Topics:
Tags: Community Engagement, Technology
The pandemic is changing ridership patterns and priorities for transit service delivery. As transit organizations across the country adjust service for different segments of the community, it is especially important to use all the tools to reach and understand riders.
This webinar will dive into three innovative case studies about learning from riders about service planning and delivery, including the ways that data and analytics are informing agency communication strategies; working with community-based organizations (CBOs) to gain meaningful input into transit service changes; and using technology, such as eye-tracking, for insights from riders and other stakeholders.
Join this webinar to learn:
• How to collect, analyze and make meaningful conclusions from community feedback from non-traditional data sources.
• How to add incentives when building partnerships with CBOs and increase participation.
• How to use innovative technologies to get non-verbal, but direct feedback from communities. This webinar will dive into three innovative case studies about communication with transit riders, including the ways that data and analytics are informing agency communication strategies; working with community-based organizations (CBOs) to gain meaningful input into transit service changes; and using technology, such as eye-tracking, for insights from riders and other stakeholders.
Featured Speakers
Lex Powers
Manager of Strategic Planning, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), Philadelphia, PA
Website: SEPTA
Lex Powers is the Manager of Strategic Planning Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA). Lex is a transportation planner by training, working in SEPTA’s office of Strategic Planning & Analysis. At SEPTA he has worked on King of Prussia Rail, Trolley Modernization, Bus Network Redesign (Bus Revolution), among other projects. Lex designed SEPTA’s first frequent bus map using public outreach, and has since begun to specialize in the intersection of design, communications, and transit planning, kicking off a bottom-up re-branding of SEPTA’s rapid transit network, including a complete redesign of its nomenclature and wayfinding. Lex is a young and enthusiastic planner who is working to inject new energy into an old agency.
Zach Hernandez
Director of Analytics, AlphaVu, Washington, DC
Website: AlphaVu
Twitter: @AlphaVu, @zahernandez22
Zach Hernandez is the Director of Analytics at AlphaVu, a market intelligence and data analytics firm based in Washington D.C. serving public infrastructure agencies across the country. During his six years at AlphaVu, Zach has worked with over a dozen transportation agencies providing guidance on strategic public engagement using machine learning and data visualization techniques. Zach graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a B.A. in Anthropology and wrote his thesis on the Planning, Policing, and Practices of Public Transportation in Bogotá, Colombia. Zach was named one of Mass Transit Magazine’s 40 Under 40 in 2019.
Christy Wegener
Director, Planning, San Mateo County Transit District (SamTrans), San Carlos, CA
Website: samTrans
Twitter: @SamTrans
Christy Wegener is the Planning Director for the SamTrans bus system in San Mateo County, California, where she oversees the short and long range planning efforts as well as the operations planning and scheduling for the fixed route service. Prior to joining SamTrans, she worked for the Wheels bus system in Livermore and the Sacramento Regional Transit District in Sacramento, California, as well as spent a number of years at the Connector bus system in Fairfax County, Virginia. Her work in Livermore contributed to the Wheels bus system achieving top transit honors in California (2018, 2019) and Nationally (2020) with a major system redesign that led to increased ridership, as well as an innovative pilot with TNCs in Dublin, California. She holds a master’s in public policy and a bachelor’s in psychology and sociology, and is a graduate of the American Public Transportation Association’s Leadership APTA program.
Anna Crider
Partner, Entro Communications, Inc., New York, NY
Website: Entro
Anna Crider is a Partner at Entro and has over 20 years of industry experience in design for the built environment including wayfinding, placemaking, interactive media, print, and identity design. Anna has developed large-scale comprehensive wayfinding and communication systems for premier developments including: Emaar Square’s mixed-use development in Istanbul, Turkey, the Department of Homeland Security Consolidated Headquarters Campus in Washington, D.C., and The William J. Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Arkansas. She has served as the Partner-in-Charge for SEPTA’s Rail Transit Network Branding and Wayfinding Master Plan effort. Anna is the President of the Society for Experiential Graphic Design.
Megan Ryerson
Associate Dean for Research, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Professor Megan S. Ryerson is the UPS Foundation Chair of Transportation at the University of Pennsylvania, and Associate Professor of Transportation and Infrastructure Planning, Policy, and Engineering in the Departments of City and Regional Planning (CPLN) and Electrical and Systems Engineering (ESE). Dr. Ryerson has published 52 peer-reviewed studies focusing on methodological advancements to examine intercity transportation and urban transportation sustainability, safety, and equity. She has been awarded over $1 million in grants since 2018 as a PI and co-PI, including two competitive NSF grants. She serves as the Associate Dean for Research at the Weitzman School of Design. In 2020 she founded and serves as Director of the CPLN/ESE dual Master’s degree. Dr. Ryerson was named “Woman of the Year” by the Women’s Transportation Seminar-Philadelphia Chapter for her mentorship of female students in transportation.