna.
See and hear more, I'm gonna ask himto bring some of those trading cards
with him and show everybody kind ofwhat he's doing there because they
are a big city agency, but Elea, asyou mentioned, could, could smaller
(21:39):
agencies kind of pick up ideas from that.
And, and, uh, one of the thingsthat people are doing now that Mike
mentioned that I want to ask youabout though even more Alea is ai.
Um, and, uh, what is therole of AI in marketing?
Yeah.
So I mean, it depends on thesize of your agency, right?
If you're, if you have a big agency,you're already implementing AI tools,
(22:01):
they're, um, you know, they, they couldbe very useful in project management.
They can be useful in content creation.
, You know, it's a little bit like turninga 4-year-old loose on, on certain things,
you know, you've gotta pay attention to.
What you get out.
But, um, for example, for YARTS,I just used, uh, an AI platform
to quickly write up three blogsfor, for them just as samples of
(22:25):
what they might put in their blog.
, So bigger agencies definitelyI know are already very
plugged in, , smaller agencies.
I feel like they might be experiencingsome fomo, some fear of missing out,
that they're not up to speed on ai.
But I wanna reassure people thatyou, you can be, um, uh, you know,
(22:45):
it, it's not gonna change yourlife in, in these enormous ways.
It's not gonna do your marketing.
It still can't really do great campaignslike a human being can think up.
, It might be able to make some of yourworkflows more efficient, uh, and it
might be able to save you a little bitof time, but it's not, it should not.
(23:07):
, Replace your CMO or your,um, your marketing staff?
One of the, you know, one of thefear pieces I've heard about ai,
of course, that we've all heard, isthat it's gonna make U.S. lose jobs.
The level I see that happeningat is sort of that intern level.
Um, you know, produce, produce thisthing for me really fast or set up
this spreadsheet for me really fast.
(23:29):
Um, so, uh, as a young person beingable to, to use the, you know, AI
to make that tool happen, I thinkis gonna be a very important skill.
But I don't see it replacing, um,CMOs and, and senior marketing people.
I certainly hope it doesn't,and I also don't see it.
Um, putting anybody in a position wherethere can be, you know, on a beach
(23:51):
with a, with a nice cocktail while, uh,AI does their marketing job for them.
I think still thinking about, um, stillthinking from the human perspective
and also managing human from the humanperspective is still really important.
And I think that the, um.
The really the most criticalthing we do in marketing.
(24:13):
There's so much fun stuff you coulddo, you know, trading cards and beers
or just a couple, couple of examples.
But really I think the most importantthing we do in marketing and
transit is working directly withour community partners and having,
you know, a hand, even just a hand.
Full of community partners whorun, uh, social service agencies,
educational institutes, uh, governmentoffices and marketing through them.
(24:39):
That's, that's your real kind of, uh,real art, real intelligence, right?
Is being able to scale your marketing.
By having a handful of contacts to whomyou push out your marketing materials,
and then they market to their audiencesbecause those audiences, you know,
people who might be the audience ofmarketing or might be in the lobby of
(25:00):
a social service agency, they're notfollowing the Transit Agency's Facebook
page, they're not looking at the TransitAgency's website, but they may see a
lobby sign that changes their lives andreally makes them understand that they
can get to their appointments affordably.
That is.
Still the core of marketing andbuilding those relationships is
still really critical to success.
(25:21):
Yeah, I think that's agreat, great, uh, comment.
You know, this sort of hold U.S. cross,uh, I call it cross-contamination, right?
The friends who know the friends andit's sort of like relationship building,
but when you see, like, for instance,a lot of the sports teams now, right?
When you download a ticket, it'sgot the link on the back to take.
Public transit to an event.
Right?
Those are the type of things where you gettogether and you leverage off one another.
(25:41):
You know, I remember during the pandemicwe saw some pretty unique things too,
as people were trying to save service,rebrand service, or do certain things.
But I remember Missoula Transit up inMontana, Jen and her team, I remember
they did this, um, live music series.
I think it was on like every second Friday
that was him.
They, they brought an artist onto the bus.
I thought it was just.
Absolutely.
I mean, you know, Paul resonates,uh, being a ex dj like, like you I
(26:05):
am as well, you know, just this livemusic and bringing in local artists
and then they had art on the bus.
I mean, I think these are just some greatideas of how the transit agencies, right,
they touch these other entities thatthen also leverage back and, and they get
that extra amplification from, from thosepartners that Lea was referencing, right?
So it's great.
, One more comment on the AI Elea.
(26:25):
I was just listening to a podcast thismorning with Doug Ellen, Hollywood
producer, uh, I like his podcastand he was talking about how he
was using AI to write basically ascript and the pitch notes to pitch
a new show to the network and how.
Everything that AI did for himis what an assistant used to do
for him, a writer's assistant.
