Episode 86
Lessons from an Intentional Transit CEO Succession
Leadership transitions are inevitable, but successful ones are far from guaranteed. In this special on-location episode of Transit Unplugged, Paul Comfort visits Delaware Transit Corporation (DART First State) to explore a rare example of intentional succession in action.
Outgoing CEO John Sisson reflects on a 32-year career and the legacy he leaves after more than a decade leading one of America's most unique statewide transit systems. Joining him is incoming CEO Lilia Montoya, who arrives from California for her first CEO role and benefits from something few leaders receive: a month of overlap with the person she's succeeding.
Together, they discuss why succession planning matters, how organizations can preserve institutional knowledge while embracing fresh ideas, and why leadership isn't only about how you serve—it's also about how you leave.
For outgoing leaders, this episode offers lessons in stewardship, trust, and preparing the next generation. For incoming leaders, it provides insight into building relationships, honoring a legacy, and establishing a vision for the future.
Along the way, Paul explores Delaware's integrated statewide transit model, seasonal beach service, paratransit and microtransit innovations, and the close collaboration between DART First State and DelDOT that makes the agency one of the most distinctive in North America.
In this episode:
- Why intentional succession is part of leadership
- John Sisson's reflections on a 32-year transit career
- Lilia Montoya's journey to her first CEO role
- The value of leadership overlap and knowledge transfer
- Balancing continuity with new ideas
- Lessons for both incoming and outgoing executives
- Delaware's statewide approach to transit
- Beach service, paratransit, and microtransit innovations
- How DelDOT and DART First State work together to deliver mobility
- Why leadership legacies are measured not only by what leaders build, but by what they leave behind
Credits
Host and Producer: Paul Comfort
Executive Producer: Julie Gates
Producer: Chris O’Keeffe
Editor: Patrick Emile
Associate Producer: Cyndi Raskin
Camera: Cyndi Raskin
Brand Design: Tina Olagundoye
Transit Unplugged is brought to you by Modaxo, passionate about moving the world’s people.
For more information, visit: www.Transit Unplugged.com
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
We're here in Dover, Delaware for today's Transit Unplugged podcast.
Speaker:I'm Paul Comfort, and as you know, we're moving now to video podcasts,
Speaker:and so I'm excited to be here, uh, in person to do the first one kind
Speaker:of on location for the podcast.
Speaker:We're gonna be interviewing John Sisson, who is the CEO of the agency.
Speaker:He's been here for a while.
Speaker:We're also gonna be talking to Lilia Montoya, who is the incoming CEO.
Speaker:They've done a one-month overlap of their, uh, positions, which is great.
Speaker:You hardly ever get that anymore.
Speaker:We're gonna d- go around the state some with them.
Speaker:We're filming a Transit Unplugged TV show while we're here.
Speaker:We're excited to bring you a great in-depth interview with
Speaker:my friend and CEO John Sisson.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:Well, Paul, welcome to Delaware Transit Corporation, the operator of DART First
Speaker:States, our Dover Administration and Maintenance and Operations building.
Speaker:Um, I understand you've been, uh, checking out the state so far a little bit.
Speaker:Yeah, it's been great, John.
Speaker:Thanks for hosting us.
Speaker:You got a great staff.
Speaker:They've done an amazing work.
Speaker:Um, so tell us something about the agency itself, 'cause you're very unique.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:I mean, you're a statewide agency.
Speaker:So yeah, so the Delaware Transit Corporation was formed, um, in 1995
Speaker:to run statewide public transit for the entire state of Delaware.
Speaker:While we're a small state, we're a little bit diverse state.
Speaker:So up in, you know, New Castle County, um, we have the city of Wilmington, which, you
Speaker:know, is a key, uh, city, actually in the country because it's where a lot of comp-
Speaker:companies are incorporated in Delaware.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And they do a lot of, uh, business there.
Speaker:But we're almost a little bit of a suburb of Philadelphia.
Speaker:We have our SEPTA services that come in, t- rail services that come in
Speaker:and help us connect, you know, the, the metropolitan area, Philadelphia
Speaker:and Wilmington and South Jersey.
Speaker:as you come down the state, we're here in Dover, the capital
Speaker:of the first state, right?
Speaker:So we're about to celebrate the country's 250th anniversary.
Speaker:Um, we're proud to be the first state in the nation, um, in ratifying that.
Speaker:So we were the first to sign the Constitution in 1787, so a little bit
Speaker:after the Declaration of In- Independence.
Speaker:our state government's run out of here.
