Episode 15
Australian Women in Public Transport
In this special episode of Transit Unplugged, Paul Comfort and co-host Kelly Chapman highlight the inspiring stories of four remarkable women leaders in Australian public transport. This is the third of five episodes coming from Paul’s recent 10-day tour of Australia. Don’t forget to also check out Transit Unplugged TV on YouTube for the TV episodes as well.
First, we hear from Lauren Streifer, Executive Director of the Public Transport Association of Australia and New Zealand (PTAANZ). Lauren's infectious energy and passion for public transport shine through as she discusses her ambitious goals for the industry, including her efforts to promote sustainability.
Next, Jamie-Lee Owen, Chair of PTAANZ's Emerging Mobility Leaders, shares her dedication to championing young professionals in the industry, emphasizing the importance of diversity and mentorship in shaping the future of public transport.
Katie Cooper, CEO of Metro Tasmania, brings a wealth of experience from her background in aviation to her current role, where she is leading innovative zero-emission bus trials. Katie's commitment to integrating her aviation expertise into public transport operations is truly inspiring.
Finally, Michelle Batsas, Executive Director of Government and Stakeholder Relations at Yarra Trams, discusses her new role and her lifelong passion for trams. Michelle, who was recently awarded the Women in STEM award for mentoring, continues to advocate for female representation in the industry, highlighting the importance of diversity and inclusion at all levels.
Tune in to hear these powerful stories and learn about the incredible work being done to promote women in public transport in Australia.
Coming up next week we have the final episode from Australian with a special tie-in to the current episode of Transit Unplugged TV from Brisbane. Brisbane City Councillor Ryan Murphy tells Paul all about Brisbane’s ferry system, light rail, and how his role as Chair of the Transportation Committee helps promote and support transit throughout the city.
00:00 Introduction and Overview of the Episode
01:03 Highlighting Women Leaders in Australian Transport
06:15 Lauren Streifer CEO, PTAANZ
07:20 Jamie-Lee Owen, Chair, PTAANZ Emerging Mobility Leaders
10:31 Katie Cooper CEO, Metro Tasmania
14:35 Michelle Batsas, Executive Director of Government and Stakeholder Relations, Yarra Trams
36:22 Conclusion and Upcoming Episodes
38:19 Coming up next week on Transit Unplugged
If you have a question or comment, email us at info@transitunplugged.com.
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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the guests, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Modaxo Inc., its affiliates or subsidiaries, or any entities they represent (“Modaxo”). This production belongs to Modaxo, and may contain information that may be subject to trademark, copyright, or other intellectual property rights and restrictions. This production provides general information, and should not be relied on as legal advice or opinion. Modaxo specifically disclaims all warranties, express or implied, and will not be liable for any losses, claims, or damages arising from the use of this presentation, from any material contained in it, or from any action or decision taken in response to it.
Transcript
Well, today is a very special show as we follow up from our recent 10 day
Speaker:visit to Australia on Transit Unplugged.
Speaker:I'm Paul Comfort, and great to have with me my good friend
Speaker:Kelly Chapman.
Speaker:Thanks, Paul.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Kelly and I are going to co host today's podcast.
Speaker:most of you follow the show on video and audio know that, Transit Unplugged,
Speaker:myself and Jaime Cuadra, our video director, and Kelly and a bunch of
Speaker:other folks from our team, visited Australia, in the two weeks prior to the
Speaker:American holiday called Thanksgiving.
Speaker:And, uh, I actually returned the night before Thanksgiving, as did,
Speaker:Jaime back to our country here.
Speaker:And since then, we've been having follow up TV shows.
Speaker:We've had one, the first one was from our trip to Melbourne and Tasmania.
Speaker:And while we were there, we recorded some interviews with, some folks
Speaker:that we thought we'd bring you on the audio podcast as well.
Speaker:And then we spent, some time in, in the Brisbane area, and,
Speaker:uh, we have some interviews from that area as well on the show.
Speaker:But Kelly, when, when we were there, what struck me was, and I've known
Speaker:this before because I've known some of the ladies there, but you have a lot
Speaker:of very strong, powerful leaders in transportation that are women, and so
Speaker:we wanted to do a show about some of the great women in transport from Australia.
Speaker:Yeah, I was really excited that you had that idea because it's true
Speaker:when we, and we got to, you know, in that 10 days, we really got
Speaker:to connect with so many of them.
Speaker:And like you and I spoke about, you know, not only are they impressive in
Speaker:their careers, but they're also, they bring so much passion to their jobs.
Speaker:And it was just really fun.
Speaker:And just such a pleasure to spend time with them and hear their
Speaker:thoughts on what's happening in the world of public transport.
Speaker:Yeah, we actually had several more lined up for the video while we're there, but
Speaker:various things happened while we're there.
Speaker:We couldn't get them all on video, but we wanted to at least bring you, uh,
Speaker:this audio podcast with several of them.
Speaker:And, uh, first off, I'm excited to have with us Lauren Streifer.
Speaker:Tell us about her, Kelly.
Speaker:Well, Lauren's quite amazing, isn't she?
Speaker:So Lauren Streifer, she's the Executive Director of the Public Transport
Speaker:Association of Australia and New Zealand, which we commonly call PTANZ and she
Speaker:is just, her energy is contagious and you just wanna jump on board with her.
Speaker:She talks about starting a revolution and, she feels like the right
Speaker:person for it, and I just love that, you know, along with side, the
Speaker:passion she's bringing to her job.
Speaker:You know, she told us that she's also found time to write a children's book on
Speaker:the side like that woman's incredible.
Speaker:She is.
Speaker:I, I, I really bonded with her and clicked with her while we were there.
Speaker:She brought us a copy of the book I brought home and read it to
Speaker:my grandkids and they loved it.
Speaker:And, uh, I posted it and so she's going to be our first guest today.
