Planning for Savannah’s Expanded Transit Future with Faye DiMassimo

Paul Comfort: 00:00:05

This is Transit Unplugged.

Paul Comfort: 00:00:06

I'm Paul Comfort.

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On today's episode, we take you to Savannah, Georgia.

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This storied city was recently the host for the APTA Public

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Transit CEO Conference, where CEOs from around the nation gathered

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and talked about their concerns.

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We'll bring you a report from that with Faye DiMassimo who was the host.

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and the CEO Executive Director of Chatham Area Transit Authority, or CAT, the

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local transit system there in Savannah.

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Plus, she describes her career path, how she ended up in Savannah, talks

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about the transit system itself, some of the great new features they

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have coming, such as hybrid ferries, and an electric microtransit pilot

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as they implement their master plan.

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Plus, near the end of the podcast, Faye dives into how they've been

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preparing for the fiscal cliff over the last two years when the COVID

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era federal relief funds run out.

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I think you'll find that a very interesting story and a lesson

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for all of us in preparing.

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And she also talks some career advice to those coming up in

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the industry from someone who's had a long and storied career.

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All that on this episode of Transit Unplugged.

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Now let's join the conversation with Faye DiMassimo

Paul Comfort: 00:01:14

Faye DiMassimo, thanks so much for being with us today on the podcast.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:01:17

Oh, it's great to be here.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:01:19

Thank you, Paul.

Paul Comfort: 00:01:20

Yeah, we've been talking about this for a while

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and, great to finally have been able to make this happen.

Paul Comfort: 00:01:25

So you are the CEO and Executive Director in Savannah, Georgia,

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one of my favorite cities, for the Chatham Area Transit Authority.

Paul Comfort: 00:01:33

I am.

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And how long have you been in that

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position?

Faye DiMassimo: 00:01:35

Oh, two years, just over two years.

Paul Comfort: 00:01:37

That's great.

Paul Comfort: 00:01:38

And, we were talking in the green room about, The weather down

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there and you had a good line.

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You said it started out in the 40s, but it's going to the high 70s.

Paul Comfort: 00:01:45

And what did you tell me?

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What can I experience if I come there in one day?

Faye DiMassimo: 00:01:49

You can experience all four seasons in one day here.

Paul Comfort: 00:01:52

I love that.

Paul Comfort: 00:01:53

That is great.

Paul Comfort: 00:01:54

Well, uh, thank you for being with us.

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And you recently, were a host for a lot of CEOs.

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The American Public Transportation Association, APTA, held their

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annual CEO Summit there.

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Uh, we're just CEOs and deputy CEOs were there.

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How was that?

Faye DiMassimo: 00:02:08

It was terrific.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:02:09

Such a, I think everyone really enjoyed the city.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:02:11

Everyone always enjoys Savannah, but I think everyone had a really good time.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:02:14

The program was great.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:02:15

APTA always does such a tremendous job of building out those programs

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and the sessions and so forth.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:02:20

And especially for the CEOs, it's such a great time to come together, and share

Faye DiMassimo: 00:02:25

our both unique and common experiences.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:02:28

And, there's a tremendous network there that's, just absolutely

Faye DiMassimo: 00:02:32

invaluable in the industry.

Paul Comfort: 00:02:34

And, did you have a couple takeaways you

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could share with our listeners?

Paul Comfort: 00:02:37

the CEOs just gathered at the beginning of spring and what are they talking about?

Faye DiMassimo: 00:02:41

Well, I think I think there's a couple of things.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:02:42

I think one is it's a tough job.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:02:45

it's a it's a it's a wonderful job and it's a job where you have so much

Faye DiMassimo: 00:02:49

opportunity to impact your communities.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:02:51

And I think everyone feels really empowered and excited

Faye DiMassimo: 00:02:54

about those opportunities.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:02:55

And I also think the challenges of, you know, you have so many, competing.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:03:00

And sometimes, not in full alignment kind of interest, whether it be, it

Faye DiMassimo: 00:03:05

could be the community, it could be particular different parts of the

Faye DiMassimo: 00:03:08

community or stakeholder groups.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:03:09

And then there's city councils and county commissions and your own board,

Faye DiMassimo: 00:03:13

if you have a board and, and, and there's lots of expectations that get layered.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:03:17

and so being a master juggler, is an important skill to have in this position

Faye DiMassimo: 00:03:23

and also having, you know, a lot of patience and a lot of understanding

Faye DiMassimo: 00:03:27

that 99 percent of the, some of the things that come to you are, it's

Faye DiMassimo: 00:03:31

not personal, it's, it's sort of how communities are struggling right now

Faye DiMassimo: 00:03:36

trying to, you know, become whatever we're, we're transforming into.

Paul Comfort: 00:03:40

Yeah, that's interesting.

Paul Comfort: 00:03:42

Yeah, there's a lot of pressure on CEOs.