Speaker:We have Dover Air Force Base, which is a, a, a major Air Force
Speaker:base in the, in, in the country.
Speaker:Um, it's probably known best for, fallen soldiers, um, and military
Speaker:come here and, uh, you know, the, the dig- dignified transfer there.
Speaker:you know, the president has al- u- unfortunately sit here too many
Speaker:times to, to do that activity.
Speaker:it's a suburban area in Dover here, and then we go down to Sussex County.
Speaker:A lot of farmland, but we have, um, some of the country's
Speaker:greatest beaches and resort town.
Speaker:Yes, you do.
Speaker:And, um, we have a lot of people, uh, retiring, and then from the
Speaker:Mid-Atlantic coming to this area.
Speaker:Delaware, um, is a great place to live.
Speaker:No sales tax.
Speaker:No sales tax, low property tax, um, and then the beach
Speaker:community is just wonderful.
Speaker:We have, uh, beaches along the Atlantic Ocean, up the Dele River, and we
Speaker:have bays and lots of activities.
Speaker:lots of great restaurants and, um, things to do down there.
Speaker:So in the summertime, we started a couple b- weeks ago with our beach bus service,
Speaker:which we ramp up to just get people down to the boardwalks in the resort community.
Speaker:There's a ferry that comes across from Ca- Cape May that connects us to South Jersey.
Speaker:Um, we connect to Ocean City, Maryland.
Speaker:So overall in our system, w- you know, we're, we're a fixed route
Speaker:system obviously, so we provide local fixed route in each of the areas.
Speaker:We connect that with intercounty bus service.
Speaker:we have, I mentioned we have the SEPTA commuter rail service
Speaker:coming in to New Castle County.
Speaker:Um, we have a couple of microtransit routes that, and we're
Speaker:gonna continue to expand them.
Speaker:What we're known most for in the industry is we do statewide
Speaker:paratransit door to door.
Speaker:Uh, we were the first in the nation to do that about 52 years ago.
Speaker:Wow.
Speaker:Um, and so we continue to do that.
Speaker:It is a big part of our service.
Speaker:It's actually bigger than our fixed route service and the number of
Speaker:operators and buses that we do.
Speaker:Wow.
Speaker:But it is a, it's, it's so critical to the community that we serve, um,
Speaker:who might not be able to get around, get to medical appointments, get to
Speaker:daycare type services, adult daycare, whatever those type of services.
Speaker:Or even just, you know, go to church, go to a restaurant, go
Speaker:to shopping, do whatever you do.
Speaker:Um, we provide that, um, statewide door to door.
Speaker:So John, you and I have known each other a while.
Speaker:We're kinda neighbors, neighboring states here.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Uh, you've been CEO for over a decade here.
Speaker:Tell us about kinda a little of your career, your legacy, because I, I
Speaker:heard a rumor you might be retiring.
Speaker:I might be.
Speaker:Yeah, so the, the rumors are true.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:Um, I am retiring, um, beginning of July.
Speaker:Um, so I started my career right out of college in, in 1993.
Speaker:Actually, I did a summer internship before that.
Speaker:Wow.
Speaker:And so it was originally the part of the, the Railroad Administration, and
Speaker:then when Delaware Transit Corporation was formed in 1995, we, we brought all
Speaker:the transit agencies under one roof.
Speaker:So I, I worked through contract bus operations, I worked through
Speaker:facilities, capital projects, all those types of things.
Speaker:I got into performance management, um, looking at how the agency operated,
Speaker:and about 12 years ago I became CEO.
Speaker:Um, you know, transit i- it's… I never thought about this coming out
Speaker:of college or what my career would be.
Speaker:I, I was a mechanical engineer in school.
Speaker:Oh, yeah.
Speaker:I did some civil engineering work, too.
Speaker:Um, somehow it gets in your blood, right?
Speaker:And once you get involved in it, um, you live it every day.
Speaker:And, you know, as, as I grew in my career, the responsibilities
Speaker:change, obviously, the roles change.
Speaker:You know, you grow from doing the, being the taskmaster to, you know, actually
Speaker:making sure, creating a vision for what the c- or corporation needs to do,
Speaker:where do we need to go in the future.
Speaker:You know, we've gone through a lot of things.
Speaker:Uh, you know, economic crisis in '08, uh, COVID.
Speaker:You know, COVID really changed our business as we all know.
Speaker:Um, but it, it's been a long haul.
Speaker:Um, it's been great, but it's time for something new.
Speaker:This is a 24/7 job, right?
Speaker:You know that.
Speaker:You did it.
Speaker:Um, it, it can be a little bit, um, much on you.
