Episode 33

Green Hydrogen and CEO Hiring Secrets in America’s Most Livable City

What does it take to build a transit system that powers a city—and wins global recognition for livability?

 

In this episode of Transit Unplugged, Ryan Daniel, CEO of St. Cloud Metro Bus, and Dave Kleis, Board Chair and former mayor of St. Cloud, Minnesota, share how their long-running partnership has driven bold innovation and national recognition. From launching a system-wide redesign to pioneering green hydrogen fuel, their work shows how public transit can be a catalyst for clean energy and economic development.

 

You’ll hear the inside story of how St. Cloud won the U.S. Conference of Mayors Award and the global “Most Livable City” title—twice. Plus, Dave offers rare behind-the-scenes insights into how a mayor selects a transit CEO during a national search, and Ryan shares the quote that guides his work:

“Where transportation goes, community grows.”

 

Whether you're aiming for executive leadership or understanding transit's role in the economic development of your region, this conversation delivers strategies, lessons, and inspiration to get you there.

Highlights:

  • Why green hydrogen could be transit’s next big shift
  • How St. Cloud went 100% CNG—and what’s next
  • Keys to successful public engagement on system redesign
  • What mayors and boards really look for in a CEO
  • Winning national awards through innovation and vision

Transit Unplugged is brought to you by Modaxo

Host & Producer: Paul Comfort

💼 Executive Producer: Julie Gates

🎧 Producer & Newsletter Editor: Chris O'Keeffe

📝 Associate Producer: Cyndi Raskin

Production Intern: Desmond Gates

 

 

Special thanks to:

🎨 Brand Design: Tina Olagundoye

📱 Social Media: Tatyana Mechkarova

 

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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
Paul Comfort:

I'm Paul Comfort, and on this episode of Transit Unplugged,

Paul Comfort:

we go to the Community Transportation Association of America's Live 2025 Expo

Paul Comfort:

recording in San Diego, California.

Paul Comfort:

I was just there a couple weeks ago and we had a wonderful time.

Paul Comfort:

Uh, at the expo itself.

Paul Comfort:

Um, Scott Borin, the executive director of CTA, does such a great job.

Paul Comfort:

There's 1200 people there.

Paul Comfort:

I spoke while I was there.

Paul Comfort:

Uh, along with Mark Ash, we did a, a joint presentation over about two

Paul Comfort:

hours and we also, uh, I also did a book signing at the trans track booth,

Paul Comfort:

and then on the trade show floor.

Paul Comfort:

We recorded a couple podcasts live.

Paul Comfort:

It's always fun when you do that, right?

Paul Comfort:

You sit in front of a booth and you have a, a crowd gather around you

Paul Comfort:

and you record a CEO there today.

Paul Comfort:

Uh, we interviewed Ryan Daniel, who's CEO of St. Cloud, Metro Bus, and

Paul Comfort:

he had his board chairman with him.

Paul Comfort:

And I said, Hey man, will you come over and join U.S.

Paul Comfort:

on the show?

Paul Comfort:

So Dave Kleis , long term board chair and long-term mayor, um, of the city

Paul Comfort:

of St. Cloud was mayor for many years.

Paul Comfort:

Uh, joined U.S. on the show and we have a two part interview

Paul Comfort:

with both these gentlemen.

Paul Comfort:

Uh, recorded right there on the trade show floor.

Paul Comfort:

We have another one coming up for you, uh, soon after that.

Paul Comfort:

And we did a live roving reporter one.

Paul Comfort:

And you know, I'm Paul Comfort and Trepid reporter walking the floor and

Paul Comfort:

talking to various people, including our friends at Mass Transit Magazine

Paul Comfort:

and some other leaders in the industry.

Paul Comfort:

Uh, so we've got three podcast episodes coming from the CTAA,

Paul Comfort:

expo 2025, and San Diego.

Paul Comfort:

Enjoy this great interview with Ryan Daniel, CEO of St. Cloud, Metro

Paul Comfort:

Bus, and his board chair Dave Kleis.

Paul Comfort:

We're at the CTAA Expo in San Diego, California.

Paul Comfort:

I'm Paul Comfort and this is Transit Unplugged.

Paul Comfort:

We're doing a couple of live podcasts here from the floor

Paul Comfort:

of the expo, and I'm excited to have with me today, Ryan Daniel.

Paul Comfort:

Ryan is CEO of the St. Cloud Metro Bus System.

Paul Comfort:

Ryan, thanks for being on the show.

Ryan Daniel:

Thank for having me.

Ryan Daniel:

Yeah, It's great

Ryan Daniel:

to

Paul Comfort:

And as a last minute edition, we added his

Paul Comfort:

board chair and the former mayor,

Paul Comfort:

20 year

Paul Comfort:

mayor of St. Cloud Minnesota.

Paul Comfort:

Dave Kleis thanks so much for on the show in a green, you know, of not

Paul Comfort:

knowing I was gonna drag you over here.

Dave Kleis:

uh, just

Dave Kleis:

In the expo, but no happy

Dave Kleis:

be on

Dave Kleis:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

So the show goes all over the world.

Paul Comfort:

We're in a hundred countries.

Paul Comfort:

Uh, it's the number one Mass Transit podcast, and so we're

Paul Comfort:

excited to talk about St. Cloud.

Paul Comfort:

I was telling you, Ryan, I've been there before, but tell U.S. actually,

Paul Comfort:

let me ask the mayor, if you don't mind kick it off, mayor, tell U.S.

Paul Comfort:

some about St. Cloud you know, the city itself, the demographics, et cetera.

Dave Kleis:

Sure.