Paul Comfort: 00:03:43

I just, I just heard that the average age of a CEO in America now for, for

Paul Comfort: 00:03:49

midsize to larger systems is 58, which is kind of on the, that's, that's in

Paul Comfort: 00:03:53

my neck of the woods, the, the older spectrum and a lot of the deputies and

Paul Comfort: 00:03:58

other folks are, are not as keen To get into the top slot because it is a

Paul Comfort: 00:04:02

very high visibility position and one misstep, and you can be on the front

Paul Comfort: 00:04:06

page of the paper, which is why we do the podcast, to be honest with you, because

Paul Comfort: 00:04:09

we wanna give CEOs a chance to shine.

Paul Comfort: 00:04:12

Seems like the media is always about the, the downside or the negatives.

Paul Comfort: 00:04:16

You know, if there's a, a derailment, if you have a rail system or a

Paul Comfort: 00:04:19

strike, or a problem or crime.

Paul Comfort: 00:04:22

But the good stuff that we do oftentimes doesn't get told.

Paul Comfort: 00:04:24

was there any other takeaways that you got from the CEOs

Paul Comfort: 00:04:27

there that you'd like to share?

Faye DiMassimo: 00:04:28

I think, I think one, you know, we all are, very

Faye DiMassimo: 00:04:31

grateful for the huge amount.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:04:33

I mean, not, I've been in this business for 43 years in

Faye DiMassimo: 00:04:36

transportation, planning, community development, economic development.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:04:40

So, You know, for 43 years, and not since, I think Ice T, have we

Faye DiMassimo: 00:04:45

seen this kind of influx of, you know, federal funding opportunities.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:04:49

It's extraordinary.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:04:50

but figuring out the local fund match, is a challenge for all of us,

Faye DiMassimo: 00:04:55

and meeting expectations, we had a moment this past week where I know

Faye DiMassimo: 00:04:59

a number of us weighed in our, our colleague down in Broward County,

Faye DiMassimo: 00:05:03

experienced, you know, one of these horrific safety, issues at her property.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:05:08

And I was, I was so heartening to see how many of us, came right to it on through

Faye DiMassimo: 00:05:15

LinkedIn and other, you know, social media channels, but to say, we're here.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:05:19

Do you need anything?

Faye DiMassimo: 00:05:21

can we help?

Faye DiMassimo: 00:05:22

And I thought that's the kind of, network that I think APTA is responsible, that

Faye DiMassimo: 00:05:26

Esprit de Corps, that APTA is really responsible as a professional organization

Faye DiMassimo: 00:05:30

for helping build amongst us, So that, when those hard times come, you've got

Faye DiMassimo: 00:05:35

a real network of people that understand what you're facing every day for real,

Faye DiMassimo: 00:05:39

and are there to, you know, be a, be a ear and a, a shoulder if you need it.

Paul Comfort: 00:05:44

That's great, Faye.

Paul Comfort: 00:05:45

Yeah.

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I was with Corey, Cuff Lonergan this last Saturday.

Paul Comfort: 00:05:48

Dave Deck and I spent the afternoon with her and her husband actually.

Paul Comfort: 00:05:52

and, it, She's, you know, it's a very tough time when you have

Paul Comfort: 00:05:55

that type of violent situation happen at your, at your garage.

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Really, it could have happened anywhere.

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It just happened to happen there.

Paul Comfort: 00:06:01

It was, between two people and, so we do.

Paul Comfort: 00:06:04

You're right.

Paul Comfort: 00:06:04

That is a great network to rely on, your fellow CEOs.

Paul Comfort: 00:06:08

I know when I went through tough times in the past in my career,

Paul Comfort: 00:06:10

other CEOs were there for me.

Paul Comfort: 00:06:12

I, I remember talking to Nat Ford, when I was going through a tough time and he was

Paul Comfort: 00:06:15

there for me and, and other folks like, folks out in California, CEOs out there.

Paul Comfort: 00:06:20

Foothills Transit, etc.

Paul Comfort: 00:06:21

We're there and so we all are there for each other.

Paul Comfort: 00:06:23

That is a great lesson to take and it's something that

Paul Comfort: 00:06:26

Dave Deck was reminding me of.

Paul Comfort: 00:06:27

Dave runs the tri rail commuter system.

Paul Comfort: 00:06:30

He came out of the railroad system, but not on passenger side, but he was in

Paul Comfort: 00:06:34

more of the commercial side and he said, you know, we were all tough competitors.

Paul Comfort: 00:06:38

We were never there for each other.

Paul Comfort: 00:06:39

We were like, rooting for each other's downfall almost, so to

Paul Comfort: 00:06:42

speak, whereas it's very different in the public transit industry, where

Paul Comfort: 00:06:45

we're there to support each other.

Paul Comfort: 00:06:46

And that is actually where I'd like to kick off kind of our interview,

Paul Comfort: 00:06:50

Faye, is, tell me about your career.

Paul Comfort: 00:06:51

What were some of the key points you've had a long and storied

Paul Comfort: 00:06:54

career and some of the key people that helped you along the way?