Speaker:But I also think, you know, 12 years as a CEO in one lo- in one
Speaker:organization straight is a long time.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:I, you know, um, I think there's opportunity for
Speaker:new vision, new leadership.
Speaker:Um, and I'm excited about, um, Lilia Montoya, who's, who's here now.
Speaker:She's gonna be shadowing me for the next month or so.
Speaker:she's asking me great questions, talking about her experience and things
Speaker:she's done, and, you know, like, "Oh, yeah, we, we, we might be able to
Speaker:do something different here," right?
Speaker:And do something different.
Speaker:So she's gonna do an amazing job.
Speaker:Um, we have amazing team here,
Speaker:We have something interesting kind of on the northeast United States.
Speaker:There's a bunch of state agencies like New Jersey Transit-
Speaker:Mm
Speaker:… CT Transit, Delaware, Maryland, that are state agencies.
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:How does that work?
Speaker:So it, it's really cool.
Speaker:Um, so as, as a CEO of Delaware Transit Corporation, I report directly
Speaker:to the Secretary of Transportation, Shante Hastings, and I sit at the
Speaker:table with the DelDOT leadership team, and we truly try to integrate into
Speaker:a multimodal transportation network.
Speaker:it creates partnerships, um, whether it's through snow removal, and
Speaker:the department's making sure they prioritize bus routes to get cleared-
Speaker:Okay
Speaker:… and do those types of things.
Speaker:I, just this morning, I sat on a, a value engineering committee for
Speaker:a roadway expansion project to make sure that pedestrian transit
Speaker:multimodal aspects of highway projects are being really considered and,
Speaker:and thought into, into what we do.
Speaker:And so we're not on an island by ourselves.
Speaker:I've formed great relationships over the years to make sure that, we just, you
Speaker:know … Back when I started my career, I might've got a little frustrated and
Speaker:called them the highway department-
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:… 'cause all they thought about was cars and trucks, but it's not that way
Speaker:anymore, and especially in Delaware with the leadership from Shante, we
Speaker:make sure that every ride is critical.
Speaker:Safety is paramount in what we do.
Speaker:Um, so, you know, my safety issues, um, are integrated into
Speaker:the highway road safety issues and all the other things that happen.
Speaker:a transit rider is always a pedestrian as well, as we all know that, so
Speaker:how they get to our system matters.
Speaker:we used to call it non-motorized transportation, but these e-bikes, these
Speaker:e-scooters and everything else are so critical to the integration of what we do.
Speaker:So they're getting to my system on these little motorized vehicles, and
Speaker:how do we make sure that they do that safely and so everyone gets home alive?
Speaker:Oh, yeah.
Speaker:That's great.
Speaker:Well, this has been great, John.
Speaker:I know we're gonna hang out some today.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:You're gonna show me around some other sites, and I'm excited
Speaker:to talk to your incoming CEO.
Speaker:Why don't we go out and talk to her outside?
Speaker:Sounds like a great idea.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:Thanks, brother.
Speaker:Thanks, Paul.
Speaker:Well, Lilia, excited to have you here on the show with us.
Speaker:This is like your first week, right?
Speaker:Uh, my third day.
Speaker:Third day.
Speaker:Third day.
Speaker:Wow.
Speaker:What'd you do the first day?
Speaker:John just told me a wild story about what you all did with like,
Speaker:as with the DOT kind of, um, experience with all the leaders.
Speaker:Yeah, with the, yes, the DelDot leaders, and, uh, it was with our
Speaker:secretary, and it was wonderful.
Speaker:We climbed, what, the Inlet River 350 feet, about 25 floors, so you can imagine.
Speaker:Like on a ladder, you climbed up the bridge?
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:What was that about?
Speaker:It was, it, uh, literally-
Speaker:Team building?
Speaker:It, it, well, it was definitely, but you know, a quick way to
Speaker:build trust, collaboration-
Speaker:Yeah
Speaker:and definitely courage.
Speaker:And show you, and show you one of the state's assets, right?
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:That's a big state asset.
Speaker:And I mean, but-
Speaker:Yeah … once, once you hit the top, it was breathtaking-
Speaker:I betcha
Speaker:… and it was just refreshing.
Speaker:I've driven over.
Speaker:That's a fantastic bridge.
Speaker:And you know what?
Speaker:It, uh, it highlights what John and I were just talking about, is the intermodal
Speaker:nature of a state agency, where you're working hand in glove with state highway
Speaker:and with all the other administrations.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:Have you ever had that in your past experience?
