TRANSIT UNPLUGGED WINS 2024 SPOTLIGHT AWARD FROM SOUTH WEST TRANSIT ASSOCIATION
Recognized with Co-Winner Kansas City Area Transportation Authority for Best Electronic Media
Fort Worth, TX (July 31, 2024) – Transit Unplugged was recognized with a 2024 Spotlight Award from the South West Transit Association (SWTA) at its annual Summer University Conference, along with co-winner Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA).
The award honored the Best Electronic Media collaboration between Transit Unplugged and KCATA, which featured Kansas City’s vibrant public transit system on an episode of Transit Unplugged TV and two Transit Unplugged podcasts. The multi-media campaign covered KCATA’s operations, MAX Bus Rapid Transit, RideKC Micro Transit, Transit Oriented Development projects, and the KC Streetcar Authority, to shine a positive light on the system to its community.
Hosted by transit evangelist and Modaxo SVP Paul Comfort, the Transit Unplugged franchise is a “love letter to transit” and includes a podcast and TV show that feature the best in people transportation around the globe. In addition to the KCATA episode, Transit Unplugged has covered transport systems far and wide, including Valley Metro (Phoenix), CapMetro (Austin), Edmonton (Alberta), Singapore Land Transport Authority, Transport for London, MetroLink (Tulsa), Sao Paolo (Brazil), Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (Spain), and others.
“It is humbling to tell the stories of the great work taking place in transit every day,” said Transit Unplugged producer and host Paul Comfort. “And it is an honor to share this award with my friends at KCATA, a truly world-class transit operation that leads the way for our industry. Many thanks to the South West Transit Association for this recognition. They do such a good job of keeping our agencies connected. The Transit Unplugged team looks forward to telling more stories about the great transit systems around the globe to shine a light on our mission-critical industry.”
The Spotlight Award-winning Transit Unplugged TV episode can be viewed here: Explore Kansas City Transit, BBQ, Music, & Games – YouTube. The winning podcast episodes are linked here and here.
About Transit Unplugged
Transit Unplugged is a “love letter to transit.” Hosted by Transit Evangelist and industry veteran Paul Comfort, the TV show and podcast highlight the good work being done in the transit industry.
Transit Unplugged TV is a travel program that showcases the best in people transportation around the globe, and a winner of the Communicator Award. Paul talks to the leaders who make the big decisions on how to best move people around our communities, and also dives into the food, culture, and music, that make these communities thrive. The program is created by Producer and Host Paul Comfort, Director Jaime Cuadra, and Executive Producer Julie Gates. Transit Unplugged TV can be viewed on YouTube @TransitUnplugged.
Currently in its 7th season, the award-winning Transit Unplugged Podcast is the world’s #1 transit executive podcast and the go-to destination for transit industry titans and decision-makers. Transit Unplugged has interviewed over 365 transit industry executives, published over 300 episodes, and has been heard in more than 100 countries, with 78.5% of the audience in North America. It has also been recognized with the American Public Transportation Association AdWheel Award. Transit Unplugged Podcast is created by Producer and Host Paul Comfort, Podcast Editor and Manager Tris Hussey, and Executive Producer Julie Gates.
More information can be found at TransitUnplugged.com. Transit Unplugged is presented by Modaxo, passionate about moving the world’s people.
About Kansas City Area Transportation Authority
The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) is managed by a 10-member Board of Commissioners representing seven counties in Missouri and Kansas. KCATA strives to provide a safe, reliable, and innovative transportation system that meets the changing needs of metropolitan Kansas City. In addition to providing high quality transit services, KCATA is an employer as well as a partner of business and other community organizations.
For more information about KCATA visit https://www.kcata.org/. For rider information visit https://ridekc.org.
About the South West Transit Association
The South West Transit Association (SWTA) is a regional transit association serving eight states – Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas. The Mission of SWTA is to strengthen member’s ability to provide public transportation and mobility services across the region through education, communication, and advocacy.
About The Spotlight Awards
The Spotlight Awards celebrate exceptional creativity and are one of the oldest awards recognizing marketing campaigns and projects in the public transportation industry. Celebrating its 36th year, the Spotlight Awards focus on wholistic marketing campaigns, looking for mixed-media campaigns that show a unifying strategy, purpose, or theme, especially ones that educate or bring awareness to important topics in the industry. See swta.org/swta-spotlight-awards for more information.