Faye DiMassimo: 00:06:57

So, I started off 43 years ago at a regional planning commission.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:07:01

I was actually an intern at a regional planning commission.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:07:04

I went to school at Auburn University and started off in architecture

Faye DiMassimo: 00:07:09

the school of architecture included architecture, landscape architecture,

Faye DiMassimo: 00:07:13

urban planning, and so forth.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:07:14

And, I kept watching all of my colleagues over in community planning,

Faye DiMassimo: 00:07:19

designing communities and having to figure out how does infrastructure

Faye DiMassimo: 00:07:24

and policy and people and.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:07:27

And, you know, all of those things come together to make

Faye DiMassimo: 00:07:30

communities where people can thrive.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:07:32

And so I found that a lot more interesting than designing buildings.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:07:36

And so I made the decision that I would switch over.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:07:39

It was only a master's level program.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:07:41

So I went undergrad public administration.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:07:43

And then did my master's in both public administration and community planning.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:07:47

And, but started off, my first job was at a regional planning commission

Faye DiMassimo: 00:07:51

that was about to be designated as an MPO and eventually went from an intern

Faye DiMassimo: 00:07:56

to becoming the executive director, young executive director at the time.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:08:00

I was 28 years old.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:08:02

I don't know what that board could possibly have been

Faye DiMassimo: 00:08:04

thinking, but it was, it was a wonderful professional experience.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:08:08

And we ran.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:08:10

a transit system.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:08:11

We had a section 9, 18, and 16b2.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:08:14

So for your viewers, they're going to go, what is she talking about?

Faye DiMassimo: 00:08:17

This is in the UMTA days before it was FTA.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:08:20

and so, had that transit experience and transportation background from the very

Faye DiMassimo: 00:08:25

beginning, but then had the opportunity to think about how that really is a part

Faye DiMassimo: 00:08:29

of building communities that thrive.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:08:31

And I think that that's the place where, you know, transit has a grand

Faye DiMassimo: 00:08:36

opportunity now is in placemaking and communities all across the country.

Paul Comfort: 00:08:40

That's right.

Paul Comfort: 00:08:41

I agree with that.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:08:42

Absolutely.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:08:43

So 43 years, and I've worked in, the local, regional, and

Faye DiMassimo: 00:08:47

federal levels of government.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:08:49

I've worked in the public and private sector, and, I've had a number of

Faye DiMassimo: 00:08:53

extraordinary mentors along the way, both men and women, a lot of them,

Faye DiMassimo: 00:08:59

unfortunately not here with us anymore, but, You know, there's lessons that

Faye DiMassimo: 00:09:02

you take from those folks and their strength that you take from, you know,

Faye DiMassimo: 00:09:07

I always had the opportunity to, you know, sort of be able to shape my

Faye DiMassimo: 00:09:13

career in the way I wanted it to be.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:09:16

and I think I never unusual for someone my age.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:09:20

A lot of people, my age sort of chose a 30 year.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:09:23

You know, and they were going to stay and I've been looking at things

Faye DiMassimo: 00:09:26

and going, well, that's interesting.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:09:27

Let me go try that.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:09:29

and so, it's been, it's been a, an absolutely incredible

Faye DiMassimo: 00:09:33

ride and it's not over yet.

Paul Comfort: 00:09:35

There you go.

Paul Comfort: 00:09:35

Well, tell me about your system that you oversee.

Paul Comfort: 00:09:38

CAT.

Paul Comfort: 00:09:39

The transit system there in Savannah.

Paul Comfort: 00:09:40

Give me a little bit of background on that and the vehicles, the budget, and

Paul Comfort: 00:09:44

then we'll go into a little bit about the city because Savannah is a storied city.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:09:48

Absolutely.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:09:49

So we've got about a 50 million total annual budget, both capital and operating.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:09:53

We've got 47 fixed route buses, about 38 paratransit buses, and 2 microtransit

Faye DiMassimo: 00:10:00

buses that are on or vehicles that are on property right now, but more coming.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:10:04

We also run a trolley service called the DOT Trolley.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:10:08

that serves downtown and, down along sort of the, the, in the

Faye DiMassimo: 00:10:13

core downtown past Foresight Park.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:10:15

If you know, Foresight Park is that picture that you see of Savannah,

Faye DiMassimo: 00:10:18

the iconic park with the fountain.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:10:20

That's it.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:10:21

So we serve that linear park and then all the way up to Victory.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:10:25

I think what is, what is really important about all that, though, is, Our master

Faye DiMassimo: 00:10:30

transit plan was completed last year, and one of the things that we were

Faye DiMassimo: 00:10:33

struggling with, like many transit systems are struggling with, was, reliability

Faye DiMassimo: 00:10:38

post COVID, you know, you were trying to build back ridership, and you were

Faye DiMassimo: 00:10:40

really struggling with some reliability issues, so we, we made some service

Faye DiMassimo: 00:10:44

modifications during that period of time to bring service reliability back.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:10:48