Speaker:And then, uh, quickly we'll be talking with, um, Jamie Lee
Speaker:Owens, who is chair of that PTANZ group's Emerging Mobility Leaders.
Speaker:She was great.
Speaker:And then we talked to Katie Cooper, CEO of Metro Tasmania.
Speaker:Kelly, you and I met her while we were at the BIC conference.
Speaker:Yeah, and oh my goodness, we, none of us could believe how much sunshine you were
Speaker:getting as you walked around Australia in Hobart, which is often cold and windy.
Speaker:We just had the most beautiful day there with Katie.
Speaker:And I loved, Katie has a really interesting story.
Speaker:Her background's in aviation and she was talking to us about how she brings
Speaker:that experience of aviation and the operations into bus and how the worlds
Speaker:share many common themes and she's able to really, you know, benefit from
Speaker:that experience in her current role.
Speaker:Yep.
Speaker:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker:And, you know, we told you that, but it seems like wherever we go
Speaker:for Transit Unplugged TV, the good weather always just precedes us.
Speaker:I'll never forget the time we were in Vancouver, Canada, and, you know, my
Speaker:friend Kevin Quinn, who worked with me at MTA in Baltimore, now CEO there,
Speaker:said, Paul, we've basically had rain for six months, every day before you got
Speaker:here, and then today the sun comes out.
Speaker:So we're definitely blessed.
Speaker:and then it's very exciting to be with Michelle Batsis, who we weren't able
Speaker:to actually record while we were there because it was like the day before
Speaker:the day of our first day on a new job.
Speaker:Tell us about Michelle's new job and what she's doing there with Journey Makers.
Speaker:So Michelle is in such an exciting position.
Speaker:Yarra Trams is one of the most iconic businesses in Melbourne and she is
Speaker:the Executive Director of Government and Stakeholder Relations, which
Speaker:means she's that real triage point between all the key stakeholders
Speaker:in government and the operation.
Speaker:And we're really so pleased that we could get to talk to her and hear
Speaker:some of her stories and experiences of what's happening in Yarra Trams.
Speaker:It's such an exciting time to be a part of it.
Speaker:And she just brings so much energy into everything she does.
Speaker:And as a lot of listeners know, she also has a podcast of Women Who Moved Nations.
Speaker:And, but it's really excited to follow her journey there.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And we're going to have all four of those interviews for you today.
Speaker:Michelle is the primary interview.
Speaker:We'll bring that to you last.
Speaker:Michelle and I also had a relationship via co contributors to my cookbook,
Speaker:Comfort Food, and she has a great, story today to tell about that
Speaker:on her interview and about, her grandmother, who really influenced
Speaker:her interest in public transportation.
Speaker:That'll be on the interview that she brings up later.
Speaker:Kelly, again, I just want to publicly thank you for helping to arrange
Speaker:what's been one of the very best trips we've ever had on Transit Unplugged.
Speaker:Every detail of the 40 events that we did during the 10 days there, you had
Speaker:a hand in organizing and they all went off without a hitch, so, fantastic.
Speaker:You may have a future in event planning in your future if software doesn't work out.
Speaker:No, just kidding.
Speaker:Thanks, Paul.
Speaker:It was an absolute pleasure.
Speaker:And, you know, It was a pleasure because the people we were connecting to are
Speaker:just so willing to give, to share their stories, to connect with us.
Speaker:So, you know, I want to also thank everyone who said yes and got involved and
Speaker:shared a little piece of their You know, a little part of their world with us.
Speaker:It was so special.
Speaker:Such a great time.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:Absolutely.
Speaker:And it was, it was a joy for me.
Speaker:In addition to all these interviews we did to actually meet our company
Speaker:staff, our Modaxo staff there in Brisbane, where your office is and
Speaker:where Rod Beggars is and all the team.
Speaker:It was wonderful.
Speaker:Thank you to them as well for helping sponsor this whole trip, making it
Speaker:possible and allowing us to share what we've What we're doing right today, best
Speaker:practices from, from the top leaders in Australia with the rest of the world.
Speaker:Kelly, let's jump in with our first interview, which is with, Lauren
Speaker:Streifer, Executive Director of PTANZ
Speaker:. Fantastic.
Speaker:Tell us about your transit association here.
Speaker:So the Public Transport Association of Australia and New Zealand actually
Speaker:includes all government departments across the region, and it's really led by the
Speaker:government authorities to make sure that their vision is realized in the region.
Speaker:And what is that vision?
Speaker:So one part of it is that Australia has very ambitious net zero goals,
Speaker:30 percent of people from driving to public and active transport,
Speaker:you can actually achieve.
Speaker:our net zero obligations with that change alone.
Speaker:And what would you say the state of public transportation is here in Australia?
Speaker:We're out of the pandemic now, we're on to What's happening right now
Speaker:and what do you see for the future?
Speaker:Well, the really cool thing is that we have the biggest public
Speaker:transport investment that we've ever seen, in our history.
Speaker:And so now we're seeing the finalization of some of these major projects that
Speaker:are tens of billions of dollars and they're being realized and being
Speaker:operationalized so you can use them.
Speaker:So over the next few months, you'll actually be able to come out of
Speaker:Sydney Metro and see how cities are transformed by public transport.
Speaker:Thanks.
Speaker:Well, I know they've got the right person leading the association and you
Speaker:with all that energy and experience.
Speaker:I can't wait to see what you guys are going to do next.
Speaker:Aw, thanks so much
Speaker:What a great interview with Lauren, and you know, while we were there
Speaker:in Melbourne, we went to an iconic station called Flinders Street Station.
Speaker:It's where we actually did the opening of the TV show, and while we were
Speaker:there, Kelly, you introduced me to an up and coming young leader there.
Speaker:Tell me about her.
Speaker:Jamie Lee Owen.
Speaker:She works for Metro Trains Melbourne, but she is also, again, another
Speaker:passionate woman and she is the chair of PTAN's Emerging Mobility Leaders.