Dave Kleis:

St Cloud's, uh,

Dave Kleis:

you know, been around for about 168 years.

Dave Kleis:

Um, it uh, 72,000 people, but it's a regional center, so it has daytime

Dave Kleis:

population of about, about 180.

Dave Kleis:

Plus thousand.

Dave Kleis:

So it's a college town.

Dave Kleis:

It has, uh, you know, large hospital.

Dave Kleis:

So it's, uh, the second largest metropolitan area the Minne

Dave Kleis:

Minnesota next to the Twin Cities.

Paul Comfort:

Oh, wow.

Dave Kleis:

uh, uh.

Dave Kleis:

By

Dave Kleis:

it's

Dave Kleis:

MSA,

Dave Kleis:

um, so, or at the municipal, statistical

Dave Kleis:

area, but it's, uh, yeah, a nice little area middle uh,

Dave Kleis:

Minnesota.

Dave Kleis:

And, uh, got a, uh, growing,

Dave Kleis:

it continues

Dave Kleis:

to grow.

Dave Kleis:

Metro big part of

ZOOM:

it.

Dave Kleis:

Uh,

Dave Kleis:

Because, uh, St. Cloud, 72,000 people, there are four additional cities that are

Dave Kleis:

right connected, um, would be considered in most areas, those suburban areas.

Dave Kleis:

so.

Dave Kleis:

Metro bus or our transit is a joint powers agreement.

Dave Kleis:

So it actually operates under, uh, under a collaborative effort between the,

Dave Kleis:

uh, three cities four, four cities the area.

Dave Kleis:

So the, uh, mayors council members, uh, the city's appoint, uh, representation,

Dave Kleis:

St. Cloud of course being the biggest city two representatives on there.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, I've been on the board, uh, I've been mayor, so I've been

Dave Kleis:

board years, um, and, uh, and been chair, I for 16 of those years.

Dave Kleis:

So, uh,

Dave Kleis:

but it's a, you know, it's

Dave Kleis:

community in

Dave Kleis:

and.

Dave Kleis:

about, uh, about an hour from, uh, Minneapolis.

Dave Kleis:

so we're,

Dave Kleis:

we're, we're uh,

Dave Kleis:

uh, close to the lakes.

Dave Kleis:

What we in would consider up north.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, anything, uh, north

Dave Kleis:

Cloud

Dave Kleis:

probably up north, but, uh, know, we've got, got 10,000, at

Dave Kleis:

least that's our license plate.

Dave Kleis:

Say we 10,000 lakes, probably about 15,000 lakes.

Dave Kleis:

But it's a, it's a nice state and a wonderful little community.

Paul Comfort:

Well, that's good.

Paul Comfort:

That gives U.S. a good setup.

Paul Comfort:

Brian, now tell U.S. about your transit

Ryan Daniel:

system.

Ryan Daniel:

Perfect.

Ryan Daniel:

Well, we have an award-winning transit system.

Ryan Daniel:

We are recognized as transit urban system of the

ZOOM:

air

Ryan Daniel:

by CTAA back in 2015.

Ryan Daniel:

So happy, happy to toot that.

Ryan Daniel:

Uh, we have a wonderful, staff at Metro Bus.

Ryan Daniel:

Well, we provide commuter bus.

Ryan Daniel:

Fixed route and

ZOOM:

power transit

Ryan Daniel:

services in three counties.

Ryan Daniel:

Sherburn County, Stearns County, and Benton County.

Ryan Daniel:

And we operate in four cities, so St. Cloud Way, park Tel, Salt Rapids.

Ryan Daniel:

We average about just under a million rides per year.

Ryan Daniel:

We have under a hundred buses and over about 175 employees.

Ryan Daniel:

Budget is about 25 million.

Ryan Daniel:

We operate seven days a week, 359 days a year.

Paul Comfort:

How do you do that?

Ryan Daniel:

Just don't operate on holidays.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

The six major holidays, holidays.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

That's good man.

Paul Comfort:

Wow.

Paul Comfort:

And how long have you been there?

Ryan Daniel:

I've been CEO now for 12 years.

Paul Comfort:

My system in Queen Dance County won that award in 1991,

Paul Comfort:

CTA, I

Paul Comfort:

tells you how old I

Paul Comfort:

am.

Paul Comfort:

We won that community system of the year, the county ride system.

Paul Comfort:

So, uh, gimme a little of your background.

Paul Comfort:

How'd you get into all

Ryan Daniel:

this?

Ryan Daniel:

Well, I started about 26 years ago.

Ryan Daniel:

I, when to date myself here.

Ryan Daniel:

Started out as a bus operator.

Ryan Daniel:

Started 30, right?

Ryan Daniel:

Yeah, 19.

Ryan Daniel:

Right.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Ryan Daniel:

Started out as a bus operator for New York City Transit.

Ryan Daniel:

So I'm originally from Brooklyn, New York.

Paul Comfort:

Oh,

Ryan Daniel:

Oh.

Ryan Daniel:

So

Ryan Daniel:

I'm

Ryan Daniel:

a city boy.

Ryan Daniel:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

My dad's from there.

Paul Comfort:

Brooklyn's born in Brooklyn, New York.

Ryan Daniel:

was I, Brooklyn, New York?

Ryan Daniel:

Yep.

Ryan Daniel:

Prince Live in Brooklyn.

Ryan Daniel:

So, started out 1998, working for New York City Transit as a bus operator.

Ryan Daniel:

While going to college.

Ryan Daniel:

So I did my undergrad in grad school.

Ryan Daniel:

Once I graduated, I left, decided to take the show on the road,

Ryan Daniel:

got

Ryan Daniel:

on the

Ryan Daniel:

bus, went to Ohio, and I took a job at Coda.

