While I haven’t run a transit system, I’ve spent enough time in the background that I know its a tough job.  Talk about customers–funding agencies, riders, employees, unions, community, press.  Everyone knows how you should run your business.  Sounds like the best job in the world to me.

These days, system operators are facing a previously unthinkable irony.  Ridership (exclusive of dips due to job losses) has risen in record numbers over the past several years.  And funding (exclusive of capital infusions from the stimulus package) is in decline.  So in the face of greater demand, systems are cutting back.  Huh?

While mega agencies like the MTA in New York and the MBTA in Boston announce huge cuts that will alter their systems–and the routines and in some cases the very lives of their riders–some smaller transit systems are taking advantage of their size and flexibility to pursue new funding sources and apply creativity to their system planning.

I had an opportunity to review some material for one such system in Bridgeport, Connecticut this week, Greater Bridgeport Transit.  I’ve worked on and off with them for years, promoting new services, supporting marketing efforts, serving on advisory committees.  This system has won some serious awards from the American Public Transportation Association over the years and is well regarded in the industry.  They’re facing some tough budget times like everyone else, but they’ve kicked into overdrive in seeking varied sources of funding to service their riders, from private sector investment to Job Access Reverse Commute money.  They reshaped their fares to make them semi-understandable and efficient to their riders.  Their bus operators are some of the best in the country.  Its a system that’s working.

Facing challenges and finding solutions is about all we can ask for in a challenging  job.  Transportation in general, and transit in particular, is a good place to be at any time, and particularly important today as people increasingly depend on public transportation to make their lives work.

I spent years (and years and years) working on behalf of government agencies to provide TDM services to employers.  I developed new services, designed collateral and advertising campaigns, came up with all kinds of schemes to turn relocations into a trip to Disneyworld (I actually did present that once, but no bites).

Now that I have had the opportunity to experience TDM from the perspective of an employer, I have a new appreciation for…driving alone.  I have spent the last 3 months developing a parking program for a building that will eventually house 3,000 employees with a 1,200 space parking garage–but its located just 500 feet from a train and bus hub.  The employees will come from Long Island, Rockland County and New Jersey, with most travelling more than an hour to get to work.

I’ve learned that accommodating SOVs  requires as much creativity as the best transit promotion program.  Yes, a key strategy is adding capacity, but even that has its limits (and a high pricetag).  But it is also about managing traffic around the site with alternate routes and procedures to limit congestion in the garage, setting aside spaces to achieve company goals such as trip reduction and Low Emission Vehicle promotion and crafting policies and communication materials that are sensitive to the needs of folks who in many cases just can’t make public transportation work for them.

It really is a different view from the employer side.  I know I have been guilty of believing that every SOV could be removed if only the driver knew of their alternatives and their benefits.  But that’s not the case.  I have spent more than twenty years chasing down drivers who just aren’t going to change and too little time targeting my efforts to those who really, truly can make public transportation and ridesharing work.

For me, transportaton demand management is now about hyper-targeting those people who have access and providing a completely personalized customer service experience that considers their own needs and concerns.  I won’t measure my efforts on how many people stop by a table at a transportation day.  I’ll consider success to be the quality of my interaction with a commuter customer and, more important whether they changed how they commute to work based on our interaction.

Okay, its not rocket science.  But  I thought I knew how this TDM worked and I didn’t.  During my next 20 years (?) in the business I’ll reach fewer commuters, but I’ll change more daily lives for the better.

Is it me, or does it seem terribly ironic that MTA has to raise fares (in some cases by as much as $50 a month!) to shore up its budget (“M.T.A. Is Set to Approve Higher Fares and Service Cuts”, NY Times, March 24, 2009,  http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/24/nyregion/24mta.html?_r=1&hpw).

Public transportation brings people to jobs.  Without it, many people can’t work.  The NY metropolitan region runs on public transportation.  The concentration of people and jobs could not exist were it not for the subway, the buses and commuter rail lines.  So why, at a time when President Obama is trying to jump start the economy by investing in the nation’s transportation system, do we have to essentially “tax” the very people who make the metro region work?