But in doing so, especially in those moments when you're modifying

Faye DiMassimo: 00:10:51

things in a way that could be viewed as taking away, You still have

Faye DiMassimo: 00:10:54

opportunities to also put back.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:10:57

And so for the first time in CATS history, we expanded that, that fare

Faye DiMassimo: 00:11:02

free service outside of just the downtown area and over to two historic

Faye DiMassimo: 00:11:08

black neighborhoods on the west side of Savannah and it's fare free service.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:11:12

So, while we already had fixed route service, we put the

Faye DiMassimo: 00:11:15

DOT shuttle in place instead.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:11:17

It became a real, you know, part of it.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:11:19

We have a deep commitment to equity.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:11:21

and it became a real part of strengthening the equity part of our, of our system.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:11:26

out of those, vehicles though that I mentioned earlier, we also, have made a

Faye DiMassimo: 00:11:30

big commitment to sustainability, and, 6 of our fixed route buses, so about

Faye DiMassimo: 00:11:35

15 percent of our fleet is electric, and then we have 10 electric vehicles

Faye DiMassimo: 00:11:40

that are paratransit and microtransit.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:11:42

So we are, we are excited about the future and, and continuing to build

Faye DiMassimo: 00:11:47

on the success we've had thus far.

Paul Comfort: 00:11:48

And tell me about the ferry system that you operate.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:11:50

So we have a ferry system that serves, a sort

Faye DiMassimo: 00:11:53

of a triangle of service across back and forth across the river.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:11:58

I think it's typically a lot like the DOT shuttle.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:12:00

It historically had typically been viewed as something that really it's fare free

Faye DiMassimo: 00:12:04

also, and that it was typically reserved for the hospitality industry or visitors

Faye DiMassimo: 00:12:10

to our community and that kind of thing.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:12:11

And certainly all those folk enjoy it too, but, we are looking at how

Faye DiMassimo: 00:12:15

the ridership of that and did that as a part of our master transit plan.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:12:18

And what we learned was that there are a number of people who take the bus

Faye DiMassimo: 00:12:22

or, take the, the, the, dot shuttle.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:12:25

To one of the, the landing points on the riverside, and then we'll catch it

Faye DiMassimo: 00:12:30

across to go to their service job either at the Westin Hotel or the Savannah

Faye DiMassimo: 00:12:34

Convention Center, which is doubling in size, but we currently have 4 ferries.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:12:38

They are 3 of them.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:12:40

They're all named for historic ladies in Savannah.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:12:44

So everybody, I think, knows who Juliette Gordon Lowe is,

Faye DiMassimo: 00:12:47

the founder of Girl Scouts, for example, but that was in Savannah.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:12:51

One of our vessels is named for her.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:12:53

but there are, those, those three of those vessels are really at the end

Faye DiMassimo: 00:12:59

of their useful life, and so we have two brand new hybrid ferries that

Faye DiMassimo: 00:13:02

will be delivered to us in November, and then we have an additional,

Faye DiMassimo: 00:13:06

one that is out to bid right now.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:13:07

So very exciting times.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:13:09

And the other thing that I think I mentioned earlier, some of the challenges

Faye DiMassimo: 00:13:12

that we all face as CEOs, and we talked about local funding, the ferries and some

Faye DiMassimo: 00:13:17

of these other services, we have enjoyed some incredible community partnerships

Faye DiMassimo: 00:13:22

with folks like the Savannah Convention Center, even the Weston in terms of.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:13:27

Partnerships in terms of use of infrastructure, but also in terms of

Faye DiMassimo: 00:13:32

helping to make those necessary matches so that we can, you know, bring in new

Faye DiMassimo: 00:13:36

equipment, new service and so forth.

Paul Comfort: 00:13:38

and tell me about Savannah itself, some of the

Paul Comfort: 00:13:40

history and, where the city is now.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:13:43

Absolutely.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:13:44

Well, Savannah is the most beautiful city in America.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:13:46

it's a historic city.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:13:47

and it's one that really prided itself on protecting, all of those assets.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:13:53

So when you come, it's just literally that beauty that you can't build.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:13:56

it's, it's only from all of those, Those days in the past.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:14:00

It's a smaller city, but it lives very big.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:14:03

And I think there's a couple of reasons for that.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:14:05

One is the Georgia Port Authority here is one of the largest and

Faye DiMassimo: 00:14:09

most active ports in the country.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:14:11

And then we also have SCAD, the Savannah College of Art and Design, which has

Faye DiMassimo: 00:14:15

been a huge influence and impactor.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:14:17

And so the notion that I think Savannah is just a place that not

Faye DiMassimo: 00:14:21

only is it a beautiful place, but it really prides itself on protecting

Faye DiMassimo: 00:14:26

and enhancing and building that kind of beauty in everything it does.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:14:29

So it's a, it's an absolute, you can't find better Southern hospitality and

Faye DiMassimo: 00:14:34

we've become a real food scene too.