Ryan Daniel:

Landed a job at Coda.

Paul Comfort:

Columbus in

Ryan Daniel:

Columbus, Ohio.

Ryan Daniel:

Landed the job there as training manager.

Ryan Daniel:

So I stayed there for about two years an opportunity in

Ryan Daniel:

Washington DC open up at WMATA.

Ryan Daniel:

So I was fortunate enough to be selected to be the manager of bus

Ryan Daniel:

operations for WMATA back in 2009, and then I stayed there until 2013.

Ryan Daniel:

Then position opened up in St. Cloud Metro Bus to be the CEO,

Ryan Daniel:

and I threw my name in a hat.

Ryan Daniel:

About a hundred people apply, and I went through the process.

Ryan Daniel:

Wow.

Ryan Daniel:

and here I am 12 years later.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

We may crossed paths.

Paul Comfort:

When I worked at WA Mata, I was with the MV running the paratransit system.

Ryan Daniel:

Oh, okay.

Ryan Daniel:

envy.

Ryan Daniel:

you, um, outta Hyattsville?

Ryan Daniel:

Yep.

Ryan Daniel:

Outta Hyattsville.

Ryan Daniel:

So I worked outta Landover.

Ryan Daniel:

Oh, okay.

Ryan Daniel:

I was right down the street.

Ryan Daniel:

Yeah.

Ryan Daniel:

That's great,

Paul Comfort:

man.

Paul Comfort:

funny.

Paul Comfort:

Wow.

Paul Comfort:

So Mayor, were you involved hiring him?

Paul Comfort:

I

Dave Kleis:

Uh, I was uh, chaired, uh, the committee that, uh, that did, we did

Dave Kleis:

a national search uh, fortunately we, uh, were able to, to get Ryan to come up to,

Dave Kleis:

uh, Minnesota, leave, uh, leave DC time.

Dave Kleis:

So, uh, yeah, he's, it's been great.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, CEO, great partnership.

Dave Kleis:

uh, so it's, uh, it, it, uh, continues to grow to won some

Dave Kleis:

national awards over that period of time and, International Awards too.

Dave Kleis:

Actually, a collaborative effort uh, uh, UN has a, an entity called,

Dave Kleis:

uh, livable Cities in the World.

Paul Comfort:

I've heard of that.

Dave Kleis:

And, uh, we, uh, we won, uh, the most livable

Dave Kleis:

city in the world twice, both

Dave Kleis:

2007,

Dave Kleis:

2019.

Dave Kleis:

a lot of that was because of collaborations, partnership,

Dave Kleis:

um, you know, sustainability.

Dave Kleis:

we, yeah.

Dave Kleis:

We went, uh, we were the first transit system Minnesota to go compress

Dave Kleis:

natural grass, so clean energy.

Dave Kleis:

And, uh, we will be, uh, the city of St. Cloud is

Dave Kleis:

the first municipal,

Dave Kleis:

. Wastewater treatment facility to actually produce, , energy.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, we as a city produce more energy than we use have now since, uh, 2014.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, actually, so we actually produce, uh, well over close 300%.

Dave Kleis:

So we sell that back to the grid, but we will be the first city that

Dave Kleis:

actually will produce green hydrogen.

Dave Kleis:

so we're working Yeah.

Dave Kleis:

So we're working with Metro Bus, of course now I'm no longer mayor.

Dave Kleis:

I'm the Chair of the Metro bus.

Dave Kleis:

So, uh, we, I, back a few years ago, we set up, , com partnership with MetroBus

Dave Kleis:

to actually utilize that, that, hydrogen and then new flyer, which is also, uh,

Dave Kleis:

Uh, does manufacturing in St. Cloud and

Dave Kleis:

course

Dave Kleis:

the

Paul Comfort:

Oh,

Paul Comfort:

that's right.

Paul Comfort:

That's your big plant

Dave Kleis:

Yeah.

Dave Kleis:

So they've agreed to actually look at moving one of their operations,

Dave Kleis:

which is actually not in Minnesota.

Dave Kleis:

That makes, uh, uh, hydrogen buses.

Dave Kleis:

They, of course, make, uh, electric buses St. Cloud.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, but they're looking at actually, uh, moving some of their operation,

Dave Kleis:

build the hydrogen because of our ability to produce hydrogen.

Dave Kleis:

And then of course, metro Bus's ability to actually utilize those buses.

Dave Kleis:

So, uh.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, we're working with the University of Munster

Dave Kleis:

in Germany and the University of Minnesota,

Dave Kleis:

uh, on the technology.

Dave Kleis:

In fact, um, we will be producing, uh,

Dave Kleis:

the city

Dave Kleis:

of St. Cloud will be producing hydrogen at our wastewater

Dave Kleis:

treatment facility next year.

Dave Kleis:

For marketable purposes.

Dave Kleis:

And it's green hydrogen?

Dave Kleis:

Yes, we, we, make it with solar and, uh, biomass, so

Dave Kleis:

it's

Paul Comfort:

Wow.

Paul Comfort:

green.

Paul Comfort:

And, uh,

ZOOM:

uh,

Paul Comfort:

you

Paul Comfort:

information about that on the web anywhere?

Dave Kleis:

Uh, we do on city's website.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, we, if you go there and, uh, we've actually, we've won some national awards.

Dave Kleis:

Actually U.S. conference of mayor, uh, last year, uh, gave st called an award

Dave Kleis:

because, uh, you know, every city in the world has, has to get rid of their waste.

Dave Kleis:

And of course, so they have, uh, wastewater treatment facilities.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, so it's a great place to get dispose of water, and why not?