Speaker:She's playing a big part in helping encourage, you know,
Speaker:lots of the public transit.
Speaker:Leaders up and coming around Australia to get opportunities, get exposure,
Speaker:get connected to the right people.
Speaker:And a little, side note, if you saw the Transit Unplugged episode, she's
Speaker:wearing a shirt she made herself covered in trams, which was just fantastic.
Speaker:That's great.
Speaker:Let's jump into that quick interview right now.
Speaker:Jamie, you're the president of the Emerging Mobility Leaders Program.
Speaker:Tell us about that.
Speaker:Yeah, I'd love to.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:I'm the chair of the Emerging Mobility Leaders Program.
Speaker:We were formed in 2021, um, as a committee under the PTA ANZ, so the Public Transport
Speaker:Association, Australia, New Zealand.
Speaker:And our role is to champion and platform young and emerging professionals.
Speaker:in the public transport industry.
Speaker:That's great.
Speaker:And what's your job currently?
Speaker:Currently, I'm the chair, but I've been on the committee since 2021.
Speaker:And it's been an absolute privilege and an honor to have been there as
Speaker:a contributing member and now sort of graduate into the chair position,
Speaker:leading the group and then graduate out.
Speaker:That's great.
Speaker:And do you all have any projects you're working on now?
Speaker:Yeah, we do.
Speaker:So we do a series of webinars and site tours with a lot of member organizations.
Speaker:The thing we're most proud of is our biannual seminar.
Speaker:So it's a seminar that's designed by emerging professionals
Speaker:for emerging professionals.
Speaker:And our next one will be early 2026.
Speaker:Very good.
Speaker:And I'm passionate about bringing young people into our industry.
Speaker:I really think it's the, uh, an important part of the function of us older folks,
Speaker:let's say over the 40 crowd, uh, is to, is to cultivate younger people to coming in.
Speaker:And do you all play a role in that?
Speaker:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker:I mean, we're very lucky to have great membership, um, and mentorship
Speaker:from member organizations.
Speaker:Uh, but we also have members and mentors who advocate for us and
Speaker:champion for us, and that includes giving a platform to get up and speak.
Speaker:So, that's really important as well as that mentorship.
Speaker:Jamie, tell me about the diversity of the type of jobs that are represented.
Speaker:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker:So our group is diverse in terms of geographic location across
Speaker:Australia and New Zealand, as well as experience and education.
Speaker:So we have planners, we have engineers, we have project managers, we have people
Speaker:who work in comms, and we really think that diversity of experience and education
Speaker:and thought is kind of the future of our industry, so we're happy to cultivate it.
Speaker:Now if I'm a young person, let's say maybe one of my kids in their
Speaker:twenties, what would be your pitch to them why they should get involved in
Speaker:the public transportation industry.
Speaker:Yeah, public transport is social justice, and if a particularly if you're young,
Speaker:if you're in your 20s, you, I imagine, really believe in sustainability and
Speaker:lowering emissions, and we're a big industry that could have a big part in
Speaker:that, so yeah, that's why I'd say get on board, because we're the future.
Speaker:What a great interview with Jamie Lee Owens.
Speaker:Now, let's listen to Katie Cooper.
Speaker:After we left Melbourne, we were on that search for the
Speaker:Tasmanian Devil, right, Kelly?
Speaker:And, we went down to Tasmania to find them, and we got to meet a fantastic
Speaker:leader there at the Bus Industry Confederation Conference, which was
Speaker:being held in Hobart, the capital.
Speaker:We walked outside into the beautiful sunshine, and who did I get to meet?
Speaker:You met Katie Cooper, who is the CEO of Metro Tasmania, who was kind
Speaker:enough, even though she was the host of the big conference, she was kind
Speaker:enough to give us some time on a beautiful sunny morning in Hobart.
Speaker:Thanks, Katie.
Speaker:Hi, Paul.
Speaker:Welcome to Hobart.
Speaker:It's great to have you here.
Speaker:This is beautiful, Katie.
Speaker:We have turned the weather on for you down here at the waterfront in Hobart today.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:Well tell us about Metro Tasmania, the transit system here.
Speaker:Metro Tasmania is the largest Tasmanian owned public transport provider here in
Speaker:the state and we operate in Hobart, Boonee and Launceston and we operate buses.
Speaker:So really we are a bus state.
Speaker:So that's why it's really exciting that BIC is here with us because this
Speaker:is what we do and what we do well.
Speaker:We have about 550 staff who service all the community around,
Speaker:the areas that we, we operate.
Speaker:And it's great to be able to help people connect from where they go, you know,
Speaker:to go to school, to go to work, to go home, to go see friends and family
Speaker:or perhaps just get their groceries.
Speaker:What kind of big projects do you have going on here?
Speaker:Metro Tasmania is actually running a couple of really exciting projects at the
Speaker:moment, both on zero emission bus trials.
Speaker:So we're in our northern depot in Launceston, we're operating a
Speaker:battery electric bus trial to help us determine the, how the battery electric
Speaker:buses operate in our environment.
Speaker:And down here in Hobart, we're about to commence a hydrogen electric bus
Speaker:trial, which we're operating down here.
Speaker:So in our Mornington yard, we're going to be starting, imminently with actually
Speaker:running some hydrogen buses so we can compare both technologies simultaneously.
Speaker:Clearly that will help us with our investment decisions going forward and
Speaker:that's been supported, with the Tasmanian government so really excited to see the
Speaker:results of that over the coming years.
Speaker:Katie, I recently, uh, got to interview Andy Lord, Commissioner
Speaker:of Transport for London.
Speaker:You and he have something in common.
Speaker:You both have a strong background in aviation.
Speaker:You ran the Melbourne Airport, right?
Speaker:yes.