After travelling in the metro area’s transportation circles for more than 20 years (as a rail commuter and a transportation professional) I suspect that there are likely to be forces up in Albany that are seeking money for suburban transit systems that are also suffering budget deficits.  MTA will surely benefit from loads of stimulus money for capital projects.  But it is the operating side that needs to be funded so towns, cities, counties, states and entire metro areas can leverage previous investment in rolling stock and infrastructure by growing ridership and increasing service.  Limiting stimulus dollars to building stuff overlooks  the benefits that a reasonably priced, responsive transit system can bring to workers–allowing them to get to work and open up more job possibilities as the commute trip is eased by good service.

As I watch all of the goings-on in D.C. (and curse myself for not being down there) I am, like the rest of the country, moved by the convergence of Martin Luther King’s birthday and Barack Obama’s inauguration. 

Transportation, of course, has been a tool of both social repression and social change.   Montgomery, Alabama, had a system of segregation on its buses that is thankfully unthinkable today.  Whites filled the seats of the bus from front to back, blacks from back to front.  When they met in the middle, all the seats were filled.  Then, if a white person boarded the bus, a black person in the “black” seat closest to the front had to give up their seat.

This was the position that Rosa Parks found herself in on December 1, 1944.  She later said that she wasn’t trying to start a movement–she was just tired and trying to get home.  She was arrested for refusing to surrender her seat to a while man.  A boycott of city buses soon began to protest the racially segregated seating policy.  For 381 days, blacks shunned the buses and used carpooling, taxis, bicycling and walking to travel to their jobs anyplace else they needed to go.  The boycott ended in 1956 when the U.S. Supreme Court declared segregated seating on buses unconstitutional.  While the decision did not end all racial segregation or even ensure fair treatment of blacks during their bus ride, it did open up the transportation system ahead of other areas of society. 

Transportation is where we all face a common need: to get to our destination inexpensively, quickly and safely.  It is where people of all races, religions and social class converge.  A city’s transit system  is the heart of a community and a platform for social good.  We in the transportation industry have been given an important responsibility to ensure that our transportation resources are provided equitably among all people who depend on it.

On his way to a perfect landing in the Hudson River, Captain Sully flipped the ditch switch that sealed up the plane like the armor on the Batmobile; kept the plane steady and brought the Airbus down like he was landing on a runway back at LaGuardia.

The passengers then unbuckled their seat belts and without even reaching for the overhead compartments grabbed their dual purpose seat cushions, blew some air into the little pipes on their life jackets and in an orderly fashion exited the plane.  When the wing was full of people, other passengers were told to go back to another exit and get on the rafts that had more space.  A couple of gentlemen even gave up their places on the wing, got back into the plane and went out a front exit onto a raft.

Captain Sully walked the plane twice to be sure that everyone got out, and then said goodbye to his ship and walked out an exit to join his passengers in waiting for help to arrive. 

Chesley B. Sullenberger III has to be the coolest man alive this morning.  When I heard about the ditch switch, that sealed the deal for me.  Sully is a super hero.  He was calm, focused, knew the right buttons to push and used his glider flying experience (an apt hobby for a superhero) to execute an otherwise routine landing on one of the nation’s businest waterways.  Yes, other factors were in alignment for Captain Sully (after, of course, the unfortunate goose incident)–the weather was clear, there were no boats trolling this particular part of the river and he was apparently transporting the most serene airline passengers in the history of commercial aviation.

Witnesses reported a big splash, but Captain Sully, in true superhero fashion, deserved a grand, if unscheduled, re-entry into New York. 

We so needed this hero to land in our lives right now.  Captain Sully won’t fix the economy, end the war or solve the country’s health care crisis.

But I bet he could.

Update: I just had a great idea! U.S. Airways could get out of debt by allowing passengers to select flights with Captain Sully flying the plane! It could be a new search criteria for flight preferences.  Kind of a Get There Safe Guarantee.

Another update: my dad just told me that Captain Sully probably won’t fly an airliner again, he’ll be promoted to the top of U.S. Airways or hired away by a huge aeronautics company.  Maybe Obama will name him to be head of the FAA.  Or put him on the NTSB. 

Oh Sully, we hardly knew you.