Dave Kleis:

If you're gonna dispose of water, take the water.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, use the, uh, separate the oxygen the hydrogen, use the hydrogen from energy.

Dave Kleis:

'cause you need the oxygen to break down the way.

Dave Kleis:

So, uh, it's really simple, but it is a very high energy, uh, utilizer.

Dave Kleis:

But

Dave Kleis:

if you're

ZOOM:

using the

Dave Kleis:

energy and you're producing the edge green, you do it.

Dave Kleis:

why, uh, it, it will, there's no doubt it'll be, uh, we will, secured state

Dave Kleis:

and federal grants because of it.

Dave Kleis:

And, uh, won an international award because of it.

Dave Kleis:

So, uh, yeah, so some great things and it's a great collaboration with transit.

Paul Comfort:

I'm gonna come back to you in few minutes, mayor, and you

Paul Comfort:

about, so maybe you can think back.

Paul Comfort:

What about Ryan made you wanna hire him as the CEO?

Paul Comfort:

Because we have a lot of people that listen to the show that

Paul Comfort:

are mid-level management.

Paul Comfort:

That wanna move into those CEO jobs.

Paul Comfort:

They're in positions like you had ada, you know, of bus operations, and they think,

Paul Comfort:

uh, you know, they aspire to to things.

Paul Comfort:

And so I don't think a lot 'em never had a chance to hear from somebody

Paul Comfort:

who chairs the selection committee.

Paul Comfort:

think about that for a minute while I Ryan.

Paul Comfort:

Ryan, uh, prior to this, uh, you were telling me you've got

Paul Comfort:

a lot of big projects going on.

Paul Comfort:

Walk me through some the big projects you got happening.

Ryan Daniel:

Yeah, sure.

Ryan Daniel:

So we have a metro bus forward plan where we are looking at

Ryan Daniel:

a bus, a total bus redesign.

Ryan Daniel:

So as a result of COVID, a lot of things happen.

Ryan Daniel:

The world shut down.

Ryan Daniel:

So now COVID is over.

Ryan Daniel:

Ridership patterns change, people's lifestyle change.

Ryan Daniel:

Everything's 50% virtual, 50% in the office.

Ryan Daniel:

So how do we capture that change in sync cloud community?

Ryan Daniel:

So we decided right on the onset of right on the offset of COVID, we decided

Ryan Daniel:

to do a metro bus forward plan where we just do everything on the mall.

Ryan Daniel:

Hey, let's just tear this apart.

Ryan Daniel:

How can we best meet the needs of the community moving forward?

Ryan Daniel:

How best can we serve our community?

Ryan Daniel:

Because we all know where transportation goes.

Ryan Daniel:

The community grows.

Ryan Daniel:

So we wanna grow the community coming outta COVID.

Ryan Daniel:

Let's meet the needs and let's say, Hey, how can we best do this?

Ryan Daniel:

So we did a 18 month study.

Ryan Daniel:

We hired some consultants, we did a whole stakeholder engagement.

Ryan Daniel:

We got the community involved.

Ryan Daniel:

'cause once again, it's about the community.

Ryan Daniel:

They're the ones utilizing our services businesses.

Ryan Daniel:

They hire staff, they hire people.

Ryan Daniel:

People, take transportation.

Ryan Daniel:

So we want to capture everybody.

Ryan Daniel:

So we had stakeholder forums, we had public hearings, we had open house,

Ryan Daniel:

and each one of those sessions, Paul, we had about maybe 50 to a

Ryan Daniel:

hundred people in those sessions.

Ryan Daniel:

We're so excited to see that we even had our own bus operators come in and telling

Ryan Daniel:

U.S. Hey.

Ryan Daniel:

Not this street, this street, not this.

Ryan Daniel:

Stop that stop.

Ryan Daniel:

And people say, Hey, can you open?

Ryan Daniel:

Can you open early?

Ryan Daniel:

Can you run later?

Ryan Daniel:

So we took all of that feedback and then worked with the consultants and

Ryan Daniel:

we put together a nice master plan, and it was just approved by the board

Ryan Daniel:

here about maybe four months ago.

Ryan Daniel:

So, so that's one thing that's gonna be coming in the hopper

Ryan Daniel:

here, second quarter of 2026.

Ryan Daniel:

In addition to that.

Ryan Daniel:

We purchased some property in a city called Way Park, one of

Ryan Daniel:

our cities that we operate in.

Ryan Daniel:

Where?

Ryan Daniel:

On that side of town, the western side of St. Cloud.

Ryan Daniel:

On, on that side.

Ryan Daniel:

We have a lot of growth that's going on over there.

Ryan Daniel:

So we wanna capture that growth.

Ryan Daniel:

There's an amphitheater over there.

Ryan Daniel:

There are hotels, there are shopping malls, there's a lot

Ryan Daniel:

of residential housing going up.

Ryan Daniel:

So we have a transit center.

Ryan Daniel:

We bought a parcel of land, right?

Ryan Daniel:

Dead smack in the middle of that residential neighborhood.

Ryan Daniel:

'cause we wanna capture that growth.

Ryan Daniel:

We want people just to utilize transportation and we wanna make it as

Ryan Daniel:

accessible as possible as we possibly can.

Ryan Daniel:

Wow.

Ryan Daniel:

So that.

Ryan Daniel:

We purchased the land, we gonna do construction here.

Ryan Daniel:

We just issued a RFP here recently.

Ryan Daniel:

And we're gonna tie the opening of that transit station together

Ryan Daniel:

with our long range plan changes.

Ryan Daniel:

And we're looking at doing everything in 2026.

Ryan Daniel:

Awesome.

