The CT Podcast: Recent Episodes
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The CTPodcast welcomes William Freedman — who is several weeks into a 10-week trek from Long Island to California's Pacific Coast using only local forms of community and public transportation — the Cross Country Local. Joining the podcast from a hotel in Cincinnati, Ohio, Bill discusses the 800 miles he's traveled thus far, including the gaps he's encountered and the support he's found along the way. Listeners can follow Bill's journey on Facebook at the group Cross County Local or via twitter using the hashtag XCLocal. He welcomes any financial assistance through his gofundme page.
The CTPodcast will be holding regular conversations with Bill as he traverses the country, so consider this the first in a series of podcasts on the Cross Country Local.
Listen Here: (21:16)
CHK America's President & CEO, Rick Wood, joins the CT Podcast to discuss the vital, but often overlooked, practice of transit wayfinding. Here, Wood covers the science of navigating through public spaces, the psychology of wayfinding and the 8-second rule as well as CHK America's role in developing cohesive sets of transit wayfinding systems. Fears about navigating a transit system safely and successfully, notes Wood, is often the single-most significant barrier to ridership growth. Listeners will learn that wayfinding is far more than just maps.
Listen Here: 22:04
There is great value in the work that goes on across the country every day to connect rural residents with jobs, health care, education, shopping and all the other destinations that improve their daily lives. Here, CARTS GM Dave Marsh discusses the history of rural public transportation, including what has changed in the past 40 years — and what has remained. "We're all about getting things done and getting people places," says Marsh. "It's a daily reward to make these connections and we maintain that spirit and those values here at CARTS."
Listen Here: 23:09
Trillium's Principal, Aaron Antrim, joins the CT Podcast to discuss the evolution of transit scheduling trip planning and mapping technologies. "We work with transit agencies on making their systems easier to navigate," says Antrim of Trillium's goal. In this wide-ranging discussion, Antrim covers such vital topics as the power of multi-modalism, the future of real-time scheduling, the significance of industry-standard data formats and how Trillium's work enables more responsive transit networks.
During the podcast, Antrim references a key resource — The Many Uses of GTFS Data: Opening the Door to Transit and Multimodal Applications — that he authored along with CUTR's Sean Barbeau. It can be accessed here.
Listen Here: 28:55
In this edition of the CTPodcast, Driver Doug — trolley bus operator and author — discusses his book, Finding Zen in San Francisco Transit: A Bus Driver's Perspective. With 17 years of experience, Driver Doug shares what it means to be, "packed, stacked and racked" during the morning and evening commutes, and the importance of finding each route's "zen zone." Also, he covers what it takes to be his passenger of the day, the "invisible karmic ledger" and offers some practical advise to transit system management and planners on how to make everyone's trips just a little easier. If you enjoy this podcast, I think you'll really like his book.
Listen Here: 24:22
AARP recently published an important new resource entitled, "Expanding Specialized Transportation: New Opportunities under the Affordable Care Act." Here, the report's authors — Wendy Fox-Grage and Jana Lynott — discuss what they learned in the year's worth of writing and research on the report, as well as some vital takeaways for community and public transportation operators, leaders and advocates. The podcast covers promising practices and how these new opportunities shape the future of what's come to be known as coordinated transportation. If you'd like to cut through the rhetoric and better understand the real import of the Affordable Care Act for community and public transit, this report and podcast are a great place to start.
Listen Here: 22:31
Tiffany Chu, co-founder and chief design officer with Transitmix joins the CTPodcast to discuss the birth of Transitmix — a simple, modern mapping tool for transit planners, professionals and advocates. Emanating from a project at Code for America, Transitmix is an easy-to-use, visual transit planning platform that, according to Chu, "democratizes the transit planning process." Chu sees Transitmix as an important step in giving transit a larger voice in the technology sector, as well as giving technology a larger voice in the transit industry. Finally, we discuss the transformative role of the now-arriving wave of big data in transit.
Listen Here: (16:29)
Dag Gogue and Farhan Daredia of Transit Labs join the CT Podcast to talk big data, analytics and the most recent edition of DigitalCT magazine — which included 25 pages of data infographics. According to Gogue, community and public transit need to embrace data's positive influence on measuring outcomes, understanding trends and improving efficiency. "Data is a tool that can help make transit's case here in Washington, or at state legislatures," he notes, during the discussion.
