If you’re not familiar with paratransit, you should be. As a special transportation service for people with disabilities, paratransit is often provided as a supplement to fixed-route bus and rail systems by public transit agencies. These agencies’ paratransit services come in a variety of forms, and vary widely in their degree of flexibility. Without paratransit, however, countless Americans would be … Read More
What is GTFS and why does it matter to public transit?
If you’re familiar with public transit planning or technology, you’ve probably run into the acronym “GTFS” at least a few times. You may have heard mention of the terms “GTFS feeds” or “GTFS data” – or, depending on your level of familiarity, you may have even spent time updating and maintaining GTFS data sets for various applications. Regardless of whether … Read More
Save Public Transit
The COVID-19 pandemic has driven home the vital role public transit plays in our communities, bringing healthcare professionals to the frontlines, delivering groceries and medicine to at-risk populations, and connecting essential workers to their places of work. Still, with transit ridership declining as much as 90% in some metropolitan areas, the transit industry has been left in a dire financial … Read More
Managing the Psychosocial Impacts of COVID-19
We’ve all experienced trying times, but living through a global pandemic has presented a multitude of new and unique challenges that have affected several aspects of our personal and professional lives. It has readjusted the way we work, socialize, and connect with colleagues, customers, friends, and family members. For many, COVID-19 has psychologically increased fear and anxiety regarding personal health … Read More
Public Transportation After COVID-19
Mobility and transportation have been upended by the COVID-19 crisis. Ridership in major metros across the U.S., Europe, and China has declined 50-90% compared to pre-crisis levels. While stay-at-home orders are being lifted, the global impact of this health crisis will have long-lasting effects, and how transit agencies respond to rider concerns will be crucial in instilling confidence and boosting … Read More
6 Health Benefits Of Public Transportation
What if improving your physical and mental health was as easy as riding the bus? Breathing fresh air, driving safely, being physically active, and avoiding excessive stress are a few of the well-known steps toward living a healthy life style. Actually, using transit supports all of the above! The Victoria Policy Institute and The American Public Transportation Association explored the … Read More
5 Ways Transit Agencies are Responding to COVID-19
Transit agencies around the country are committed to providing essential services to their riders while ensuring the highest level of safety for all as they continue to operate during the COVID-19 pandemic.
TransLoc Deploys Mandatory Work From Home Policy
In Response to Growing Concern Around Coronavirus in Research Triangle Park Community
Creating Vibrant Cities: Going Above and Beyond Traditional Transportation
Last week several members of the TransLoc team traveled to New York City for the 2019 ACT International Conference. This year’s conference brought together over 650 professionals from across the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe to discuss a wide range of transportation topics and solutions to enhance mobility in communities worldwide. There were 40 educational sessions focused … Read More
Use Data or Lose Everything: Transit Agencies have a Choice
A TechCrunch article from May offers a simple, clairvoyant thesis about the future of the auto industry: “Automakers have a choice: become data companies or become irrelevant.” The message is clear: traditional vehicle manufacturers will no longer have dominant market positions when mobility data, not vehicle hardware, is the ultimate valued commodity. The same can be said not only for … Read More
The Best Time to Plant a Tree was 20 Years Ago. The Next Best Time is Today.
I grew up on 10 forested acres of land on the side of a mountain on the outskirts of the western North Carolina city of Asheville. My parents built our house overlooking Haw Creek Valley and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Our nearest neighbor was a third of a mile through the woods.
Microtransit Provides an Opportunity to Thrive
Hear from Lauren Marks, Executive Director of The Exceptional Foundation of Atlanta, about how a microtransit service in Gwinnett County, GA is providing service for an exceptional group. I am the Executive Director for a newly established nonprofit called The Exceptional Foundation of Atlanta. Our nonprofit is a private day program for adults with intellectual disabilities. Basically, we are the … Read More
How the Desire to Improve Lives Brought One Urban Planner from KCATA to TransLoc
TransLoc welcomes AICP-certified planner Tyler Means to the team as Senior Project Manager. Tyler comes from one of TransLoc’s transit agency partners, Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA), where he served as Operations Manager. He is passionate about mobility and improving the lives of others by making transportation more accessible and more affordable.