Speaker:So I was running operations at Melbourne Airport prior to coming
Speaker:here, and I've worked in the UK and had airlines and airports,
Speaker:so extensive aviation experience.
Speaker:And that's interesting to me.
Speaker:Tell me about kind of like, you know, similarities, differences,
Speaker:and what you bring from the aviation industry to public transport.
Speaker:There's a lot of similarities between aviation and, and public transport.
Speaker:The concept of a route that an airline flies is very similar to a route that
Speaker:a bus or a train will operate through.
Speaker:The catchment areas that you're using for your pedestrian or for
Speaker:your passengers or for passengers in both forms is very, very similar.
Speaker:The concepts are the same in the sense that it's about on time efficiency, it's
Speaker:about safety, it's about moving people and goods as quickly and as safely
Speaker:as we can from point A to point B.
Speaker:So those similarities are very clear.
Speaker:and I think one of the things that aviation do incredibly well and I
Speaker:think public transport do as well, but really is that safety focus about how
Speaker:do you keep the travelling public safe.
Speaker:and obviously there's some differences working on a road
Speaker:versus working in the air.
Speaker:One of the things that I like about the Tasmanian market is
Speaker:we're all in one time zone.
Speaker:So compared to perhaps working in an international aviation environment,
Speaker:slightly less complex in some respects, but, very enjoyable to be able to really
Speaker:help the communities in which we serve.
Speaker:And that's what both industries are about.
Speaker:Katie, speaking of the waterfront, I mean, this is a great place to host the
Speaker:BIC conference here, the bus conference.
Speaker:For somebody like me, the first time I'm here coming What's a great place
Speaker:or a couple places we could visit?
Speaker:There's a lot to do here in Hobart, and even just within 15 or 20 minutes we've
Speaker:got Richmond, which is a quaint little town that's great to have a walk around.
Speaker:But really importantly, it's actually in a wine region that you can actually stop
Speaker:and have some beautiful wines and some great chocolates, and even some cheese.
Speaker:And that's all within about 15 or 20 minutes of the city, and
Speaker:that's always a great day out.
Speaker:Here in the city we've got a lot of heritage that you
Speaker:can have a wander around.
Speaker:There's Port Arthur a little bit further down the coast if you
Speaker:want a day trip that's incredibly historic, particularly based on
Speaker:the convict heritage of Australia.
Speaker:So if you're interested in history that's another great thing to do.
Speaker:That's awesome.
Speaker:Great interview with Katie Cooper.
Speaker:Now we jump into the main interview today, which Kelly and I just did over Zoom just
Speaker:a week or so ago with Michelle Batsas.
Speaker:Michelle and I have a history that goes back quite a few years,
Speaker:back actually prior to me having the Transit Unplugged television
Speaker:show when we just had the podcast.
Speaker:I toured Australia.
Speaker:with some of our Trapeze leaders at the time and got to talk to her some
Speaker:and afterwards we did a shared podcast where we share, she has a podcast
Speaker:called Women Who Move the Nations and we did a joint podcast with her
Speaker:and some other ladies who are strong leaders in transport there in Australia.
Speaker:And this time she's got a new role.
Speaker:Tell us about it, Kelly.
Speaker:So Michelle is now the executive director of government and
Speaker:stakeholder relations at Yarra Trams.
Speaker:And we're excited to hear a bit more about what's happening
Speaker:in Michelle's world today.
Speaker:Yeah, she's got a great role.
Speaker:This, this Yarra Trams people know I love trains, and Yaratrans is the
Speaker:largest tram network in the world.
Speaker:Amazing!
Speaker:And we got there, Kelly took me on trips down to the beach on it.
Speaker:We'll show you all of that.
Speaker:You'll get to see it if you watch our Melbourne episode of Transit Unplugged TV.
Speaker:But for now, let's jump into this great conversation.
Speaker:Great interview with a very articulate leader, there in
Speaker:Australia, Michelle Batsas
Speaker:Great to have with us on this very special episode from our recent trip
Speaker:to Australia, a follow up interview with my good friend, Michelle Batsas
Speaker:Michelle, thanks for being with us today.
Speaker:Thank you, Paul.
Speaker:Great to be with you too.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And as our co host, continuing on the program today, Kelly Chapman,
Speaker:who was the associate producer of our Transit Unplugged TV episodes
Speaker:that were filmed in Australia.
Speaker:Kelly, welcome.
Speaker:Thank you, Paul.
Speaker:Great to be here too.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Great to be chatting with you too, Kelly.
Speaker:So today, Michelle, we're focusing on women in transit in Australia
Speaker:and several of them that were interviewed on our television show.
Speaker:While we were there in Australia, just before U. S. Thanksgiving, we had a
Speaker:chance to see you, but we didn't get a chance to talk to you because you
Speaker:were kind of in between jobs and just were getting ready to start there.
Speaker:So tell us about your new job and what's going on in Melbourne.
Speaker:Yeah, thanks, Paul.
Speaker:When I saw you, I was, what, the week, I think, before I started
Speaker:at Yarra Trams, and I'm the Executive Director of Government and
Speaker:Stakeholder Relations for Yarra Trams.
Speaker:And just for the benefit of your audience, Yarra Trams is the world's
Speaker:largest tram network, and we're all very, very proud to be working there.
Speaker:So as context for your listeners, Melbourne is the most incredible city.
Speaker:So Melbourne and the state of Victoria in Australia, we are known
Speaker:for cafe, coffee culture, art.
Speaker:It's a really interesting, lively, livable city.
Speaker:But at the heart of it is our tram network.
Speaker:And when you visit our city, you are just seeing all the trams and all the streets.
Speaker:And our tram network, our tram network is really iconic.
Speaker:I'm sure you saw this, Paul, right, just about how it's
Speaker:really the heartbeat of our city.
Speaker:And Yarra Trams operates Melbourne's network.
Speaker:and we move more than 200 million passengers a year.