Listen Here: 25:17
Ashley Robbins of the Center for Transportation Excellence joins Scott to break down how transit fared in the 2014 elections. We cover the the big wins and disappointments and analyze the key takeaways leading into 2015 and 2016.
Listen Here (17:01)
Jarrett Walker -- transit author, blogger and consultant -- becomes the first recurring guest on the CTPodcast. Walker discusses the changing nature of the work trip in public transit, particularly as it relates to service design, noting: "the way you plan for transit to work is the way you plan for everyday trips... work trips should not be an isolated service." Key topics covered in this discussion include high-frequency service, low-income workers and common-sense system design and redesign.
Listen Here (21:03)
Mayor Pat Branson of Kodiak, Alaska joins the CTPodcast to discuss transit in Kodiak — the nation's second largest island — as well as across Alaska. From the community-based operation in Kodiak to ferry connections on Alaska's Marine Highway (a 13-hour one-way trip to Homer, Alaska), to the use of planes, snowmobiles, trains and more across the last frontier, Branson knows the difference between rural and remote. "Transit is a vital piece of our economic engine," says Branson.
Listen Here (23:34)
Les White and Hugh Mose both recently retired from transit management after lengthy stints at Santa Cruz (Calif.) Metro and Centre Area Transportation Authority (State College, Pa.), respectively. Prior to that, the list of small cities in which they led transit agencies covers Kalamazoo, Mich., Vancouver, Wash., Fort Wayne, Ind., Iowa City, Iowa, Fresno, Calif., and Olympia, Wash. Here, Les and Hugh talk about what they learned along the way, and how each system and community was unique. They highlight what real transit leadership looks like, how things have changed and why they loved leading small city transit operations.
Listen Here: 32:34
Atlanta Regional Commission Senior Principal Planner Janae Futrell joins the CTPodcast to discuss the agency's growing role in shaping the transportation future of the 10-county Atlanta region through innovative mobility management practices. Building from TCRP's influential Standardizing Data for Mobility Management report, Futrell discusses how the ARC has built upon such concepts as trip discover, trip transaction and even trip triaging. The goal of the ARC's work is route optimization that uses all modes — including volunteers and taxi-style operations.
Listen Here: (18:36)
Here, CTAA's Sheryl Gross-Glaser, director of the Partnership for Mobility Management, discusses the implications of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and other privacy laws for various types of community and public transit agencies. We reference a recently-released TCRP Legal Research Digest on the topic, and cover additional information on HIPAA in plain English. Gross-Glaser, a lawyer, urges systems to think globally about privacy as well as the reasonable standards and training that all systems should consider.
Listen Here: 19:20
Nathan Shimanek not only won the 2014 Rookie Driver of the Year at the National Community Transportation Roadeo, he also won the highly competitive body-on-chassis vehicle division. It was truly a remarkable accomplishment for the 15-year driver, who acknowledges he didn't practice any of the obstacles prior to last month's competition. In this edition of the CT Podcast, Shimanek talks about the work of a CyRide driver everyday in Ames, and offers advice to future Roadeo drivers.
Listen here (13:59)
The Michigan Public Transit Association's Clark Harder discusses key transit issues for MPTA, including how his previous career as a member of the Michigan State Legislature informs his work with the Association, his thoughts on the impact of term limits, and the Association's recent foray into non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) at the state level.
Listen Here (33:03)
Ride Connection's Julie Wilcke discusses the agency's recent research on Improving Transportation for Patients Receiving Dialysis Treatments. The research, funded by the Administration for Community Living's Inclusive Coordinated Transportation Planning Project, involved direct feedback from dialysis patients, their caregivers, family members and more. Here, Wilcke talks about potential solutions gleaned from a more patient-centric approach to dialysis transportation.