Ryan Daniel:

So a lot of moving parts now.

Ryan Daniel:

All hands on deck.

Ryan Daniel:

Everybody's excited.

Ryan Daniel:

It's a team effort from marketing to maintenance, to

Ryan Daniel:

operations, to planning everybody.

Ryan Daniel:

And with the of our board and our board chair, uh, former

Ryan Daniel:

mayor of St. Cloud, mayor Price.

Ryan Daniel:

We're just gonna make happen because all have that passion for

Ryan Daniel:

transportation and we wanna grow

Ryan Daniel:

communities one person at a time.

Paul Comfort:

When

Paul Comfort:

we come back after this quick break, we're gonna talk to the Mayor Dave Kleis and

Paul Comfort:

ask him, what did he look for in a CEO when he hired you, Ryan, after this word.

Paul Comfort:

Hey friends, it's Paul Comfort host of Transit Unplugged, and I've

Paul Comfort:

got some exciting news to share.

Paul Comfort:

Did you know that Transit Unplugged is now a hybrid podcast experience?

Paul Comfort:

That's right.

Paul Comfort:

We're not just in your ears anymore.

Paul Comfort:

We're on your screens too.

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Each week on YouTube now you'll find a brand new version of our show

Paul Comfort:

featuring a video intro from me, plus behind the scenes photos and

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Adding a whole new layer to the storytelling and the response

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Thousands of people are already watching and listening on YouTube and most

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We're making transit media more dynamic, more accessible, and more fun than ever.

Paul Comfort:

And I'd love to have you along for the ride.

Paul Comfort:

Now let's get back to the conversation.

Paul Comfort:

And we're back with, um, my good friend Ryan Daniel, who is CEO of St.

Paul Comfort:

Cloud, Metro Bus, and, uh, Dave Kleis the board chair of Metro Bus, and also the

Paul Comfort:

former mayor of the City of St. Cloud.

Paul Comfort:

Thank you again, gentlemen, for being on the show.

Paul Comfort:

This is.

Paul Comfort:

Very insightful stuff.

Paul Comfort:

And so speaking of that, Dave, I was thinking, you know, so I've been

Paul Comfort:

a CEO of a transit system, right?

Paul Comfort:

And I've been county administrator hired county commissioners, and you

Paul Comfort:

go through this selection process and you get interviewed by a board, and

Paul Comfort:

I know a lot of our listeners are.

Paul Comfort:

You know, upwardly mobile, they're people that have, that wanna make a difference

Paul Comfort:

in this world, uh, in the, they've chosen transportation as their field,

Paul Comfort:

like you and I have Ryan to make that happen, and they want to become CEOs

Paul Comfort:

or directors, whatever the title is.

Paul Comfort:

Dave, what, what is a group like, you were the mayor and you were

Paul Comfort:

chair of the selection committee.

Paul Comfort:

What does a group look for, or what did you look for?

Paul Comfort:

Let's just say that when you look for a CEO of your system, when you hired Brian,

Dave Kleis:

Well first you look for, you know, the, the obvious piece

Dave Kleis:

is the experience, uh, supervision.

Dave Kleis:

Obviously you're gonna be, uh, supervising and hiring, uh, employees.

Dave Kleis:

So you understand that that's at a basic.

Dave Kleis:

But I always looked for, uh, drive and compassion.

Dave Kleis:

And, uh, you know, it's interesting 'cause the committee that I chaired,

Dave Kleis:

uh, we had, we had a number of folks, we did a national search

Dave Kleis:

and a lot of folks came forward.

Dave Kleis:

And I remember the discussion around Ryan and I was a big advocate of hiring

ZOOM:

him because.

ZOOM:

He came from a system, now he came, you know, originally in New York

ZOOM:

and then from DC and this is St.

Dave Kleis:

Cloud, Minnesota, a much smaller system.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, so, uh, I had some, uh, you know, trepidation from some of the board members

Dave Kleis:

saying, well, you know, he's, he's only gonna be with U.S. for a little while

Dave Kleis:

and he's gonna probably be upward and mobile and, and, uh, you know, I said,

Dave Kleis:

yeah, that's exactly who I would hire.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, somebody who is upward and mobile because, you know, they're not only

Dave Kleis:

looking at, uh, helping the system that they're gonna be hired to do,

Dave Kleis:

but they're also looking at, uh, you know, and, and if I can hire somebody.

Dave Kleis:

And I've done a lot of hiring at the city and I own, actually, I

Dave Kleis:

own a driver's education business, so I've owned that 34 years.

Dave Kleis:

So I've hired a lot of people and, uh,

Paul Comfort:

by way, a great voice for radio.

Paul Comfort:

a great voice of radio.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah, thank,

Paul Comfort:

deep

Dave Kleis:

thank you.

Dave Kleis:

I've done some radio but, uh, it, you know, it's, uh, it is a,

Dave Kleis:

it is something that I look for as somebody that really, um, is.

Dave Kleis:

Looks at their own, you know, their career and their future, and that's great.

Dave Kleis:

I always say, if you could hire somebody, you know, I remember

Dave Kleis:

talking to one of the, one

Dave Kleis:

of

Dave Kleis:

the committee members who said, yeah, he'll only be here, you know, for.

Dave Kleis:

Five years ago, that'd be a great five years because

Dave Kleis:

that's exactly what you want.

Dave Kleis:

You want someone to come in, get a little external perspective

Dave Kleis:

now, and you know, oftentimes you hire within and that's fine too.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, we had some internal candidates, uh, we had some

Dave Kleis:

folks

Dave Kleis:

that were outside, but Ryan knew his stuff and you know, and I, I, and after

Dave Kleis:

hiring and knowing Ryan, you know, I've known Ryan for the whole time

Dave Kleis:

that he's been here uh, yeah, 12 years.