Speaker:So, so it's a big network.
Speaker:There's more than 500 trams.
Speaker:I think we've got about 24 routes and over 250 kilometers of track, right?
Speaker:So it's, it's a large network and we're, delivering around 5, 000 services a day.
Speaker:So there's 4 million passengers every week that we are connecting them to
Speaker:their communities, jobs, health care, recreation, and, you know, for people
Speaker:to be able to see their loved ones.
Speaker:So it's a really important role that we play and the size of the network.
Speaker:It's really hard almost to articulate how much, it's integral to our
Speaker:public transport network and fabric.
Speaker:Swanson Street is the main corridor in Melbourne that runs
Speaker:right through and it's the busiest light rail corridor in the world.
Speaker:I don't know, Paul, did you, did you happen to go down there and, and see that?
Speaker:We went all over the place.
Speaker:Kelly was, set up all of our visits and we're, we're, did we go there, Kelly?
Speaker:I can't remember.
Speaker:You did go down Swanston Street many times.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:It was amazing.
Speaker:I know we went down, we rode the, we rode down to the beach.
Speaker:What beach were we at there?
Speaker:St. Kilda.
Speaker:We went to St. Kilda.
Speaker:That was fun, man.
Speaker:That's what a great place.
Speaker:And you know what I love about it, Michelle, is the downtown
Speaker:central business district is free.
Speaker:So that's where it's, I'm sure the most, hop on hop off activity anyway, but I
Speaker:love the fact that you can just jump on and jump off without having to interact
Speaker:with a fare machine and all that.
Speaker:If you're in the central business district.
Speaker:I think.
Speaker:Our network is really special and we do have this real focus on
Speaker:passengers and Paul, you're talking about the free tram zone, which is
Speaker:in our central business district.
Speaker:And it's so popular.
Speaker:As you say, people can just hop on and hop off and not worry about a ticket.
Speaker:And it's really designed to move people safely and efficiently.
Speaker:But what I love about Melbourne, like we have so many visitors every
Speaker:year, millions of visitors and we're Australia's major events capital.
Speaker:I like to think sometimes maybe we're the events capital of the world, I'm
Speaker:not sure, but, you know, for your global audience, you would know events like the
Speaker:Tennis Australian Open, which is on at the moment, and we've got the Formula One
Speaker:Grand Prix, we're the, the main home city for the Australian Football League, the
Speaker:AFL, which is huge here, and so we have visitors in our city and we're moving
Speaker:them all around as well, so, you know, it's a really important role that we play.
Speaker:For To get people to where they need to go in the most safe
Speaker:and efficient way possible.
Speaker:And we're focused on delivering an outstanding passenger experience.
Speaker:And for anyone who hasn't been to Melbourne, I'd encourage them to
Speaker:come if you're, if you're a public transport advocate and we'll host
Speaker:you because it's such a fascinating city to see on how we move around.
Speaker:It's such an icon to work for.
Speaker:So what, what attracted you to work for Yarra Trams?
Speaker:What's, what was the big pull for you?
Speaker:Well, I think there's a couple of things, Kelly, and I mean you both know
Speaker:I've worked in this public transport industry for over 10 years, both private
Speaker:and public sector, and it means so much to me personally, and I'm not
Speaker:sure I've shared this with you before.
Speaker:But when I was young, like one of my earliest memories when I was
Speaker:four or five years old is catching the tram with my grandma, who I
Speaker:called Baba, Macedonian background.
Speaker:And for my grandma, she was a migrant.
Speaker:She came from Europe, I think when she was nine years old and
Speaker:she didn't know the language and she never learned how to drive.
Speaker:And that was just a thing back then.
Speaker:There were lots of women who relied on their husband to drive them around
Speaker:and, but obviously they go to work.
Speaker:And so for my grandmother, so she lived in Northcote, which is an
Speaker:inner city suburb in Melbourne, serviced by the 86 tram route.
Speaker:And I remember being so young and going with her and we'd hop on the tram.
Speaker:And back then you had conductors you'd pay your coins to, to get your ticket.
Speaker:You know, it, it's not, um, you know, the fancy ticketing systems that we have now.
Speaker:but we would hop on the tram and we'd go either two ways, one up the hill, and
Speaker:we'd go to, you know, the shopping centre, she might stop in at the doctor's, or
Speaker:we would go the other way into the city, into a department store that back then
Speaker:was the luxury department store Myer, and it was so special to me, and it was
Speaker:only probably when I began working in transport that I really made this link of
Speaker:how public transport is such an essential service and for people who don't have
Speaker:other choices of how to get around, it fundamentally unlocks their ability to
Speaker:participate in society, you know, so my grandma was using it to go shopping, to
Speaker:go to the doctors, to go see friends.
Speaker:And if the tram route wasn't there, I'm actually not sure how
Speaker:she would have gotten around.
Speaker:And so for me, I've actually got this really special
Speaker:connection to our tram network.
Speaker:Like I'm such a tram fan.
Speaker:And, so I mean, the, the opportunity to work at Yarra Trams was It's just
Speaker:absolutely irresistible to me because it merges the public transport, merges
Speaker:that passion I have for those memories I have with my grandma and the tram
Speaker:network, and I'm a big tram catcher now.
Speaker:So, you know, I'm a, I'm a customer, but I also have that privilege of, of
Speaker:working there to help deliver services.
Speaker:The company you work with, Yara Journeymakers, it, the parent
Speaker:company, right, is a, is a combination of two companies?
Speaker:Yara Journeymakers.
Speaker:Yeah, so Yarra Journeymakers, is a joint venture between TransDev, which
Speaker:you would know is a global operator in the public transport space, lots
Speaker:of, international expertise that they've brought, and also John Holland.
Speaker:And um, I think it's incredible for us that we've recently become
Speaker:the proud operator of Yarra Trams.