Paul Comfort: 00:14:36

and, people tell us about what Savannah is famous

Paul Comfort: 00:14:39

for, like in culture, people, there's books and things like that.

Paul Comfort: 00:14:42

Do you have any, any of that you can, cause that's why people

Paul Comfort: 00:14:44

will connect in their mind.

Paul Comfort: 00:14:45

Oh, yeah.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:14:46

Yeah, well, there's certainly everybody.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:14:48

I think it's most people have heard of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:14:51

And, and it's, it's a, it's a book, but it's actually a true story.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:14:56

And so Savannah is, is unique and quirky.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:15:00

and I think when you read that book and you sort of.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:15:02

See and understand.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:15:04

I think when you read it and see it, see the movie and read the book, you

Faye DiMassimo: 00:15:07

really get a taste of, what is really, It's just so unusual and beautiful

Faye DiMassimo: 00:15:12

and fabulous about this place.

Paul Comfort: 00:15:14

I was telling you before we came on the air about, I

Paul Comfort: 00:15:17

remember I visited there several times.

Paul Comfort: 00:15:19

And I remember visiting one of the very first times, actually

Paul Comfort: 00:15:22

I think I was working for Mayflower or Laidlaw at the time.

Paul Comfort: 00:15:25

And, I remember the Spanish moss hanging on the trees, you know,

Paul Comfort: 00:15:29

near Forsyth Park and around there.

Paul Comfort: 00:15:31

Just phenomenal.

Paul Comfort: 00:15:32

And then we had a dinner meal right at sunset out on the Savannah River, on

Paul Comfort: 00:15:37

picnic tables with strings of lights overhead, the hanging lights, and just

Paul Comfort: 00:15:42

the atmosphere and the mood was electric.

Paul Comfort: 00:15:45

It was just, it just is a, it's a beautiful experience.

Paul Comfort: 00:15:47

It's got a wonderful spirit.

Paul Comfort: 00:15:48

I don't know how else to say it when I visit there.

Paul Comfort: 00:15:50

What a great city to serve in.

Paul Comfort: 00:15:51

a couple other interesting things you've got going on there, Faye, that

Paul Comfort: 00:15:54

I hope you could share with us about.

Paul Comfort: 00:15:55

You've got an Electro Microtransit pilot coming on.

Paul Comfort: 00:15:58

Tell us about that.

Paul Comfort: 00:15:59

We do so last year, probably many of your viewers remember the smart grant cycle.

Paul Comfort: 00:16:06

The very 1st, 1 that came out, there were 59 grants awarded out of 300

Paul Comfort: 00:16:10

over 300 applications only about 7 of those were transit related.

Paul Comfort: 00:16:15

We were 1 of the 7, and we were awarded 100 percent funding 1.

Paul Comfort: 00:16:20

2Million to develop an electric microtransit zonal.

Paul Comfort: 00:16:24

Pilot, and we wanted to do it with all electric vehicles.

Paul Comfort: 00:16:28

We wanted to do it with no contract service.

Paul Comfort: 00:16:31

We want to do it with our own ATU local 1324 staff, and we wanted to

Paul Comfort: 00:16:37

build in the strong partnerships with Savannah Technical College, Savannah

Paul Comfort: 00:16:40

State, our HBCU, and then Georgia Tech, who's the developer of the app

Paul Comfort: 00:16:45

for the, service, and we wanted to do that so that we were building in

Paul Comfort: 00:16:49

all of this training and upskilling.

Paul Comfort: 00:16:51

So we're not only building our, our union base of operators and mechanics

Paul Comfort: 00:16:56

on how to operate and how to maintain electric vehicles, but we were really

Paul Comfort: 00:17:00

building an upskilling in the community.

Paul Comfort: 00:17:02

Those partnerships with Savannah Tech and Savannah State are just invaluable.

Paul Comfort: 00:17:07

And that's, that's exactly what placemaking should be about in

Paul Comfort: 00:17:12

transforming the future of transit.

Paul Comfort: 00:17:14

That's interesting.

Paul Comfort: 00:17:15

You mentioned Georgia Tech, the rambling wreck of Georgia Tech.

Paul Comfort: 00:17:18

I remember when I was a kid, we visited there.

Paul Comfort: 00:17:21

My dad was a pastor, and we visited Claude McBride, who was the, chaplain of the

Paul Comfort: 00:17:26

football team, the Georgia Bulldogs, and he was the first cousin of Jimmy Carter.

Paul Comfort: 00:17:30

President who came from Georgia.

Paul Comfort: 00:17:31

Yeah.

Paul Comfort: 00:17:31

And I remember this was around the time when he was running for president.

Paul Comfort: 00:17:34

So I was a little kid.

Paul Comfort: 00:17:35

And I just, that's a, that's another memory about in Georgia.

Paul Comfort: 00:17:38

That's in my mind.