And he said, just what you said.
(26:46):
He said, I don't think it's gonnareplace like the main ideas.
'cause if you ask it just to comeup with an idea, it's not there yet.
But he said, I'm talking in my phone.
I'm giving the whole spiel for 45 minutes.
And then I ask it to shape up what I said,organize it, put it in a pitch point.
And he said, that's what I usedto have a younger assistant do.
And so, I mean, I've seen, uh,comments from senior leaders.
(27:06):
Outside of the industry, but in bankingto say that, you know, within six months
to a year, we're not gonna recognizethis world, the jobs that are gonna be
adjusted and changed as a result of ai.
As the mother of, uh, twokids in their twenties.
, You know, I'm holding out some hopethat there's still some work for
young, young careers to develop.
(27:27):
I'll tell you, I used, I recentlyused, um, AI to build a, um, list of.
Facebook pages in a county in Californiathat I needed for, for a project
in, in Butte County, California.
And um, it populated the list.
I watched it happen and it populatedthe list so fast that I actually
(27:48):
said the words, I love you.
While it was doing this.
It just blew me away.
And then I had the thought,I better check on these.
And I would say.
I'm gonna say close to 90% did notexist, and it had completely halluc
these, these, these Facebook accounts.
(28:08):
And I started going down thelist and I was like, well,
that account doesn't exist.
That account doesn't exist.
And then I called a, a young adminperson and said, you know, I don't
have time to go through the restof these to see if they exist.
Would you please see.
If they exist.
And so I got the real humanintelligence back involved.
And um, basically it had producedan almost useless list for me.
(28:30):
Well that, that goes into really ourlast point I wanted to talk about, and
that is the power of human interactionand the power of human relationships.
Um, I mean, I met both of you, youknow, basically through LinkedIn.
Uh, and uh, and then weformed real relationships.
It wasn't my AI assistant talkingto yours, which didn't, wasn't
even a thing seven years ago.
Yeah, I'm so glad you brought that up.
(28:52):
I mean, especially on the tales of ai.
AI is, you know, we're on theverge of a loneliness epidemic and
AI is not gonna make that better.
And our real lives people are, youknow, the people who matter to U.S.
are people who are not perfect.
And we continue to love them and dothings with them, even if they're messy.
And AI gives U.S. the opportunity toengage with something that is not messy.
(29:15):
It just gives U.S. what we want.
And ultimately, that'snot good for human beings.
You know, we need to know how to negotiateour difference with other human beings.
Um, transit is wonderful in that it bringspeople together in a very messy human way.
And sometimes that's notperfect, and sometimes that's why
people stay away from transit.
But ultimately, the reason, forexample, that the three of U.S.
(29:35):
are here talking is because.
We like to engage with peopleand we like to, um, we like to
kind of negotiate our differenceand get to know somebody deeper.
And if an AI is writing my press release,that's one opportunity that I've lost
to mentor a young person in how to.
And how to write a press release.
So all of those thoughts I think arerelated to social engage engagement
(30:00):
and yeah, really, I mean, we wouldn'tbe here if we didn't love Transit.
And we, um, and we know thattransit really does bring
real human beings together.
The AI is just a little bit of a toolthat can, um, help U.S. maybe be together
more efficiently as real human beings.
. Well, thank you both for being, uh,my guest today on Transit Unplugged.
(30:23):
Great to hear from you and catch up,uh, to have you back on the program.
If you wanna, uh, get ahold ofMike Bismeyer or Elea Carey, we'll
put links, uh, to how you can getahold of them in the show notes.
And remember that, uh, this isa podcast that is here for you.
We talk to transit leadersaround the world every week.
And, uh, great to catchup with both of you.
You guys are, uh, I wouldn't sayup and coming because you already
(30:43):
established stars in our industrynow, and appreciate you taking
your time to be with U.S. today.
Paul, thank you so much.
Yep.
Great to see you as well, Alaya.
Thanks for listening to Transit Unplugged.
I'm executive producer Julie Gates,and this episode was created by host
and producer Paul Comfort, producerChris O'Keefe, associate producer Cindy
(31:07):
Raskin and podcast intern Des Gates.
Transit Unplugged is being broughtto you by Modaxo, passionate
about moving the world's people.
If you wanna dive deeper behind thetransit headlines and get boots on the
ground intel on important updates likethe Trump Administration's transit
priorities, or how to get fundingcheck out Transit Unplugged Insider,
our new YouTube show where Paul andI take you inside today's hot topics.
(31:32):
Paul knows what's going on inWashington DC and has the inside scoop.
He's taking a lot of meetings witha lot of people and we wanna make
sure you know what's going on.
You can watch and subscribe to TransitUnplugged Insider on the Transit
Unplugged Podcast page on YouTube.
Thanks for listening, and we'll catch youon the next episode of Transit Unplugged.
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