|
Conference Workshops TAM is proud to bring world-class trainers to our members. Our training team is still filling out the conference schedule, and we will be posting session times in the coming weeks. Keynote Speaker - Mentalist Brian Curry
TAM is proud to bring our keynote speaker to our members to kick off the conference right. Brian Curry is a mentalist, magician, and professional liar—though he’d prefer you call him The Good Liar. Based in Washington, DC, he’s spent years dazzling audiences with mind-reading stunts, impossible predictions, and just the right amount of snark. He’s performed at hundreds of corporate events, and been named Washington City Paper’s Performing Artist of the Year. He also claims to have won the prestigious Milbourne Christopher Award for Mentalism—but given his profession, you’ll have to decide for yourself. For TAM, he'll be giving an informative, entertaining, and participatory experience on the value of honesty, the difficulty of detecting it, and the subtle ways our minds can trick us behind our backs. LOTS Workshop - Title VI Plans Presented by Lynn Winchell-Mendy and KFH Staf Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance. As subrecipients of MTA, LOTS and 5310s are required to develop and implement a Title VI Plan to ensure fairness in delivery of transportation services. The approval process for 2027-2029 Title VI Plans is right around the corner. In this session MTA and KFH staff will ready you for the update process by explaining the requirement, walking through the updated template and the purpose behind each section, and providing insight on how to implement the plan. A fun Mentimeter “quiz” will test your knowledge pre and post presentation. Practical AI in Transit: Building Clearer Goals, Better Training, and Safer Outcomes Presented by Tom Eser of Oceans Transit This 90-minute session is designed for transit professionals who want a practical, non-technical introduction to using AI responsibly in safety, training, supervision, HR, and program development work. The focus is not on coding, advanced technology, or replacing professional judgment. The focus is on helping transportation professionals understand how AI can support clearer goals, better training materials, stronger safety communication, and more efficient program development. During the session, participants will see how AI can be used to:
The session will include a live interactive demonstration using an index card activity where participants provide both transit-related terms and unrelated words. Those inputs are used to show how AI can work with imperfect, real-world information and still help create useful training concepts. This keeps the session engaging while reinforcing the core message: AI does not require perfect prompts; it requires clear direction, human review, and responsible use. Beyond Inspiration - Vision that Works Presented by Dioane Gates of Cornerman Consulting Transit leaders are often asked to guide people through uncertainty, workforce pressure, competing priorities, and public This session is designed to be practical, reflective, and immediately applicable. Mr. Gates will use a facilitated learning The workshop will connect vision casting to the leadership realities facing transit professionals, including uncertainty, workforce Reimagine the Future: Rebranding a 35-Year Transit Legacy Presented by Prince George's County DPW&T The panel will explore the process of rebranding a county transit system with more than 35 years of service. Panelists will discuss how the agency honored its history while creating a modern identity that reflects the evolving needs of riders, employees, and the community. The conversation will highlight key ohases of the rebranding process, including public engagement, stakeholder input, brand development, vehicle design, internal coordination, and implementation. Panelist will also share lessons learned, challenges encountered, and strategies used to build trust, maintain momentum, and ensure the new brand represents more than a visual change. Attendees will gain practical insights into how a thoughtful rebranding effort can strengthen public awareness, improve the customer experience, increase employee pride, and position a legacy transit system for future growth. Next Stop: A Transit Planning Game (and a Sneak Peek at Transit 101) Presented by Brian Siegel and Sandy Brennan of Foursquare Ever wondered what it feels like to plan a bus route? This session opens with a quick preview of the updated APTA Transit 101 Course, a project led by Foursquare ITP in coordination with APTA, featuring five new learning pathways that build foundational skills for staff new to the industry. The next part of the session is a hands-on transit planning game developed by Foursquare ITP staff that brings the fundamentals of transit planning to life. The game introduces players to how land use, service design, and competing priorities influence route performance. Through gameplay, participants build a better understanding of the tradeoffs transit agencies navigate when balancing ridership, coverage, and community goals. A non-playing facilitator, referred to as the “Mayor,” guides players through the rules, answers questions, and moves gameplay forward. Each player designs a bus route to generate the highest ridership, placing buses along streets adjacent to tiles that represent potential riders; the number on each tile indicates how many riders that segment adds to the route total. At the start, each player draws a Community Goal Card-an additional objective aligned with broader community priorities that earns bonus riders if completed. Throughout gameplay, players may also draw Task Cards that introduce real-world scenarios (operational challenges, policy decisions, or community requests) that can increase or decrease ridership. At the end, players tally total ridership, including bonuses and penalties, to determine the winner. Above all, the game is designed to be simple, engaging, and thought-provoking, encouraging players to reflect on the priorities and tradeoffs that shape transit systems.