Speaker:It's incredible to be able to leverage the different expertise, of our parent
Speaker:companies who operate in different cities and, and maintain rolling
Speaker:stock and, you know, just really have that ability to draw in from peers.
Speaker:And we're really focused on, getting the basics right, reliability and punctuality.
Speaker:As you know, Paul, people want their services to be on time.
Speaker:They want to know what's coming.
Speaker:And we've also got a really big focus on customer experience and
Speaker:including in making sure that we give customers the information they
Speaker:need to plan where they need to go.
Speaker:So, you know, one of our key Commitments is to improve real time information.
Speaker:And that's all about, as you would know, it's the technology and data
Speaker:that underpins it right through to the information that people are receiving,
Speaker:whether it's on their app of choice, on the screens at the stops, you know,
Speaker:we're making sure that our customers will have the info that they need.
Speaker:And that's really exciting.
Speaker:And it's your job as director of engagement.
Speaker:I want you to tell me what that is, but with your background, you know,
Speaker:having been, all the things that you've done, right, from the podcasting
Speaker:to the head of the association, to the head of future mobility at the
Speaker:Victoria Department of Transportation and Planning, all those things seems
Speaker:to have led you to a job like this.
Speaker:What is your job?
Speaker:Tell us what you do there.
Speaker:Yeah, so Paul, I'm really lucky because I have a job.
Speaker:Almost feels like it was made for me, right?
Speaker:Yes, I believe that.
Speaker:That's so good.
Speaker:It's incredible.
Speaker:So I look after government and stakeholder relations.
Speaker:I work with our CEO, Vincent Destot, and the incredible peers
Speaker:I have in our leadership team.
Speaker:I don't think I've ever worked in a team like this.
Speaker:Everyone brings experience and capability, but so collaborative.
Speaker:And, In my role, I am supporting our organization to ensure that we have
Speaker:great working relationships with all of the key stakeholder partners we have.
Speaker:So, our clients, the Department of Transport, we operate the
Speaker:network through a franchise contract on behalf of the state.
Speaker:but as you know, we're, we work in a multi modal network.
Speaker:So, There are other operators, Metro Trains, the bus companies, and of course
Speaker:in operating a multimodal network, we need to be talking to those operators
Speaker:and really working together around how do we best support passengers
Speaker:who are moving around our network.
Speaker:But also the lessons learned like how can we be helping each other
Speaker:or you know what's a hot topic that you're working on and what could we
Speaker:learn from that and I think there's such great opportunity with that.
Speaker:But also we work a lot with local government so our tram network
Speaker:operates all across Melbourne, as I said, there's 24 routes.
Speaker:And so with that, we work with our local partners as well.
Speaker:but also community organizations, you know, we have a really vast array of
Speaker:stakeholders and it's really important.
Speaker:And also I think, what's great about my role is I continue to be connected into,
Speaker:you key people who represent different industry associations or groups so we
Speaker:can remain connected into what are the latest trends, what's best practice,
Speaker:what are the lessons learned, and I think that's so incredibly important.
Speaker:So I feel super lucky, you know, I love this role and I still get to work with
Speaker:so many different people I know across the industry and it's really exciting.
Speaker:Michelle, you're really well known in Australia for being a
Speaker:great advocate for female leaders.
Speaker:Can you tell us a bit about that passion and what you think is important?
Speaker:Yeah, thanks Kelly.
Speaker:So, I mean, we know each other.
Speaker:So, you know, actually women in transport and profiling women and supporting younger
Speaker:women in developing their careers and helping in any way I can to give them
Speaker:the confidence to work in this industry is a super passion of mine, and I think
Speaker:that I've always been an advocate for women, and then in entering transport,
Speaker:as with many of these industries that have technical components, what
Speaker:I found is that the representation of women It was certainly not 50 50.
Speaker:And back in 2019, I actually, when I was the CEO of the Public Transport
Speaker:Association in Australia and New Zealand back then, I started a
Speaker:podcast and I host that podcast.
Speaker:It's called Women Who Move Nations, and it is continued to be produced
Speaker:by public transport associations.
Speaker:So Lauren Strife for the CEO, who I know is also on this podcast, kindly
Speaker:lets me still interview women and because she knows how important it is
Speaker:to me and through that profile senior women and hear about their careers,
Speaker:but also their thoughts on transport.
Speaker:Where's transport going?
Speaker:What are the trends?
Speaker:What's the work that they do to improve the end outcome
Speaker:for customers of the network?
Speaker:So that is a real passion project of mine.
Speaker:And I mean, we have thousands of listeners and people writing
Speaker:to me from all around the world.
Speaker:I recently had a woman write to me and she said, the reason why
Speaker:I went for a promotion at work is because I was inspired by this
Speaker:podcast episode I listened to.
Speaker:So that was just super heartwarming.
Speaker:So great..
Speaker:Yeah, I just love that.
Speaker:And I think, I mean, I've been involved in so many different initiatives.
Speaker:I started a women in mobility network in Australia, bringing women together,
Speaker:over dinner and lunches to be able to connect and know each other.
Speaker:I started a women's network in the department of transport
Speaker:and planning when I was there.
Speaker:Um, I've sat on the federal government's, national women in
Speaker:transport CEO advisory board.
Speaker:I don't like to promote myself too much, but I've as part of this, I'm always
Speaker:telling women in my network, you need to, highlight the achievements you
Speaker:have and actually something for me that means a lot to me is that last year I
Speaker:was awarded, our public sector network, Women in STEM award for mentoring, in
Speaker:Victoria and, that was really great because I actually, I think through
Speaker:that, help to profile the importance of mentoring women in our industry.
Speaker:You know, Paul, Kelly.
Speaker:The statistics are still not great about female representation in transport,
Speaker:so just to give you a snippet, in Australia, 4 percent of CEOs who work
Speaker:across the transport industry, so broader than public transport, but in
Speaker:transport, only 4 percent of female, It's a pretty dire statistic, let's
Speaker:be real, right, and 20 percent of executive roles are held by females.
