Paul Comfort, host of Transit Unplugged—the world’s #1 public transportation podcast—joins Monica Spain in Seattle to explore the future of public transit.

Drawing on nearly 40 years in the transportation industry, Paul shares lessons from transit systems around the world and explains how Transit Unplugged and Transit Unplugged TV bring the people, places, and innovations behind public transportation to a wider audience.

The conversation covers:

• The four cornerstones of a great transit system: safety, efficiency, reliability, and world-class customer service
• How agencies can better connect bus and light rail networks
• Why bus rapid transit and microtransit are gaining momentum
• How on-demand service can improve first- and last-mile connections
• The future of accessible transportation and paratransit
• Opportunities for high-speed passenger rail in the United States
• Why transit agencies should measure their impact beyond ridership
• How transit-oriented development can strengthen communities
• What leaders can learn from Paul’s book, Find Your X Factor

Listen for a global perspective on the ideas shaping public transportation in the Pacific Northwest and across America.

CHAPTERS

00:00:00 Meet Paul Comfort
00:00:39 Paul’s 40-year transit career
00:03:20 The story behind Transit Unplugged
00:04:25 Transit Unplugged TV visits Seattle
00:05:27 Connecting bus and light rail networks
00:05:59 Four cornerstones of great transit
00:09:19 Bus rapid transit and microtransit
00:13:53 New mobility lessons from Dubai
00:16:11 Accessibility and paratransit
00:17:58 High-speed rail and federal priorities
00:20:24 Measuring success beyond ridership
00:22:06 Why transit employees should ride the service
00:24:05 Transit-oriented development
00:26:54 Leadership and Find Your X Factor

Follow That Transit Show for more conversations with the people shaping mobility in the Pacific Northwest and around the world.

If you think transit is just for the slog that is your work commute, think again! In this episode of That Transit Show, Community Transit’s Phillip Jefferies sits down with Host Monica Spain to share how he’s made transit his go-to not just for work, but for fun too.

Jefferies details his personal experiences taking transit to his favorite destinations in Snohomish County and beyond. He shares how to plan for a day trip, surprising detours that wouldn’t have made the itinerary if he had to park, and how he discovered the freedom of going car-less for a night on the town.

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Subscribe to That Transit Show for more stories about the people, places, and history behind public transportation in Snohomish County: communitytransit.org/about/that-transit-show

That Transit Show theme by Bryan Bradley (iwillkeepyourghost.bandcamp.com)

How did people get around the Puget Sound before highways, buses, and light rail?

In this episode of That Transit Show, host Monica Spain talks with Jennifer Ott, Executive Director of HistoryLink, about the region’s transportation history. From Indigenous canoe travel and the Mosquito Fleet to the Interurban railway, Interstate 5, and the creation of Community Transit, they explore how transportation has shaped Snohomish County and the Puget Sound.

Jennifer also shares the story behind Bluebell, the restored 1959 vintage bus that became a traveling museum for Community Transit’s 50th anniversary.

In this episode:

• The Puget Sound’s first transportation network
• The rise and fall of the Interurban railway
• How highways changed regional travel
• The creation of Community Transit
• Why transportation history still matters today

Subscribe to That Transit Show for more stories about the people, places, and history behind public transportation in Snohomish County.

That Transit Show theme by Bryan Bradley