 I was a telecommuting pioneer.  I telecommuted when telecommuting wasn’t cool.  I kept an inbox on my desk for reading materials.  I put off phone calls so I could talk with lots of people on telecommute day.  I scheduled meetings with clients who were closer to home so I could maximize my time in the office.  I worked extra hours on telecommute days so I could show that I was soooo much more productive when I worked at home.  I set up a home office with a door that closed, and hired a woman to watch my son downstairs while I worked dilligently up in my office, pausing only during those times when I’d hear my son crying for mommy and later his little feet running down the hall once he discovered where I hid all day. 

He’s ten now, and still runs down the hall to see me when he comes home.  And then he grabs the Wii remote and asks for a snack.  But I digress.

 Luckily, the days of having to prove your worth every day you worked at home (versus showing up in the office and just looking useful) are over.    With the economy the way it is, employers know that the employees they keep will work hard no matter where they are because they are grateful for the job.  And the ones they don’t keep are  becoming consultants or are working full time looking for their next job–from home. 

It is no longer a requirement to have a “professional”-sounding street address (suite number and all) for a business.  My dad keeps a post office box for his business and goes down to the post office every day to get the mail.  While I like the structure of that (at least it requires that you put on shoes), I don’t think I need it.  Unless, of course, I start receiving a bunch of checks on a regular basis.  That would be worth the trip to the post office.

Anyway, way back in the early 90’s I worked from home one day a week and gave my boss a plan for each telecommute day and a monthly report on what I got done on my work days at home.  By 1998, big as a house and awaiting the birth of my first and only child, telecommuting allowed me to work right up to my due date (my son was actually born on his due date, a testament to my impeccable organizational skills). 

A few years ago, I left my reasonably pleasant, lucrative, stable job and joined Parsons Brinckerhoff, where I worked at home doing a little project management and a lot of proposal writing.  A friend who lived with me at the time built me a great office downstairs in the hallway on the way to the laundry room.  I called it the cave, and spent hundreds of days happily working away down there, my wireless laptop and wireless phone allowing me to navigate the world of big consulting while wearing my sweats.  I traveled a bit, but my home base was my home base.

Last March, I decided to take my writing skills and transportation upstairs and start my own consulting business.  My dad, a successful entrepreneur himself, insisted on painting my guest room and gave me his office furniture while he and my mom bought a set that would let them work side by side in their own home office (that’s a blog post for the future all its own).  I now work from home full time in a beautiful, professional space.  I’ve got a sign on the door that says “Welcome to Paradise”.  I make my own hours but if I don’t work, I don’t get paid.  And if I don’t get paid, I lose my house. And if I lose my house, there goes the home office.  Circle of life.

Of course right now I am sitting on my bed with my laptop resting comfortably on the lap desk I picked up at Costco last Sunday.  I can heat my bedroom on a single zone and let the rest of the house sit cold.  Oh, and I’ve got CNBC running just in case Madoff makes a run for it (no, I didn’t lose millions to him, I’m just fascinated by the story).  My office, down the hall on the right, holds the same stature as my office did when I worked 32 miles and an hour and a half away in Stamford.  I actually feel like I am telecommuting, saving myself the 20 step round trip commute to my serious office. 

Wow, that sounds a little strange.  But maybe its progress.

What’s all this I’m reading about the restrictions on travel for the inauguration–even on transit! Okay, so I understand that there is a need for extreme security, and quintupling the population of the city for the day will require some patience.  But its all hands on deck time for the transportation system! And its also a chance to prove to the policy makers that public transportation really can move lots more people than new highway lanes. 

I’m concerned about the Metro station closures and the periodic urgings of many transit operators to people that seek to discourage folks from joining the party on the Mall.  I am particularly worried about the elderly and disabled who are openly steered away from participating.  They are being downright scared out of what could be, for many, the most significant event in their lives.  I would like to see the transit industry and advocates for the elderly and disabled all over DC right now, putting all sorts of programs into place to encourage people to come.  Maybe its special buses with aides who will help the disabled travel that crucial final leg of the trip from the bus stop to the Mall, or putting those electric carts at the bus stops and special areas on the Mall so seniors don’t have to walk blocks and blocks in the cold and are sure to have a place to watch when the finally get there.

I’d also like to see transit telling people that they should go down to the inauguration and if they do, they will get there by transit.  I think everyone knows to be patient.  But do you have to bend over sideways telling people how miserable they can expect to be?

