This week we're celebrating the release of Paul's newest book, The New Future of Public Transportation, which is the sequel to The Future of Public Transportation published early in 2020. To say public transport faced an crisis or inflection point in the past four years is an understatement.

In this updated edition, Paul collected essays by 30 transit leaders from around the world covering every major topic facing transit today from workforce to safety, infrastructure to faring. On the show today Paul chats with two of the contributors, Dr. Karen Philbrick, Executive Director of the Mineta Transportation Institute, and Paige Malott, high speed rail researcher with the International Union of Railways about their chapters and their ideas on the future of public transit.

We conclude the episode with Paul talking about what's covered in each of the chapters of the book and the people who wrote them. Make sure you listen right to the end of the show so you don't miss it!

You can order the book on Amazon now: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1468607618?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_1B7E4H4QFZVKHANFW7DS

Next week we have Andy Lord Commissioner for Transport for London (TfL). TfL is the largest public transport network in the world covering nearly every transport mode possible. It's a huge job and you get to hear not only about this massive system, but how Andy's experience in the aviation industry prepared him for the job.

If you have a question for Paul about anything related to public transit, zap him an email at paul.comfort@transitunplugged.com. Paul might even read and answer your question on a future episode of the podcast.

If you have a question or comment, email us at info@transitunplugged.com.

Transit Unplugged is brought to you by Modaxo and these fine folks:

• Paul Comfort, host and producer
• Julie Gates, executive producer
• Tris Hussey, editor and writer
• Tatyana Mechkarova, social media

Follow us on social media: LinkedIn - Twitter - Threads- Instagram - Facebook

Sign up for the Transit Unplugged Newsletter

00:05 Introducing The New Future of Public Transportation

02:29 Diving into Hot Topics with Dr. Karen Philbrick

17:38 Exploring High Speed Rail with Paige Malott

27:49 About the Book and Contributors

27:56 A Comprehensive Overview of Book Contributors

29:52 The Future of Public Transportation: A Global Perspective

33:31 Zero Emission Vehicles and the Future

34:35 Data, AI, and Cybersecurity in Transit

35:00 Funding, Faring, and the Fiscal Cliff

35:35 Geographic Futures and Global Insights

36:12 Coming up next week on Transit Unplugged

In a previous episode we talked about SEPTA's innovative SCOPE (Safety, Cleaning, Ownership, Partnership, and Engagement) program -- https://transitunplugged.com/transit-unplugged-podcast/how-septa-is-making-a-difference-in-the-lives-of-vulnerable-people/ -- and how it was helping the city's most vulnerable people. This week we get the big picture from the woman at the head of it all.

Emily Yates reports right to CEO Leslie Richards and leads a team that's willing to take a risk on something new and if it doesn't pan out, learn from it and move on. Her recent pilot on using AI-powered cameras to detect weapons didn't turn out like people expected. But, Emily and her team have distilled what they've learned and are looking at new ways to accomplish the same goal--keep weapons off the system.

Emily's approach to innovation is very human-focused. She thinks about things like; "How do we make transit more welcoming for women and moms? Is there more we can do help our drivers feel physically and emotionally safe? Are we doing the right things to make it easier to take transit instead of a private car?"

In the interview Emily talks about programs like:

• Letting moms keep kids in strollers and not having to unpack shopping carts on buses
• Solar-powered, e-ink displays at stops to show route updates and next bus information
• Programs to help operator safety and mental health
• SEPTA's transition to a zero-emission fleet

Plus how she navigates the process of getting buy in for these initiatives inside and outside the agency.

Coming up next week we're celebrating the release of Paul's newest book The New Future of Public Transportation with two of the contributors Dr. Karen Philbrick and Paige Malott. You can pick up a copy on Amazon https://a.co/d/dqp2red

If you have a question or comment, email us at info@transitunplugged.com.

Transit Unplugged is brought to you by Modaxo and these fine folks:

• Paul Comfort, host and producer
• Julie Gates, executive producer
• Tris Hussey, editor and writer
• Tatyana Mechkarova, social media

Follow us on social media: LinkedIn - Twitter - Threads- Instagram - Facebook

Sign up for the Transit Unplugged Newsletter

00:00 Introduction to Emily Yates and SEPTA Innovations

00:22 Driving Innovation at SEPTA: A Deep Dive

05:19 Enhancing Rider Experience with Real-Time Data and Accessibility

10:35 Navigating the Approval Process for New Initiatives

13:21 Focusing on Operator Safety and Well-being

17:49 The Future of Transit: Zero Emission Buses and Workforce Development

24:10 Coming up next week on Transit Unplugged

Welcome to episode 300 of Transit Unplugged! When Paul started the podcast in November 2017, I don't think anyone would have thought that seven seasons later we'd be at our 300th episode.

Paul started this podcast to shine a light on the impact of transit on society and give transit leaders a chance to talk about their agencies and their careers, unfiltered and unplugged. Throughout the pandemic Paul interviewed leaders about what it all meant to transit. How were agencies dealing with health restrictions. How agencies were keeping front line workers safe.

Since the pandemic, the issues have changed. Now it's getting enough drivers, changing ridership patterns, the bus manufacturing crisis, and the looming fiscal cliff.

Paul continues to meet these issues head on with frank discussion about how agencies are addressing the challenges and how it's shaping them as leaders.

We're celebrating this milestone with a CEO Roundtable with four leading transit CEOs talking about their agencies, what it's like to be a CEO, and the challenges they face today.

Recorded live on stage with Paul are:

• Frank White, III (Kansas City Area Transportation Authority)
• Tiffani Scott (Paratransit, Inc.)
• David Scorey (Keolis North America)
• Jameson Auten (Lane Transit District)

Next week on the show, we have the Chief Innovation Officer from SEPTA (South East Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) Emily Yates talking about not just the innovations she's leading, but the entire process of innovating in public transit overall.

0:00 Transit Unplugged Episode 300!

00:05 Introduction by host and producer, Paul Comfort

01:35 Welcome to Transit Unplugged Live: CEO Roundtable

02:04 The State of Public Transit: Challenges and Changes

03:42 Innovative Solutions in Transit: Sacramento's Story

06:19 Addressing Transit's Relevance and Financial Sustainability

06:45 Operational Efficiency and Service Adaptation in Boston

09:47 Redefining Transit's Role in the Community

13:52 The CEO Experience: Leading in Transit

23:39 Lightning Round: Future Directions and Innovations

29:14 Coming up next week on Transit Unplugged