Strategies and Solutions for Attracting and Retaining Talented Frontline Workers Presented by the Transit Workforce Center
Many transit agencies face ongoing challenges in attracting and retaining frontline employees, with the greatest need often related to bus operators. How do we get the best possible candidates in the door and support them in ways that help ensure they stay and are successful in their work? In this presentation, team members from the Transit Workforce Center, FTA’s national technical assistance center for workforce development, will share innovative recruitment and retention initiatives gathered from local-level experience and national-level research, highlighting a range of potential solutions for agencies of all sizes. First, presenters will discuss innovative messaging and recruitment strategies used in various transit settings to convey the benefits of working in public transportation and how agencies have used partnerships to recruit from untapped employee populations. Next, the team will introduce best practices from recent research on methods for streamlining bus operator hiring practices. Presenters will then explore with the audience two particular strategies used across the country that can positively impact retention, absenteeism rates, and morale: structured transit mentorship programs, and ongoing experiments with work schedules. The session will end with time for audience questions and share experiences in these areas.
Introducing: Transit 101 On Wednesday, September 23, TAM is introducing a new element to our annual conference: Transit 101. Intended for:
Transit 101 is a series of 90 minute workshops running all day. Transit Basics — Presented by Dan Mulraney
Compliance — Presented by Jill Nagy, Esq. Finance — Presented by Rex Knowlton, CTAA Supervision — Presented by Lynn Berger, Strategic Evolutions LLC There is no special registration necessary or charge to attend. Those attendees who attend a full day of Transit 101 courses will receive a special certificate. 5310 Workshops - Part I and II The Maryland Transit Administration will be hosting workshops during the conference to cover critical areas for those agencies receiving state and federal funding. Part I in the morning will cover Invoicing and Mobility Management, while Part II in the afternoon will deal with the 5310 Grant Application itself along with Q&A. More Than a Ride: The Power of Coordinated Transportation Presented by Will Sutton of KFH Group MDOT MTA recently completed updates of regional coordinated transportation plans across the state. While these plans are primarily designed to meet the federal requirement for projects funded through the Section 5310 Program, they also provide an ideal opportunity for public transit systems and human service agencies in Maryland to collaborate on strategies to improve mobility and access. This interactive session will bring together LOTS, Section 5310 recipients, and other transportation partners to explore the practical value and complexity of coordination through a realistic rider scenario. The session will include an exercise in which participants are given a realistic rider scenario and asked to identify barriers and missing resources or information and to consider what coordination or other solutions may be needed to make the trip possible, reliable, and accessible. The discussion will then connect the exercise to findings from Maryland’s five recently completed regional Coordinated Public Transit–Human Services Transportation Plans. The presentation will highlight common challenges identified through stakeholder outreach, along with recommended solutions such as mobility management, shared trip information, travel training, improved transfers, volunteer-driver partnerships, reciprocal eligibility, first-mile/last-mile services, and other strategies. The session will conclude with outcomes from the coordinated transportation planning process and provide participants with guidance and insights on how to use the plans to go beyond the federal requirements and to expand transportation services and opportunities. Roundtable Discussions TAM will host moderated roundtable discussions in which free-flowing discussion of topics critical to success in the modern community transportation world will be covered. We will be hosting two separate sessions - one for transit agencies, and one for our nonprofit members. Wake Up!!! How to Combat Driver Fatigue Presented by Michael Noel of Noel Training The data is irrefutable. 30-40% of accidents suggest operating fatigue as a component cause. 24 hours without sleep is equivalent to a Blood Alcohol Content of .10. Operator fatigue results in lost work time, accidents, bad customer service, and even workplace violence. In this interactive discussion, we will discuss the best strategies transit agencies and organizations can use to make sure their drivers are rested and ready when it's time to roll out.
