Do Operators Make the Best Transit Leaders?
There are many paths to transit leadership — and some of the most fulfilling start behind the wheel. This week, Paul Comfort sits down with Buffalo’s Michael Dylan Pal, whose journey began as a bus operator for New York City Transit to senior leadership roles at some of America’s finest transit systems. It’s a conversation about what that path teaches, why it matters, and what the industry gains when operators rise to lead it.
This Week on The Podcast
Paul Comfort explores a question many transit agencies are asking today: Do operators make the best transit leaders? Paul’s guest, Michael Dylan Pal, Director of Public Transit for the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA) in Buffalo, has lived that journey firsthand. Pal began his career behind the wheel as a bus operator for New York City Transit, eventually rising through the ranks of the MTA, serving in senior leadership roles across multiple agencies, and later helping lead operations at Valley Metro in Phoenix before returning to New York to oversee transit in the Buffalo–Niagara region.
PREMIERE: Boston Uncut
If you enjoyed our Boston episode of Transit Unplugged TV, dive into extended versions of Paul Comfort’s Live CEO Roundtable from the 2025 APTA TRANSform Conference, plus an in-depth interview with Keolis International CEO Laurence Broseta. Enjoy additional transit insights, leadership perspectives, and behind-the-scenes industry discussion.
ICYMI: Episode 400
Welcome to the first part of a series we’re calling “The Doers!” Throughout March, you’ll see transit leaders known for their results.
Public safety is one of the most urgent issues facing transit systems today. In this episode of Transit Unplugged, host Paul Comfort sits down with Kevin Scott, Executive Vice President of Public Affairs and Security at Bi-State Development / St. Louis Metro Transit, to discuss a bold initiative that is reshaping safety across the region’s light rail network, including cutting Transit Crime by 50%!
Register: ThinkTransit Executive Summit
The transit landscape is shifting faster than ever, and it demands leadership that’s ready to move with it. That’s why the APTA AdWheel Award-Winning Executive Summit was created: to curate one day for executives like you to step out of the day-to-day and focus on big-picture conversations with your peers that shape the future of the industry.
Join fellow CEOs, GMs, and senior leaders from across North America for a full day of panels, leadership insights, and roundtable discussions focused on the real-world challenges facing transit today (and the strategies that are actually working).
Whether you’re navigating funding constraints, workforce transitions, zero-emission mandates, or digital modernization, this is where candid conversations happen. Peer-to-peer, executive-to-executive.