Growing The Movement
Just about a year ago, TransLoc was acquired by Ford Smart Mobility. After spending the bulk of my professional career working at TransLoc in a bootstrapped and then VC rocket-fueled spaceship, we were finally in orbit. We are now a part of a large, multinational company that not only has the resources to play a key role in mobility, but … Read More
Innovation vs. Courage
It’s that time of the year again when the headlines hitting the news are full of hyperbole and dubious practicality generated from the annual paean to the newest technology, the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The transportation industry was not spared from the CES headlines with debuts of walking cars and flying cabs.
What Are We Valuing?
The Triangle region of North Carolina where I live recently learned that we struck out on two coveted high-tech campuses: a huge Apple campus (Austin was the eventual winner) and Amazon’s 2nd headquarters (HQ2) that went to NYC and Northern Virginia. Amazon’s charade of a selection process for HQ2 highlighted just how focused government leaders are to the promise of jobs for … Read More
Transit a Big Winner in Midterm Elections
In last week’s midterm elections, voters enthusiastically supported transportation issues. According to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), “Voters passed 17 of 20 transportation-related ballot measures—an approval rate of 85 percent.”
From Deployed to Employed: Military Veterans Bring Value to TransLoc’s Company Culture
Jamie Howard is not only TransLoc’s Director of Engineering, he is a passionate advocate for assimilating military veterans into the civilian workforce. Howard served with both the US Army Infantry in the 101st Airborne Division and the North Carolina National Guard Infantry in the 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team, deploying to Iraq with the 1st Infantry Division in 2004.
Video: CEO, Doug Kaufman shares the importance for tech companies to work with government to expand impact
Doug Kaufman, CEO of TransLoc, spoke at the 2017 CED Tech Venture Conference where growth companies that gained significant traction were selected to share their updates.
7 major themes and takeaways from APTA’s 2017 Annual Meeting and EXPO
While public transportation agencies across the country sent their best and brightest to Atlanta, the weather failed to get the memo. And yet, despite torrential downpours and tropical storm-like conditions, this year’s APTA turned out an incredible number of transit advocates, agencies, consultants, and more! In light of APTA’s focus on safety, resources, workforce development, demographic shifts, and technological innovation, … Read More
Your TransLoc APTA 2017 Survival Guide
In just a few days, transit industry folks from across the country will converge on Atlanta for this year’s APTA EXPO*. Between the EXPO floor (with over 800 exhibitors from across the globe), presentations, panels and learning sessions, there’s no shortage of events to attend. Here are a few of our top picks.
Mobile App Architecture at TransLoc
When TransLoc’s mobile engineering team set out to build the Microtransit apps for iOS and Android, our top priority was to build them in such a way that we could iterate at a sustainable pace for years to come. As much as possible, we wanted to avoid rewriting part or all of the apps for purely technical reasons, putting customer needs on … Read More
How to make your summer internship a success
Advice from TransLoc’s Director of Strategy and Partnerships on how to make the most of your summer internship. This week, TransLoc’s interns started work. Each year, TransLoc hires a handful of interns across departments to help us tackle projects and help them gain work experience. We take onboarding seriously here at TransLoc, even for our interns. They are welcomed with … Read More
Transit: The secret weapon to bridging the gap between the haves and have-nots
We’ve heard and read the stories of the horrific commutes many endure to get to and from their jobs: Jourdan Duncan, the teenager in Northern California who walked for hours each day until a kind police officer bought him a bike; Stacy Calvin who spent more time commuting by bus and train than she spent at her part time job … Read More
Three important lessons learned from Bridj’s closure
Last week, Bridj made news by shutting its doors. By collecting and using data to create a more demand-driven transit world, Bridj tried to create a “network of express shuttles that offer efficient and flexible trips…that adapt in real-time to where you live, work, and play.” In Boston and Washington, this meant point-to-point trips that filled in gaps that were underserved by … Read More
TransLoc Stands With Glassdoor for Wage Equality
In the U.S., women earn about 76 cents per dollar earned by men on average, but the causes of the gender pay gap are a bit more complicated. Here at TransLoc we are committed to doing our part to close the gender pay gap, which is why we have pledged our commitment to equal pay for equal work.
The intersection of transit and diversity
Earlier this month, I chaperoned my daughter’s third-grade class on a walking and public transit field trip to explore economic development in downtown Durham. As a working parent, I don’t get to attend as many school day events as I would like. But, beyond the obvious connection of this trip to my work in transit, this outing appealed to me … Read More