Paul Comfort: 00:17:39

Well, that sounds like an amazing program.

Paul Comfort: 00:17:41

And you all just finished, Faye, your recent master plan.

Paul Comfort: 00:17:44

What's in there and what are you looking to do headed into the near future?

Faye DiMassimo: 00:17:47

So, we really took a very thoughtful and deliberate approach.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:17:51

I think the thing that's really great about the Master Transit Plan is we

Faye DiMassimo: 00:17:55

looked at it in terms of the sort of near term, mid term, longer term phases,

Faye DiMassimo: 00:18:00

but we tied it very specifically to implementation strategies for each

Faye DiMassimo: 00:18:05

project or each type of project.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:18:07

We're looking at continuing to figure out what's the smart build out of the.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:18:12

Most heavily used pieces of our fixed route system.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:18:15

Fixed route systems are still core to good and healthy transit systems.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:18:20

It's changed a little bit.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:18:22

How do we, how do we leverage that in a way that builds the most

Faye DiMassimo: 00:18:25

productive parts of our fixed route and allow some other tools like.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:18:31

Microtransit to help do that building, but also serve in areas where fixed

Faye DiMassimo: 00:18:35

route just, you know, can't get there as effectively on our paratransit side.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:18:40

We are starting to look at on demand services.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:18:43

So, rather than it being.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:18:45

The more traditional sort of fixed route with the corresponding paratransit and,

Faye DiMassimo: 00:18:48

oh, now we've got microtransit over here.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:18:51

We've put an umbrella over on demand services so those that we're serving

Faye DiMassimo: 00:18:55

are seniors and those differently abled.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:18:57

About 70%, a little over 70 percent of our paratransit ridership is ambulatory.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:19:03

So they can use fixed route, they can use other parts of our services.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:19:07

How do we make that seamless and how do we really create?

Faye DiMassimo: 00:19:10

A fabric of transit that serves everyone in the community, because if everyone

Faye DiMassimo: 00:19:15

is riding, then everyone wants to be an investor and it helps build our future.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:19:19

But we were very, I think the, the part about our master transit plan that is

Faye DiMassimo: 00:19:23

unique is we were incredibly intentional about those implementation strategies

Faye DiMassimo: 00:19:28

and the corresponding funding strategies and flexibility in those things.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:19:32

And then we did a big outreach into the younger people in our community, because

Faye DiMassimo: 00:19:37

we're really not building for me and you.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:19:39

We're building for those folks.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:19:41

And so we want to be sure that their voices are very prominent in shaping that

Faye DiMassimo: 00:19:46

vision of what we're going to become.

Paul Comfort: 00:19:48

And as you do that, as you implement your master plan, Faye,

Paul Comfort: 00:19:52

let's talk about finances a little bit.

Paul Comfort: 00:19:54

A lot of transit agencies this year, in particular in 2024, are

Paul Comfort: 00:19:57

telling me that they're reaching what they are calling a fiscal cliff.

Paul Comfort: 00:20:01

Some of them are sharper cliff than others.

Paul Comfort: 00:20:03

what's the vision look like there for in Savannah?

Faye DiMassimo: 00:20:05

Well, we started two years ago with a very aggressive,

Faye DiMassimo: 00:20:09

position on how to manage that.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:20:11

So over the last, two years, our COVID money is really pretty

Faye DiMassimo: 00:20:16

much depleted, at this time.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:20:18

So the fiscal cliff is imminent, but we have put ourselves in a place.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:20:23

We were very successful in a pretty short period of time in about 15 months, and

Faye DiMassimo: 00:20:28

for a system our size, we brought in, in the, it was about a 15 month period.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:20:33

period.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:20:33

We brought in 14 million new dollars, in a really short period of time.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:20:37

Part of that was that SMART grant.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:20:39

Part of that was more partnership funds.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:20:41

It was all kinds.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:20:41

It wasn't just federal money.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:20:43

It was state money.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:20:44

We got some of the first state money that we've ever gotten under a new program,

Faye DiMassimo: 00:20:48

that our state legislature put together

Faye DiMassimo: 00:20:49

That program had been there for a while, but it had been being collected and

Faye DiMassimo: 00:20:53

used exclusively in the Atlanta region.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:20:56

Now, it's got a broad application across the state.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:21:00

And I think that was really due to the leadership of our commissioner

Faye DiMassimo: 00:21:03

of Georgia DOT, Russell McMurray, he thought that that was the right way

Faye DiMassimo: 00:21:06

to go with that program and the board and the legislature supported that.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:21:10

So we were able to be a beneficiary of that and it's an annual program

Faye DiMassimo: 00:21:14

for us now . So lots of those kinds of new funding opportunities, so 14

Faye DiMassimo: 00:21:18

million new dollars, we've continued that beat, not quite at that pace,

Faye DiMassimo: 00:21:22

but we've been continuing that beat.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:21:23

And so right now, as we sit, we have a really healthy reserve fund

Faye DiMassimo: 00:21:27

that we didn't have 2 years ago.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:21:29

So, I feel like our ability to manage the cliff as it, you know, continues

Faye DiMassimo: 00:21:35

to evolve is going to be perhaps a little less of a challenge for us

Faye DiMassimo: 00:21:40

than it might be for some others.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:21:42

but we've been very aggressive about being ready to meet it.

