The Research That’s Changing Transit — If You Know How to Use It
This week’s podcast episode is about research — the real-world kind that shapes capital plans, changes service, and helps you make the case for what comes next. Recorded live at TRB, the conversation is a reminder that the most powerful studies aren’t the ones that sit on a shelf — they’re the ones you apply to your system.
This Week on The Podcast
Recorded live at the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, this special episode of Transit Unplugged tackles a big question: Does research actually improve public transportation?
Host Paul Comfort is joined by three leaders who are turning studies into real-world results:
- Art Guzzetti, Vice President, Policy, American Public Transportation Association (APTA)
- Kate Ko, PhD, Vice President, WSP
- Michael Walk, Research Scientist, Texas A&M Transportation Institute
UNCUT: Salt Lake City by Transit
Go deeper into the story with extended conversations from the people shaping the community in and around Salt Lake City. This expanded look features longer interviews with Utah Transit Authority leadership and regional partners, offering additional insight into rail, BRT, zero‑emission buses, and preparations for the 2034 Winter Olympics.
The News Minute
Curious about the latest headlines in the transit industry? Check out our Transit Unplugged News Minute with Julie Gates. She covers the biggest stories in the industry every week. Click to view, and subscribe so you don’t miss a thing. This week:
- 🏈 Seattle Transit breaks ridership records as fans flood the Seahawks #SuperBowl parade — with Sound Transit and King County Metro Transit carrying hundreds of thousands in a single day.
- 🚌 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) is adding 100 new hybrid and battery-electric buses from New Flyer.
- 🚍 Atlanta’s MARTA (Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority) prepares to launch its first Bus Rapid Transit line this April.
- 🌆 Oklahoma’s regional system rebrands as One Transit.
- 🎉 Los Angeles Metro celebrates Lunar New Year with a limited-edition TAP card.
- 🎮 And in a fun twist — a Vancouver student recreated the SkyTrain in Roblox. TransLink
ICYMI: Bridgette Beato
Bridgette Beato (Lumenor Consulting Group, WTS International) joins Paul Comfort to unpack the evolving role of women in public transportation—and the systems, networks, and intentional choices that help leaders thrive at every stage of their careers. From WTS’s nearly 50-year history to its current global footprint of more than 10,000 members, Bridgette explains how the organization attracts, advances, and retains women across all modes of transportation through scholarships, training, mentorship, and community.
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.