Dave Kleis:

And, uh, you know, not only, uh.

Dave Kleis:

The CEO, but we're, we're good friends.

Dave Kleis:

But he, he has a passion.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, the guy lives a transit and so, and that was pretty evident too,

Dave Kleis:

because he had that experience.

Dave Kleis:

You know, he came You know, he drove a bus in New York.

Dave Kleis:

I mean, I would want to drive a car and I barely wanna be in transit in

Dave Kleis:

New York, um, with the way traffic and everything is, but he came from that

Dave Kleis:

system and then in, in DC and then coming into a system much smaller.

Dave Kleis:

But, um, you know, giving him an opportunity, , to actually, , to be

Dave Kleis:

the CEO is a whole different thing.

Dave Kleis:

So I, I look at that type of, uh, upward mobility, uh, you know, in hiring.

Dave Kleis:

And it was not in any way a. And no regrets.

Dave Kleis:

In fact, uh, you know, the, the board after we made that

Dave Kleis:

selection, and Brian's done a great job, uh, during that 12 years.

Dave Kleis:

, So , he's, uh, you know, he certainly, has the, and that's most people that

Dave Kleis:

apply for a job have the skill involved, but the passion for what they do, and,

Dave Kleis:

you you should be looking at, uh, I look at upward mobility because then,

Dave Kleis:

you know, you, somebody wants to.

Dave Kleis:

Excel in what they do, not only in the company that they're running and

Dave Kleis:

the in the system they're running, but in their own personal, uh, drive.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, that's got that kind of don't want somebody that's gonna settle and wants

Dave Kleis:

to retire and then, you know, or Or wants to just, you know, this is a job that

Dave Kleis:

makes it easier than I was doing before.

Dave Kleis:

No, you want somebody who is gonna not only challenge the system,

Dave Kleis:

but challenge themselves in upward

Paul Comfort:

That's great.

Paul Comfort:

What a great answer.

Paul Comfort:

And Ryan, how's your experience been?

Paul Comfort:

I mean, have you, everything's been good.

Paul Comfort:

You think?

Paul Comfort:

That's great, man.

Paul Comfort:

That's really good.

Ryan Daniel:

Very fortunate to have Dave as a boss and as a friend and as

Paul Comfort:

Yeah, it's

Ryan Daniel:

really uplifting for 12

Paul Comfort:

What do you consider, you know, kind of your.

Paul Comfort:

As a CEO, what do you think the key attributes are?

Paul Comfort:

So we'll just keep this kind of conversation going.

Paul Comfort:

So this is what we, this is what, uh, your boss, uh, Dave, as the mayor and

Paul Comfort:

the former board chair was looking for.

Paul Comfort:

What do you think is key for A CEO or someone who wants to move into leadership?

Paul Comfort:

What kind of things would they be working on on themselves?

Ryan Daniel:

Mentorship, number have to find someone who

Ryan Daniel:

mentor.

Ryan Daniel:

gotta have a

Ryan Daniel:

mentor that's very important.

Ryan Daniel:

two, it's technical skills.

Ryan Daniel:

Utilize trainings like APTA,

Ryan Daniel:

Leaders Academy,

Ryan Daniel:

the

Ryan Daniel:

Mid Managed Program.

Ryan Daniel:

Utilize those platforms, utilize those

Ryan Daniel:

training platforms

Ryan Daniel:

not only for the educational for the networking

Ryan Daniel:

component.

Ryan Daniel:

Because everybody in that had drive the passion

Ryan Daniel:

to want to be what

Ryan Daniel:

better

Ryan Daniel:

place similar

Ryan Daniel:

like-minded people like yourself

ZOOM:

to do the same thing?

ZOOM:

So I

Ryan Daniel:

would say

Ryan Daniel:

definitely take advantage those because those very beneficial.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

I mean, that's kind of what we're doing here, right?

Paul Comfort:

CTAA, you were the, you were the system of the year.

Paul Comfort:

What, what, what do you get from CTAA?

Paul Comfort:

What, what are the, what do you enjoy about it?

Ryan Daniel:

Well, not only that, not only that I'm on the board.

Ryan Daniel:

I get to help drive direction

Ryan Daniel:

the

Ryan Daniel:

process, help association,

Ryan Daniel:

but also provide valuable input.

Ryan Daniel:

once again, it's not about it's about the future generation succeeding as well.

Ryan Daniel:

So what does that How we

Ryan Daniel:

train the uh, leaders?

Ryan Daniel:

How can we

Ryan Daniel:

ensure that

Ryan Daniel:

content that are putting out.

Ryan Daniel:

It's gonna

Ryan Daniel:

be valuable worthwhile for

Ryan Daniel:

attendees, so that way they could grow into

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Ryan Daniel:

being to provide strategic

Ryan Daniel:

direction

Ryan Daniel:

and that input is

Ryan Daniel:

valuable.

Ryan Daniel:

And I

Ryan Daniel:

and not only that from a, from a, uh, executive step, from executive

Ryan Daniel:

just looking at having CTAA be that platform, for U.S. on the Hill lobby in.

Ryan Daniel:

Yeah.

Ryan Daniel:

of Yeah.

Ryan Daniel:

Scott Borin, the executive director,

Ryan Daniel:

phenomenal,

Ryan Daniel:

doing an Yeah.

Ryan Daniel:

He's

Ryan Daniel:

CTA

Ryan Daniel:

now for Wello

Ryan Daniel:

over 30 years.

Ryan Daniel:

his for

Ryan Daniel:

unmet.