Listen Here (24:23)
Dr. Marsha Simon, President of MJ Simon & Co., recently authored Medicaid Expansion and Premium Assistance: The Importance of Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT) To Coordinated Care for Chronically Ill Patients, a report that recognizes the complexity of today’s medical environment by highlighting the important role that behavioral health and other complex medical conditions play in transportation to today’s medical services. This edition of the CT Podcast expands on that report, looking at the key trends and impacts its research reveals.
Listen Here (20:55)
In 23 years, CTAA's Charles Rutkowski has helped develop rural transit systems and solutions in more than 200 communities and in conjunction with 50 tribes. In this rural transit-focused edition of the CT Podcast, Mr. Rutkowski discusses some of what he's learned in working with so many rural areas about how to develop transit solutions that meet local needs and that build local community support.
Listen Here (21:55)
Jeff Meilbeck, General Manager of the Northern Arizona Intergovernmental Public Transportation Authority (NAIPTA) in Flagstaff, Ariz., joins the CTPodcast to discuss NAIPTA and its tremendous growth — from 100,000 rides 13 years ago, to 1.8 million today. NAIPTA, like many other small-urban transit systems, is thriving, but needs sufficient federal bus and bus facility investment to maintain its services and meet burgeoning local demand. Given Flagstaff's current bus and bus facility formula allocation, it will take 48 years, according to Meilbeck, for the agency to have enough investment to build the facility the system and community needs. In this conversation, Jeff also explains the importance of the Small Transit Intensive City program and urges its expansion.
Meilbeck is a leader with CTAA's Small Urban Network (SUN). For more information on the SUN click here. He presented at the SUN Legislative Staff Briefing, those materials are available here.
For the latest information on MAP-21 reauthorization, click here.
LISTEN HERE: (13:04)
Dan Dirks, who was appointed Director of the Detroit DOT on January 16 by Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, joins the CT Podcast to discuss the commitment of Detroit DOT employees to reviving public transit across the city. From covering the current state of the system to the initial beginnings of what many hope is a remarkable comeback story, Dirks provides an inside look at the challenges ahead, the focus on customers and transit's role in facilitating Detroit's economic recovery. Born and raised in Detroit, Dirks certainly seems like the right person for this job.
Listen Here (25:06)
With much of the U.S. experiencing extreme cold weather, the first CT Podcast edition of 2014 takes a look cold weather transit. Jim Heilig, Director of Administration and Planning with the Duluth Transit Authority in Duluth, Minnesota and Rochelle Cotey, Executive Director of Alger County Public Transportation in Michigan's Upper Peninsula discuss how their operations deal with extreme winter weather, from low temps to piles of snow. From planning and communications to emergency management and special equipment, these two seasoned transit professionals — each located along the shores of Lake Superior — offer their best advice on handling winter conditions while ably serving their communities.
Duluth's temperature at 8am today: -16 F
Munising's temperature at 8am today: 6
Listen Here: (26:24)
Sharon Lewis, Principal Deputy with the Administration for Community Living joins the CT Podcast to discuss the Strengthening Inclusive Coordinated Transportation Partnerships to Promote Community Living project — with a focus on its objectives and outcomes. "Mobility is critical, we are such a transportation dependent society," says Lewis. "Inclusivity is at the heart of the ACL — full membership in society requires full participation.
Listen Here: 19:01
John Walsh of Mobility Ventures LLC joins the CT Podcast to discuss the latest developments with the MV-1 vehicle. After having ceased production in April, AM General through a subsidiary, Mobility Ventures, now owns the vehicle and intends to begin production again in February or March of 2014. In addition to saving the brand, AM General (which builds the U.S. Military Hummer) hopes to introduce a 2015 version of the MV-1 that significantly increases standard gas mileage. Learn what happened last spring, and what the future holds for the MV-1 in this edition of the CT Podcast. Walsh reiterates the company's new focus, "We're a mobility company."
Listen Here: 25:44
In this special two-part CT Podcast, we speak with two important community and public transportation partners in Wisconsin: Steve Hiniker with 1000 Friends of Wisconsin and Bruce Speight of the Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group (WISPIRG). Both agencies have compelling connections to good, smart transportation planning, policy and implementation. The focus here is on how community and public transit helps build the types of livable, sustainable communities for which both organizations strive, and how they broaden and amplify the pro-transit message at the state level.
Listen Here: 38:23