There is a real bright spot in all of fuss, though.  The Washington Area Bicycle Association is providing free valet parking for people who want to ride their bicycle to the inauguration.  A brilliant idea and something that will make it possible for many people–tens of thousands? hundreds of thousands? who really knows?– to attend.  I hope they make lots of money on tips.  WABA is a great organization and it is providing a downright patriotic service.

What I would most like to see is my son and I at the inauguration.  But we won’t be going because even after more than 20 years in the transportation business, I can’t find a way to get there.  But I do hope that all of my colleagues down in DC do get there, and are able to point with pride at a transportation system that brought everyone who wanted to be a part of this historic, if a little bit crowded, day.

So it did seem like a good idea at the time.  Back in March, I thought I could live on my experience, contacts and good looks (well, maybe not the last one) and build up a business that, by now, would be thriving.

What a difference 8 months makes.

I’ve been working those contacts and pushing that experience to anyone who would listen.  I thought that the transportation business was recession proof.  Not exactly.  States are holding back projects as demands for education and social services eat up potential match money.  Transit operators are straining under the surprisingly dual reality of formerly incomprehensible increases in ridership and decreased support by their communities to actually pay for it.

The news that President-elect Obama is making good on his promise of infrastructure investment makes me hopeful that the transportation sector will be re-energized.  Nothing like a big healthy highway construction project (or–be still my heart–a bridge replacement) to put people to work and send motorists scrambling for the nearest exit in search of a way out of their cars, not to mention information on the project itself.  From my first job in transportation, running the public information project for the Connecticut DOT’s replacement of the Mianus River Bridge on I-95 in Greenwich, I’ve been fascinated by the process of both getting the work done in hostile conditions and crafting communications stategies (also in hostile conditions) to keep the community informed and reasonably happy.

Things are looking up!

So, if even half of the people who promised to check out my website during the Association for Commuter Transportation conference in Atlanta this past week, then I might even crash the server (not likely).  Am hoping to greet new visitors, here.  I think there’s a lot to talk about, and I am honestly more interested in the conversation that I am in the business opportunity of the blog.

I thought it was one of the best conferences I’ve attended in years.  I’ll be writing more about it in coming days (my son begins 5th grade tomorrow, so I need to get some sleep.  But I will say that after more than 20 years of ACT conferences, I realize the value of long term, professional relationships.  As the principal of my newly formed company, I was able to call upon long-time consultants, large and small firms as well as individually owned companies, and program operators to give me advice, encouragement, and, of course, hope for the future.  I certainly got the message that its going to a slow road to full federal funding and program implementation, but the support I got from my professional colleagues was invaluable.

Conferences are great places to learn new things.  But its the people you meet and make a point to get to know and stay in touch with who make this organization and this industry very special.  Its a business of partnerships of all  kinds, and those need to be based on positive relationships.  I had the privilege of spending time with quality people this week, and feel great about it.  I hope many of you had a similar experience. 

More to come (if I think of something) on the conference.

Okay, I know that’s not the way the saying goes, but it is the point of this post.  We’ve seen increases in public transit ridership, carpooling and vanpooling over the last 6 months or so that we would otherwise get with (really, really good) marketing and a whole lot of aggressive outreach to commuters, employers, and anyone else we could find.

So the mantra that I am encouraging my clients to adopt is RETAIN CURRENT CUSTOMERS.  We’ve all heard the standard “its less expensive to keep a rider than to get a new one.”  Well guys, we’ve got them now.  The baselines have risen in double digits for some operators. 

So when you all sit down to plan your fall marketing plans, remember that you’ve been given a gift, albeit at the cost of higher gas prices and hardship for many people.  Let’s hope these new converts are content with their new commute.  Or are they ways we can make them even happier?  This is the windfall we fantasized about (at work, I mean).  A shift from changing behavior to rewarding behavior and improving capacity and service could be a challenge for some systems, who may have had their 2009 marketing plans cast in stone before gas prices began to rise.  Cast that stone aside–ill-placed bible reference, I know–and make 2009 the year of innovation in developing strategies to retain riders.  At the end of the year you’ll be much further ahead than you would have been if you’d played it straight.