Ryan Daniel:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

He, he and I kind of started around the same time.

Paul Comfort:

I started in 87.

Paul Comfort:

In Queen Annes County,

Paul Comfort:

Maryland

Paul Comfort:

Mm-hmm.

Paul Comfort:

the county ride system, like I mentioned.

Paul Comfort:

And Scott was editor of their magazine.

Paul Comfort:

Dave Raphael was the head of the association back then.

Paul Comfort:

And, Scott and I both, he stayed in one place.

Paul Comfort:

I went around and worked for a bunch, but we've been buddies ever since.

Paul Comfort:

And he's, he's another transit evangelist, right?

Paul Comfort:

oh, , I wanna ask you about technology.

Paul Comfort:

So, you everybody's, you know, we're here, uh, in June of 2025 and the

Paul Comfort:

hot thing right now is ai, right?

Paul Comfort:

Everybody's talking about ai, but there's lots of other.

Paul Comfort:

Technologies too.

Paul Comfort:

What are you working with right now and what technologies are you

Paul Comfort:

working with that are helping you or your agency serve people better?

Ryan Daniel:

Yeah.

Ryan Daniel:

so right now we are working with, uh, TripSpark.

Ryan Daniel:

We are looking at, uh, for right now, MetroBus high level.

Ryan Daniel:

Fix Route Bus.

Ryan Daniel:

We have the mobile app, we have the

Ryan Daniel:

ticket the and

Ryan Daniel:

things of that nature.

Ryan Daniel:

But then now we look at Paratransit.

Ryan Daniel:

want to make utilize our So right now we're working with TripSpark.

Ryan Daniel:

We are looking at creating a mobile app so that way can book your rides

Paul Comfort:

Oh, I love that

Ryan Daniel:

And that's the one big thing right now that we're

Ryan Daniel:

That's

Ryan Daniel:

we, we,

Ryan Daniel:

we upgraded all of our fear boxes.

Ryan Daniel:

we

Ryan Daniel:

but right now we wanna focus on the paratransit

Ryan Daniel:

customer

Ryan Daniel:

experience piece.

Ryan Daniel:

'cause we always wanna where can enhance the customer enhance that mobile

Ryan Daniel:

app

Ryan Daniel:

will be a game changer just for our

Ryan Daniel:

community.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

Where are you at in the process?

Ryan Daniel:

Oh, we are looking to launch here, uh,

Ryan Daniel:

four 2025 or

Ryan Daniel:

one of 2026.

Paul Comfort:

Anything else you wanna talk about on the show today?

Ryan Daniel:

I'm just to be here.

Ryan Daniel:

I'm happy to share knowledge.

Ryan Daniel:

happy be joined by St.

Ryan Daniel:

Cloud, former St. Cloud Mayor Kleis and board chair, and as we look

Ryan Daniel:

to grow the industry, passionate.

Ryan Daniel:

The one

Ryan Daniel:

thing I would say is, let's remember re transportation goals.

Ryan Daniel:

The

Ryan Daniel:

grows.

Ryan Daniel:

that community might look different around the United States, but we

Ryan Daniel:

all have that same driving passion.

Ryan Daniel:

Let's keep pushing, pushing and

Ryan Daniel:

make sure that transportation is accessible

Ryan Daniel:

for

Paul Comfort:

That's wonderful.

Paul Comfort:

And Mayor, let me give you the final word.

Paul Comfort:

Talk to U.S. about the role of public transportation.

Paul Comfort:

In a city like St. Cloud, what does it do for a city?

Paul Comfort:

You know, uh, it kind of ticks me off that not, you know, five or

Paul Comfort:

10% of the people in America ride trans, a lot of people don't ride,

Paul Comfort:

but it provides great value, right?

Dave Kleis:

Oh, it, it does it.

Dave Kleis:

You know, people have to, uh, get good places and, uh, you know,

Dave Kleis:

there's, uh, uh, one of the things I think that's, uh, often lost

Dave Kleis:

issue of, uh, economic development.

Dave Kleis:

You have to have people, uh.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, to get to work and, uh, you know, you're the first

Dave Kleis:

from a city's perspective.

Dave Kleis:

You, you try to create as much, uh, mobility as can, make the

Dave Kleis:

city walkable, uh, and walkable and, and transit oriented.

Dave Kleis:

And that's what we have.

Dave Kleis:

We're, you know, we're in Minnesota, so, you know, one of the things I've,

Dave Kleis:

I've, you've done a lot of travel.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, one of the things in Minnesota, you know, you.

Dave Kleis:

You can drive an hour and a half to lunch, you know, 'cause people will

Dave Kleis:

go from St. Cloud to Minneapolis.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, you know, and, and you people like to, like to spread out, spread out areas.

Dave Kleis:

So how do you get around, how do you get people around there?

Dave Kleis:

As you do that through transit, if you can make it easy, you can make it simple.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, and our goal is, you know, is not only in the technology

Dave Kleis:

thing, but can you make it clean.

Dave Kleis:

You know, and there's been a lot of

Paul Comfort:

you go

Dave Kleis:

over the years because, you know, you, you know, we're

Dave Kleis:

also a very cold winter state.

Dave Kleis:

I mean, you just think, I think back, uh, the, you know, years ago when I

Dave Kleis:

was first on the board, all the idling that, uh, those big diesel buses

Dave Kleis:

did and how, how terrible it was not only for the, for the drivers and for

Dave Kleis:

the customers and for those places,.

Dave Kleis:

At every intersection.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, now you got, uh, you, you know, we clean that up, uh, with CNG and

Paul Comfort:

Are, are you like all CNG?