Speaker:Now, so, I talked earlier about what attracted me to Yarra Trams and one
Speaker:is like my personal passion around the importance that the tram network plays
Speaker:for people to be able to get around to where they need to go, but the other
Speaker:thing is, is that our organization is is taking the responsibility to
Speaker:increase diversity really seriously.
Speaker:Our senior leadership team is 50 50 female, male, our chief operating officer
Speaker:and deputy CEO, Liz Reddy is amazing.
Speaker:She's one of the most incredible people that I've worked with.
Speaker:And you know, to have that senior person in our organization, and to be honest, she
Speaker:is one of the most senior females working in an operational role in Australia.
Speaker:There isn't that many of them, that is great because she's an inspiration
Speaker:and our board is chaired by a woman.
Speaker:And four out of seven of our board members are women, right?
Speaker:So that's just incredible.
Speaker:I mean, I can't do the maths on that, but four out of seven,
Speaker:it's definitely over 50%, right?
Speaker:so, you know, we've got a driver workforce that's 31 percent female.
Speaker:We've got targets internally for, you know, what we want the gender
Speaker:representation to look like.
Speaker:And it's a big focus for us.
Speaker:So look, the thing is, Paul, you know, the stats I shared about what's happening in
Speaker:Australia overall, We have seen change, you know, there is change happening and
Speaker:there's certainly women coming through the pipeline, but there's still work to do.
Speaker:There's no doubt about that.
Speaker:Thanks for sharing that passion with us.
Speaker:It definitely is important.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:So now we're going to switch to a more, a couple of fun
Speaker:topics to wrap up our interview.
Speaker:You know, one of the things that was interesting about my visit
Speaker:there to Australia, I know people know this, you know, in their
Speaker:mind, but it's a long way there.
Speaker:It's 23 hours from the east coast of the United States to fly there.
Speaker:And it's literally, you know, they call it the land down under here in the U.
Speaker:S. Maybe you call us the land up over.
Speaker:I don't know what you call the U. S., but it is completely the opposite of us.
Speaker:I mean, you're warm down there, right?
Speaker:I've got eight inches of snow outside my window and, People can't see it,
Speaker:but Kelly's got the beach behind her in the picture and you all are
Speaker:on the summer break down there.
Speaker:So there's a lot of difference.
Speaker:As a matter of fact, Kelly and I did like a little, Abbott and Costello
Speaker:routine on the episode of, of Transit Unplugged TV about the opposites
Speaker:between Australia and the US.
Speaker:But one thing that's common between both of us is both places love coffee, right?
Speaker:So Melbourne's considered a big coffee city.
Speaker:Like you mentioned, seven times in a row voted the most livable city and
Speaker:you all have great food down there.
Speaker:Just if you're, it's a foodies paradise.
Speaker:So I was really happy a couple of years ago when you joined us along with Howard
Speaker:Collins and a couple other folks from down there in my comfort food cookbook.
Speaker:And what was the recipe you did there?
Speaker:And then, and then, what's your like go to meal on the weekend when you're
Speaker:not working, what do you like to make?
Speaker:Yeah, Paul.
Speaker:Well, we are foodie paradise, and we're very proud of that.
Speaker:We think we have the best food in Australia.
Speaker:we do, Kelly, we do.
Speaker:I know you don't live in Melbourne.
Speaker:no, I agree.
Speaker:I agree.
Speaker:so, well, Paul, the cookbook, and I felt very honored that you
Speaker:asked me to provide a recipe.
Speaker:The recipe I provided in that is actually spanikopita, which is spinach pie as a
Speaker:recipe I learned from my grandma, right?
Speaker:That's right.
Speaker:So she was a very inspiring woman to me.
Speaker:now, you know, the thing is about Aussies.
Speaker:In the land, in the land down under, which we don't call ourselves.
Speaker:We know that people globally do.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And we don't call the U S the land up under, we just call you the U S FYI.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:I didn't hear anybody say that when I was there, but it's good.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So we've got this great Aussie culture of having a barbecue.
Speaker:It's a real barbecue on the weekend when there's a kind of a public holiday or
Speaker:a cultural event, the barbie comes out.
Speaker:And so like, for me, I just love a barbie.
Speaker:I love the steaks on the barbie, the sausages, the salads we do.
Speaker:And it always has to end with a pavlova.
Speaker:Do you know what a pavlova is?
Speaker:No, tell me that.
Speaker:Yeah, I thought it was a bit Aussie.
Speaker:It is the best dessert ever.
Speaker:It's like a big circle of meringue and then you top it with fresh
Speaker:cream and berries and passion fruit.
Speaker:Some people might put some kiwi on there.
Speaker:You can get creative, right?
Speaker:Whatever fruit.
Speaker:Mango, whatever fruit you got in the fruit bowl.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:but it's just delicious and it's such an Aussie thing.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So you have your barbecues and then your pavlova.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:That sounds good.
Speaker:Did we try that Kelly?
Speaker:I, I tried so many.
Speaker:No, we did not try pavlova.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:Maybe for next time.
Speaker:All right, Kelly, close us out.
Speaker:Well, thank you so much for joining us, Michelle.
Speaker:And I really, you know, you talked about your passion for promoting female leaders
Speaker:and I've seen that in real life, in my workplace where people are getting.
Speaker:opportunities for mentoring and opportunities to be part of the
Speaker:emerging mobility leaders with PTANS, which has just been fantastic.
Speaker:So, I want to personally thank you for your work, because I think you
Speaker:are making a difference and, you know, you're getting your voice
Speaker:heard in lots of important places and it's just been great to have you on.
Speaker:it's really exciting to hear you're at Yarra Trams, the icon,
Speaker:you know, absolute Melbourne icon.
Speaker:We can't wait to see, how it all goes there for you.