Meaningful Public Engagement in a Changing Landscape Public engagement services many purposes at once: It enhances the rider experience, serves as a marketing tool for the agency, allows your community to contribute knowledge and resources to your system, and helps build crucial public support that no system can survive without. Well-timed, meaningful engagement also helps to surface risk before it turns into delays, litigation, or political blowback. Panelists will discuss critical moments for engagement, how to encourage a culture of engagement among your employees, and how use engagement to enhance agency operations. Foundations of Successful Training Presented by Kim Stayman, Cecil Transit and John Duklewski,TAM Many transit supervisors find themselves in the position of lead trainer for their agencies. However, technical skill is not enough to make sure training is not only comprehensive but effective. This workshop will go over scientific principles of adult learning, the dos-and-don'ts of presentations, cover best practices for creating a training program, and deliver an example of a short, effective presentation style that you can take back to your agency. Innovation Without Reinvention: How RTA Leveraged Data, Partnerships, and Connected Technology to Build a Flexible Transit Ecosystem Presented by RTA of Central Maryland Every transit agency eventually faces new opportunities to improve, whether through a fare system upgrade, website redesign, improved operator tools, or better passenger information. Yet the response is often the same: new hardware, integration costs, and lengthy implementation timelines. The onboard technology often determines what the agency can do next. RTA of Central Maryland spent the last six years taking a different approach. Rather than relying on a single proprietary platform, RTA built a flexible technology ecosystem centered on industry data standards such as GTFS and GTFS-Realtime. The goal was simple: build a foundation where technology evolves with the agency, not limits it. Through this approach, RTA connected multiple tools and partnerships to improve operations and customer experience, including:
Today, RTA is preparing to launch open-loop payments, allowing riders to pay by credit/debit card, while modernizing its website with live route information, service alerts, and trip-planning tools. Operationally, detour information simultaneously reaches operators and riders through multiple platforms. Join Jason Quan and Ryan Mayers of RTA, with Cole McCarren of Swiftly, for a practical discussion on how a mid-sized transit agency leveraged data standards, partnerships, and thoughtful procurement to build a flexible technology ecosystem. Transit Succession Planning Presented by Lynn Berger of Strategic Evolution, LLC This session is designed to help TAM members and transportation organizations identify, prepare, and support future leaders for critical operational, supervisory, technical, and administrative roles. Because transportation agencies rely on continuity of service, safety, compliance, customer trust, and experienced staff knowledge, succession planning should be practical, transparent, and connected to real workforce needs. The session will focus on how organizations can reduce leadership gaps, retain institutional knowledge, and create realistic development pathways for employees who may be ready for future responsibility. Recommended Audience
Leading the Modern Community Transportation Operation: Review-Ready, AI-Smart, and Data-Driven Presented by Tandra Goodman of Tygo Fleet Partners Community transportation leaders aren't just managing vehicles anymore — they're managing grant compliance, workforce shortages, new technology, and a review cycle that never really ends. This session offers a practical playbook for three challenges every agency faces, whether you run five vehicles or five hundred. First, review readiness. We'll reframe compliance from an event you prepare for into a posture you operate in — covering the four areas reviews actually reach (people, vehicles, money, and data), the findings that most often trip up agencies, and a 90-day plan for getting ahead of your next triennial or state management review. Attendees will run a live 60-second self-audit to identify their own top priority. Second, AI without the regret. AI is already inside most operations — scheduling, dash cameras, predictive maintenance — whether anyone invited it or not. We'll look at where it genuinely saves money in community transit, the three risks that matter most, and the five questions every agency's one-page AI policy should answer. Third, data that funds you. Most agencies collect enormous amounts of data; few actually use it, and fewer still use it to win funding. We'll cover the five KPIs worth tracking, how to turn reports into conversations that start work, and how consistent data strengthens grant applications, board relationships, and reviews. Presented with lessons learned from years of healthcare and nonprofit transportation — practice, not theory. The session also includes two hands-on exercises, dedicated Q&A time, and every attendee leaves with a three-page toolkit. Microtransit in the Real World: Field Data and Lessons from a Three-Year Pilot Presented by Dr. Hesam Rashidi, ITCurves, and Dr. Kwaku Agyemang-Duah, City of Annapolis Microtransit has generated tremendous enthusiasm — but how does it actually perform once deployed in a real service environment? Two years into a comprehensive three-year pilot program, Dr. Hesam Rashidi (IT Curves) and Dr. Kwaku Duah (Annapolis Transit) will share exclusive field data, candid operational insights, and the design improvements that translated directly into measurable ridership growth. This session moves decisively beyond theory. Attendees will learn what actually changed ridership numbers — and what didn’t. The presenters will walk through how an AI agent embedded in the vehicle monitors driver behavior and serves as an in-vehicle co-pilot, improving on-time performance and safety compliance. They will also demonstrate how a personalized rider app functions as a smart travel assistant, reducing no-shows and increasing repeat ridership. Drawing on two years of Annapolis Transit service data, the session will highlight the specific system design changes, driver training practices, and passenger engagement strategies that made a measurable difference. Rather than a vendor showcase, this is a practitioner-led debrief: what worked, what failed, what surprised us, and what the data says. Attendees will leave with a practical framework for evaluating microtransit technology, a clear picture of the operational variables that drive ridership, and actionable guidance for agencies considering or currently operating flexible transit services.
|