Paul Comfort: 00:21:46

So you've spent the last two years preparing, storing

Paul Comfort: 00:21:49

up your, your chestnuts in the tree, so to speak, so that when this came,

Paul Comfort: 00:21:53

you'd have somebody to draw on.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:21:54

But I do think, I do think, I will tell you, our biggest

Faye DiMassimo: 00:21:57

challenge, though, is local funds.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:21:59

we have, we have ideas, and we have, opportunity all over the place.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:22:05

And certainly, the current administration has given all of

Faye DiMassimo: 00:22:09

us, the most robust federal funding portfolio that we've seen in decades.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:22:14

So, those things are important, but there is a 20 percent or a 50%, depending on

Faye DiMassimo: 00:22:19

what kind of, funding opportunity it is.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:22:21

but generally a 20 percent funding match that's required.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:22:24

And in our case, our local funding has really been sort of constrained.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:22:28

What had happened over time was that the local governments, while we are supported,

Faye DiMassimo: 00:22:34

and we appreciate all the support, that support has been sort of directed

Faye DiMassimo: 00:22:38

more towards support of this particular service or that particular service and

Faye DiMassimo: 00:22:43

that kind of, Support is good, but not sustainable because what you really

Faye DiMassimo: 00:22:48

have to have is support for the system.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:22:50

It can't be that well, I'm, I'm helping you fund paratransit over here

Faye DiMassimo: 00:22:53

and I'm helping you fund the ferries over here and I'm, and I'm going

Faye DiMassimo: 00:22:56

to help you do this one over here.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:22:57

And I'm like, what we really need is support for CAT.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:23:00

And we need those dollars in a way that we can make them be most efficient

Faye DiMassimo: 00:23:04

and effectively used to leverage all the opportunity that's out there.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:23:09

So, as we sit today, for example, we're leaving about 8 million dollars sitting on

Faye DiMassimo: 00:23:14

the table in new bipartisan infrastructure law money because we can't match it.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:23:17

We're hoping that that will change over the next year or two, but as we sit

Faye DiMassimo: 00:23:22

today, that bump in funding that we got, most appreciative of it, but we've

Faye DiMassimo: 00:23:26

got to be able to match it to get it.

Paul Comfort: 00:23:28

That's right.

Paul Comfort: 00:23:28

that's a good lesson for all of us as we head into the future, is planning for the

Paul Comfort: 00:23:31

future and then being able to leverage.

Paul Comfort: 00:23:34

the dollars with local support.

Paul Comfort: 00:23:36

That's key.

Paul Comfort: 00:23:37

what else do you have to say as we close out today's conversation?

Paul Comfort: 00:23:39

Is there any other final thoughts or direction you want to go?

Faye DiMassimo: 00:23:42

I know you mentioned to me, when we were speaking before we got

Faye DiMassimo: 00:23:45

started that there are a lot of mid level managers that, that are listening to this.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:23:48

And I did speak to some of those deputies that you spoke of earlier that they're not

Faye DiMassimo: 00:23:53

that anxious to step into the CEO role.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:23:55

But I will tell you this for the mid level managers and for the folks that

Faye DiMassimo: 00:23:59

are sitting in those deputy roles.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:24:01

the functions that you're performing, the job that you're doing, transit

Faye DiMassimo: 00:24:05

literally transforms communities.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:24:07

It can.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:24:08

we're a part of place making that needs a whole big refresh in terms

Faye DiMassimo: 00:24:13

of what that means and how we do it.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:24:15

don't always be sure to build your network.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:24:18

your network's going to always be so important and don't do it because

Faye DiMassimo: 00:24:21

of you're just making connections and you want to do it not just

Faye DiMassimo: 00:24:25

to take from it but put into it.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:24:28

and always believe in yourself, and always believe in other people too.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:24:32

and then always be on the lookout for those folks who say

Faye DiMassimo: 00:24:35

they're fine but they aren't.

Paul Comfort: 00:24:37

Great, great thoughts.

Paul Comfort: 00:24:38

Thanks Faye de Massimo for sharing with us a little bit about one of

Paul Comfort: 00:24:42

the most beautiful cities in the country, Savannah, Georgia, and your

Paul Comfort: 00:24:46

role there in transforming it by providing access to all of life's

Paul Comfort: 00:24:49

opportunities through public mobility.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:24:52

Absolutely.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:24:52

Thank you so much for having us and y'all come on down to Savannah.

Paul Comfort: 00:24:55

We will.

Paul Comfort: 00:25:00

Well, we have a little, coda to our show today, because Faye DiMassimo which

Paul Comfort: 00:25:04

you just listened to our interview.

