Leadership Three Areas Transit Leaders Must Focus on
e Coronavirus Pandemic and the
50% or higher for most regions – proving
government-mandated shut-down of the
how essential transit is to a city or region’s
economy has delivered a gut-punch to most
economy.
transit agencies around North America.
keep our economy humming are filled with
Ridership and its attendant farebox recovery
employees who rely on public transit for their
have plummeted by 50-95% and public
mobility.
e Author:
ose f ront-line service jobs that
Paul Comfort Vice President, Business Development for Trapeze Group, Host of the Transit Unplugged Podcast, Executive Director of the North American Transit Alliance
transportation’s reputation as a clean, safe alternative to getting around in an automobile has been diminished by early,
to “future-proof ” their agencies and services
faulty pronouncements that public transit
f rom other similar pandemics or challenges to
was a “petri-dish” for germs.
(NATA) and author of the #1 Bestselling book,
Now, transit leaders are thinking about how
e Future of
Public Transportation, available on Amazon.
fforts focus on the
come. Much of their e
ability to be nimble in service delivery so they To deal with the current crisis, many
are not caught flat-footed in being able to
agencies moved to rear-door boarding and
adjust routes and driver schedules quickly,
eliminated cash fare collection, installed
provide valuable, real-time information to
plexiglass driver barriers, and are now adding
passengers, and emphasize low-touch, clean
new real-time passenger information screens
provision of mobility.
Contactless faring: By adopting this approach, transit agencies can move away f rom traditional cash fareboxes and emphasize e-faring, wearables and contactless cards which speeds boarding, allows for all-door boarding and is low touch.
and app upgrades. Transit Agencies are Creating the FutureDespite directives in place for only “essential”
Proof Bus Service of Tomorrow by focusing
workers to use transit, ridership stayed at
on three main areas of enhancements:
Autonomous Vehicles: No driver – no problem. In an innovative approach, CEO Nathaniel “Nat” Ford used the Jacksonville Transit Authority’s
[Transit leaders'] efforts focus
Clean
on the ability to be nimble in
By refocusing our messaging on how transit
19 test samples f rom a drive-thru testing
can clean the environment, we counter the
site to a processing laboratory on the
“dirty, germ infested” pronouncements
Mayo Clinic's campus. Similarly, in
made about transit early on in the
China, autonomous vehicles were used to
pandemic. So, agencies can ramp up their
transport necessary medical supplies and
service delivery so they are not caught flat-footed in being able to adjust routes and driver schedules quickly, provide valuable, real-time information to passengers, and emphasize low-touch, clean provision of mobility.
e
autonomous vehicles to transport Covid-
fforts to move their fleets away f rom
traditional fuels like diesel and move
food to health-care professionals and the public in infected areas.
toward:
Zero-Emission Buses (ZEB): Electric, CNG, Hydrogen fuels, reemphasizing transit’s ability to help create a clean future and building o
ff the experience of
passengers in cities like Los Angeles and Manila, Philippines who can suddenly see the skyline without all the smog f rom cars.
Nimble
e sudden nature of the pandemic had
agencies scrambling to reduce service to meet the quickly dropping demand as government-mandated quarantines/shutdowns impacted commuter ridership dramatically.
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