Dave Kleis:

Yeah, we are 100% CNG

Paul Comfort:

Wow, awesome, man.

Dave Kleis:

You know, the goal will be a hundred percent hydrogen at some point.

Paul Comfort:

Oh, I love that.

Paul Comfort:

I'm a big hydrogen

Dave Kleis:

yeah.

Dave Kleis:

not only will it be, uh, clean, it'll be clean and, uh, and renewable.

Dave Kleis:

So that'll something that, uh, looking forward to doing.

Dave Kleis:

And so, yeah, and you know, if you look at over that period of

Dave Kleis:

time, it's really changed, but.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, you know, there's not an employer in any community that

Dave Kleis:

isn't looking for employees.

Dave Kleis:

It's one of the thing that's happening right now in the, in the U.S. you

Dave Kleis:

have underemployment a lot of areas.

Dave Kleis:

So do you gotta do?

Dave Kleis:

You gotta make it as convenient as employee.

Dave Kleis:

And folks want to, you know, and if you look at the largest, uh,

Dave Kleis:

percentage of the workforce for force in the United States are millennials.

Dave Kleis:

And millennials, uh, you know, more and more millennials are not buying cars.

Dave Kleis:

Um, you know, I know somebody on the other side.

Dave Kleis:

Since I'm on, I'm in the driver's education world, I'm always

Dave Kleis:

amazed that younger and younger people are older and older before

Dave Kleis:

they actually get their license

Paul Comfort:

true, isn't it?

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Dave Kleis:

And so, uh, people are, uh, transit, Oregon.

Dave Kleis:

They wanna live in places where they can walk or they can get on

Dave Kleis:

a bus, they can get on a train.

Dave Kleis:

Um, and so that's an important piece.

Dave Kleis:

And Minnesota's also in some of those rural areas are aging.

Dave Kleis:

So how do you get people there?

Dave Kleis:

You know, the, uh, the dial ride or the, uh, you know, the paratransit is a huge.

Dave Kleis:

Huge part of it.

Dave Kleis:

You just gotta get people not only, uh, to work, but you gotta get 'em to

Dave Kleis:

their medical appointments, to the, to the shopping and to the church.

Dave Kleis:

So, uh, yeah, it's moving around people and doing it in a way that's

Dave Kleis:

convenient and, uh, and, uh, really also, uh, good for the community

Dave Kleis:

and, uh, so the, the green aspect of the technology part of it and

Paul Comfort:

that's wonderful.

Paul Comfort:

Ryan, thank you so much for being our guest today.

Paul Comfort:

Welcome.

Paul Comfort:

Um, I was gonna ask you one more question, just I feel like I want to ask you this.

Paul Comfort:

So what is your vision?

Paul Comfort:

Uh, you know, if you wanna project out where you want this transit system to be

Paul Comfort:

in 10 years, you've been there 12, I'm sure you wanna stay there for a while.

Paul Comfort:

What is your vision?

Paul Comfort:

What are you shooting for

Ryan Daniel:

I'm shooting for?

Ryan Daniel:

a place, a system where everybody will leave their cars at home and

Ryan Daniel:

utilize public transportation.

Ryan Daniel:

If I could

Ryan Daniel:

get

Ryan Daniel:

every single person who has car households, four car car

Ryan Daniel:

at home and get on the bus.

Ryan Daniel:

well done.

Ryan Daniel:

Yeah.

Ryan Daniel:

Yeah.

Ryan Daniel:

That's my vision.

Ryan Daniel:

I want people to utilize bus, uh, transportation services.

Paul Comfort:

Well, I can see why Mayor Dave hired you.

Paul Comfort:

You, you, you have the ability, uh, obviously, you know, you're

Paul Comfort:

very articulate and, but you also have the passion for it.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

And you're a believer in it.

Paul Comfort:

I can tell.

Paul Comfort:

that's wonderful, man.

Paul Comfort:

I appreciate you both being on the show today.

Paul Comfort:

You know, coming off the trade show floor to come over here and chat for a

Paul Comfort:

a

Paul Comfort:

minutes.

Paul Comfort:

I think we've learned a lot and I wish you all the very best in your new facility.

Paul Comfort:

And, uh, and going hydrogen man, clean.

Paul Comfort:

Hydrogen green.

Paul Comfort:

That's awesome.

Paul Comfort:

I love it.

Paul Comfort:

Uh, and hopefully we'll catch back up with you in a year or

Paul Comfort:

two and see how it's going.

Ryan Daniel:

Sounds good.

Ryan Daniel:

Thank Paul.

Ryan Daniel:

Yeah.

Ryan Daniel:

Thank

Paul Comfort:

Thank you.

Paul Comfort:

Thank you.

Paul Comfort:

Thank you, mayor.

Julie Gates:

Thank you for listening to this week's episode

Julie Gates:

of the Transit Unplugged Podcast.

Julie Gates:

We're so glad you're here.

Julie Gates:

My name is Julie Gates.

Julie Gates:

I'm the executive producer of the show, and our goal is to create

Julie Gates:

programs that promote the great things going on in the transit industry

Julie Gates:

by providing you with behind the scenes access with industry executive

Julie Gates:

leadership so we can work together to find innovative industry solutions.

Julie Gates:

We would love to have you be a part of the Transit Unplugged community by

Julie Gates:

having you sign up for our newsletter.

Julie Gates:

Head to the show notes to find the link.

Julie Gates:

Thanks for listening to Transit Unplugged with Paul Comfort, our favorite transit

Julie Gates:

evangelist, and we'll catch you next week.

Julie Gates:

Thanks for tuning in.

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Transit Unplugged
Leading podcast on public transit hosted by Paul Comfort, SVP Modaxo.

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