Paul Comfort: 00:25:05

has a new job coming up.

Paul Comfort: 00:25:07

Faye has been CEO of the Chatham Area Transit Authority,

Paul Comfort: 00:25:09

CAT in Savannah for a while.

Paul Comfort: 00:25:11

We just talked about all that, but Faye, tell us about the new, the new

Paul Comfort: 00:25:14

position you're going to be serving in.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:25:16

Absolutely.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:25:17

Well, thank you for, so much for the opportunity to have this, postscript, um,

Faye DiMassimo: 00:25:20

to our original, our original broadcast.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:25:23

it's very exciting.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:25:24

there's still no place like Savannah, so I'm not going that far.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:25:28

But a remarkable opportunity with the city of Savannah, there's been an

Faye DiMassimo: 00:25:32

executive reorganization done at the city.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:25:34

And so this is a brand new position that was created and

Faye DiMassimo: 00:25:37

it will oversee 7 departments.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:25:39

It's the development services, economic development.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:25:42

Mobility and parking, planning and urban design, special events,

Faye DiMassimo: 00:25:47

film and tourism, sustainability and transportation services.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:25:50

So, as you hear from that range of opportunities, both in transportation

Faye DiMassimo: 00:25:54

and mobility services, I will have the grand opportunity to continue to

Faye DiMassimo: 00:26:00

support CAT and CAT's growth and success in the community, just as a partner,

Faye DiMassimo: 00:26:05

rather than in the leadership role.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:26:06

So, it's exciting.

Paul Comfort: 00:26:07

Yeah, that's great.

Paul Comfort: 00:26:08

And it just shows you how, public transportation service in public

Paul Comfort: 00:26:11

transportation, it is connected, isn't it, to everything and all the things you

Paul Comfort: 00:26:15

talked about, public transit is a part of.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:26:17

Absolutely.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:26:19

And I think the way that, uh, you know, the new role was constructed as the Chief

Faye DiMassimo: 00:26:22

of Planning and Economic Development.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:26:24

Very interesting to think about how those things are together.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:26:26

And you're right.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:26:27

Transit is the thread that weaves through every bit of that.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:26:31

It's how we get people to the places that they need and want to go.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:26:35

And I think it's really important to always remember, you know, we're

Faye DiMassimo: 00:26:37

always serving those, I hope, really well that need us the most, and we're

Faye DiMassimo: 00:26:41

also offering that range of mobility options for those folks who want to

Faye DiMassimo: 00:26:46

make some choices to achieve all that a community can, you know, offer them

Faye DiMassimo: 00:26:51

in terms of their, both their personal lives and their professional lives.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:26:55

All that connectivity, transit can make it happen.

Paul Comfort: 00:26:57

That's awesome.

Paul Comfort: 00:26:58

So, last question.

Paul Comfort: 00:26:59

So, the CAT system will still be kind of under your portfolio then?

Faye DiMassimo: 00:27:04

No, the CAT system will still be under the board, just as it

Faye DiMassimo: 00:27:07

is now, but I'll have, because I have transportation responsibilities at the

Faye DiMassimo: 00:27:11

City, I'll just have an opportunity that, as we're working on special projects,

Faye DiMassimo: 00:27:15

and we have several special projects right now with the City of Savannah,

Faye DiMassimo: 00:27:19

both in terms of microtransit, And our SMART grant and so forth, as well as

Faye DiMassimo: 00:27:25

a project that we're doing right now through the FUSE Fellowship Program,

Faye DiMassimo: 00:27:28

where we're looking at the intersection of affordable housing, homelessness,

Faye DiMassimo: 00:27:33

or unhomed residents and transportation mobility, specifically transit.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:27:37

Remarkable project.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:27:38

So there's those kinds of special projects and just think about the

Faye DiMassimo: 00:27:42

overall economic development portfolio.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:27:45

The partnership with CAT is going to need to be a strong one and an effective one.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:27:50

And I'm proud to be able to continue that just from a different vantage point.

Paul Comfort: 00:27:54

Well, congratulations, Faye.

Paul Comfort: 00:27:55

We're very excited for you and know you're going to continue to make a difference.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:27:59

Absolutely.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:27:59

Thank you, Paul, for the opportunity to join you back

Faye DiMassimo: 00:28:02

again, just for a quick note.

Faye DiMassimo: 00:28:03

So thanks.

Tris Hussey: 00:28:09

Hi, this is Tris Hussey editor of the Transit Unplugged podcast.

Tris Hussey: 00:28:13

Thanks for listening to this week's episode with our

Tris Hussey: 00:28:15

special guests Faye DiMassimo.

Tris Hussey: 00:28:17

Coming up next week on the show we have returning guest Dave Reage

Tris Hussey: 00:28:22

head of Halifax transit, giving Paul a tour of his city by bus.

Tris Hussey: 00:28:27

And boat.

Tris Hussey: 00:28:28

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