Speaker:So thank you for joining us and thanks, Paul, for making
Speaker:this opportunity possible.
Speaker:Thank you so much, Kelly.
Speaker:I just want to say it's been so great to connect with such an
Speaker:amazing female in this industry.
Speaker:I really do appreciate, you know, the connection we have as colleagues, as
Speaker:friends, and Paul, thank you so much.
Speaker:For this opportunity, you know, I absolutely love the work that you do
Speaker:and that you profile what's happening in transport around the world.
Speaker:and I still remember that podcast that we collaborated on.
Speaker:and so who knows, we might do one again in the future.
Speaker:but, you know, really appreciate that.
Speaker:And, I really am going to encourage all of the, audience on Women Who
Speaker:Move Nations to give your a podcast to listen to, because this visit
Speaker:to Australia has just been great.
Speaker:Thanks again, Michelle, for doing this, and send my best regards to all
Speaker:our colleagues there at Yarra Trams.
Speaker:I started out our episode of Transit Unplugged TV talking about all the great
Speaker:things in Melbourne and then, you know, wrap it all up with an Everyone Rides
Speaker:Yarra Tram because it is the truth.
Speaker:It's not just for people getting to work.
Speaker:It's not just for tourists.
Speaker:It's for everyone all day.
Speaker:It really, it really is the lifeline or the vein of the city, the artery of the
Speaker:city, I guess, that everyone uses, and that's That's the way we want public
Speaker:transit to be around the world, which is why I wanted to showcase Melbourne and
Speaker:Yarra Trams so much, because that's my vision as a transit evangelist, for how
Speaker:transit should be viewed around the world.
Speaker:Everyone sees it as a great way to get around, easy, customer
Speaker:service, everywhere you want to go, as often as you want to go.
Speaker:I mean, you guys got it going on.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:We do.
Speaker:Oh, look, it's such a privilege to work at Yarra Trams.
Speaker:I mean, I know that when people overseas think about transport in Australia,
Speaker:they think of Yarra Trams, right?
Speaker:And how cool is that?
Speaker:And as you say, I've never heard anyone say it's like the
Speaker:vein of our city, but it is.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:It's the heart of it.
Speaker:It's the fabric of our city.
Speaker:It's iconic.
Speaker:yeah, so it's great.
Speaker:And I encourage everyone to come visit.
Speaker:Wow.
Speaker:Paul, weren't they just fabulous?
Speaker:Such a great selection of women from Australia.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Amazing interviews, amazing women leaders.
Speaker:my favorite part of going on these trips is, is not just the cool places
Speaker:we get to visit, the great food we get to eat, but the friends we make.
Speaker:And I feel like with all of these ladies, we've made friends with them.
Speaker:We're going to continue to, hear and see from them.
Speaker:And what's crazy, Kelly, is this, all these interviews really just
Speaker:wrap up our first part of Melbourne.
Speaker:Where are we going after this?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:After this, we head up North to Queensland, my home state.
Speaker:So really looking forward to bringing some stories from up around my homeland.
Speaker:Yeah, coming up soon, we'll have a couple other podcasts with Steve Butcher
Speaker:from John Holland, Australia, which is one of the partners in Yarra Trams,
Speaker:and Ryan Murphy from the Brisbane City Council, a great leader for transit
Speaker:there, head of their transportation committee on the City Council.
Speaker:We have podcasts coming up with them, and you can see them on our upcoming episode
Speaker:of Transit Unplugged TV from Brisbane.
Speaker:It's amazing.
Speaker:You know, it's, you and I did that little Abbott and Costello
Speaker:routine almost for our, Melbourne episode of Transit Unplugged TV.
Speaker:I was saying funny things, how we say them in America, and you said,
Speaker:oh, well, over here we say that.
Speaker:It's a really good one, I think, but, at the end, we toasted to the fact
Speaker:that the more things are different
Speaker:More things are the same.
Speaker:That's right.
Speaker:Whether we're talking best practices of transit in cities like Miami or
Speaker:LA, We're going to now hear great best practices from cities in Australia, like
Speaker:Such as Melbourne, Hobart, Brisbane, Sydney.
Speaker:Boom.
Speaker:It's all coming to you here exclusively on Transit Unplugged.
Speaker:Thanks, Kelly, for being my co host on this episode of Transit Unplugged, the
Speaker:world's leading transit executive podcast.
Speaker:And again, thank you for all the great work you did setting up the 40
Speaker:different events that we participated in in our 10 days in Australia.
Speaker:No worries, Paul.
Speaker:It was fun.
Speaker:A classic Australian response.
Speaker:No worries.
Speaker:Thank you for listening to Transit Unplugged, and thank you to Lauren
Speaker:Streifer, Jamie-Lee Owen, Katie Cooper, and Michelle Batsas for being on the show!
Speaker:Hi, I'm Tris Hussey, editor of the podcast, and a special thank you goes
Speaker:out to our guest co host Kelly Chapman.
Speaker:Kelly wrangled, planned, and coordinated the whole trip for Paul and the
Speaker:team while they were in Australia.
Speaker:And none of the five podcast episodes or two Transit Unplugged TV episodes
Speaker:could have happened without her.
Speaker:And coming up next week on the show, we have our final episode from Australia.
Speaker:This episode features Ryan Murphy, Chair of Transport
Speaker:for the Brisbane City Council.
Speaker:Paul and Ryan talk about Brisbane's amazing ferry system
Speaker:and everything the city is doing to get ready for the 2032 Olympics.
Speaker:And as it happens, on Transit Unplugged TV, we're featuring
Speaker:Brisbane on our latest episode.
Speaker:Transit Unplugged is brought to you by Modaxo.
Speaker:At Modaxo, we're passionate about moving the world's people, and at
Speaker:Transit Unplugged, we're passionate about telling those stories.
Speaker:So until next week, ride safe and ride happy.
