In service of others through transit
Building careers in service to others
When you listen to this week’s show with Acting Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Veronica Vanterpool and next week’s episode with Ned Freeman, CEO of UZURV, one word comes to mind: service.
Not service hours or scheduled service, but service to others and the wider community.
The transit industry is full of people passionate about being in service to their communities. People who see transit as one of the best ways to help everyone have fulfilling lives by connecting them to healthcare, education, jobs, and society.
Veronica talks passionately about her work to bring more transit to more people in more places. She highlights the work of both her Regional Administrators and all the people who work at the FTA who help agencies and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) meet their transit goals and complete projects.
From taking three buses to get to high school to living car free in Washington D.C., this interview shines a light on someone who is truly passionate about and in service of transit.
Next week we continue on this theme of service to the community with Ned Freeman, CEO of UZURV. UZURV is a transportation network company (TNC) that helps agencies meet their paratransit needs with on-demand drivers. UZURV is essentially ride sharing for paratransit where trained, tested, and vetted drivers use their own cars to take paratransit riders where they need to go.
Just like we heard in Eileen Collins Turvey’s episode (and TriMet is a customer of UZURV), Ned talks about his goal to help agencies offer more than just the basics of what the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires. Ned really sees this mission as essential to society. UZURV gives agencies a way to offer more convenience, like same-day bookings, and more service to more people at a much lower cost than the agencies can provide relying only on their own fleet of buses.
Like many of us, Ned is a convert to transit. You can hear how deeply he cares about this part of transit with every story he tells and how he connects UZURV’s mission to the community.
Take a deep dive into the interview from Melbourne
On the heels of releasing our Transit Unplugged TV episode from Melbourne—don’t forget part two from Brisbane is coming up next month—we have Transit Unplugged Behind the Scenes with complete interviews from the episode.
Hear from:
- Sanket Nayak, Managing Director, Trapeze Rail
- John Storms, Managing Director, Transit Systems Victoria
- Emilio Della Valle, Trainer/Assessor, Transit Systems Victoria
- Samuel Carr, Fleet Asset and Facilities Manager, Transit Systems Victoria
- Lauren Streifer, CEO, Public Transport Association of Australia and New Zealand
- Jamie-Lee Owen, Chair, Public Transport Association of Australia and New Zealand, Emerging Mobility Leaders
- Savo Tosic, Network Disruptions Manager, Kinetic
- Dr. Graham Currie, Professor of Public Transport, Monash University
- Prof. Niels van Oort, Co-director, Smart Public Transport Lab at Delft University of Technology
- Tom Kinsey, General Manager, Kinetic Melbourne
- Katie Cooper CEO, Metro Tasmania
- Howard Collins, OBE, Coordinator-General, Transport for New South Wales
These in-depth conversations will give you even greater insight into transit in Australia including zero emissions buses, the future of transit in Australia, and some of the leading figures in the Australian transport industry today.
This Week in Transit News…
This week in the news we’ve got President-elect Trump’s pick for the Federal Railroad Administration and how LA Metro is supporting people affected by the wildfires still raging around the city.
Make sure you tune in every Monday for your fresh dose of transit news from Julie Gates.