Speaker:Which, what's been your past experience?
Speaker:I, actually it's been an amazing experience.
Speaker:Yeah?
Speaker:I, believe it or not, I, I, my, I started my transportation career in heavy rail.
Speaker:Oh, nice.
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:And so I spent eight and a half years with a class one railroad for eight and
Speaker:a half years, and then I transitioned over to pu- the public sector.
Speaker:So therefore I've had a little bit of experience, or maybe a lot of
Speaker:experience over two decades, in heavy rail, public transit, and school bus.
Speaker:School bus.
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:That's something.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:And what attracted you here to Delaware, to the East Coast from out in California?
Speaker:You know, it was amazing.
Speaker:Uh, it was just a matter of opportunity, and honestly, when I came out for my
Speaker:interview, it was just driving into the state- perfectly clean, not one, one bit
Speaker:of trash on the highway, and it's green.
Speaker:It's green.
Speaker:It's green.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:But also, the people are lovely.
Speaker:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker:Always.
Speaker:As the employees here.
Speaker:And have you ever had a Dartley?
Speaker:Come on over, Dartley.
Speaker:I love Dartley.
Speaker:All right, high five, buddy.
Speaker:Yeah, so this is a great, I think, fun way to introduce transit.
Speaker:You talked about school kids, made me think about it.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:Introduce them to the concept of getting on transit, having fun.
Speaker:Yes, I think that's a, it's a great concept also, you know, to teach children
Speaker:about the value in public transit.
Speaker:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker:So what are you excited for?
Speaker:Coming up, uh, you're just getting, uh, on the ground here in Delaware.
Speaker:You've moved out, I guess?
Speaker:I am five days in the, in the state.
Speaker:Lock, stock, and barrel, you're here, huh?
Speaker:I'm here, and, and I'm happy to be here.
Speaker:Yeah, it's exciting.
Speaker:So this is an exciting time, right?
Speaker:Have you ever been a CEO before, and what are you excited about?
Speaker:This is my first run as a CEO.
Speaker:I have been a deputy CEO.
Speaker:I've been chief operating officer as well.
Speaker:Oh, look at that.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:But I've, I've grown in my career.
Speaker:Uh, and, uh, it's been valuable, valuable experience, a lot of learning.
Speaker:And, uh, but I'm really excited about living in Delaware, learning about
Speaker:Delaware, and there's definitely different changes as far as legislature
Speaker:from the West Coast to the East Coast.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And but the most exciting part is really learning the system here, and I'm really
Speaker:excited about the c- collaboration with DelDOT and how we work together.
Speaker:I mean, it's been a very warm welcome, and I just, I really love, uh, the feel
Speaker:that the employees and everyone has, the way they, everyone has embraced me.
Speaker:So-
Speaker:That's great
Speaker:… it's been very nice.
Speaker:Something that's really great, I think, I would have loved to have
Speaker:had this when I was a CEO, is you've got a month to overlap with John.
Speaker:So he's kind of showing you the ropes and introducing you to everybody.
Speaker:How is that, having a month where you can kinda come in and, uh, work
Speaker:alongside the CEO as he begins to retire?
Speaker:You know, it's, it's an interesting question.
Speaker:Uh, I think that agencies normally try to h- build a succession plan and to have
Speaker:this, this is really, uh, a, an honor to be able to work with John and to have that
Speaker:seamless transition and to be able to see and learn about projects that are ongoing
Speaker:and also, you know, things that are pressing at this time and then, you know,
Speaker:our pinch points and also our successes.
Speaker:And so I wanna be able to lead and to follow through with that, so
Speaker:therefore we don't have that gap.
Speaker:So in my 22 years in the transportation industry, this is the first time
Speaker:I've had this valuable experience.
Speaker:And so therefore, I hope to be able to continue to advocate for, uh, to have
Speaker:something like this for the future.
Speaker:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:Kudos to the state for-
Speaker:Yes
Speaker:… having the foresight to do this.
Speaker:Uh, it's really a model, I think, for the industry, so.
Speaker:It really is.
Speaker:How about we head out to lunch, and we all go down to the beach?
Speaker:Yeah,
Speaker:let's do it.
Speaker:All
Speaker:right, thanks.
Speaker:Thanks for listening to the Transit Unplugged Podcast.
Speaker:We are so glad you're here.
Speaker:If you're enjoying this show, we know you'll love our other
Speaker:transit industry programs.
Speaker:On Transit Unplugged TV, Paul Comfort explores the food, culture, and
Speaker:transit systems around the globe.
Speaker:You get to see everything.
Speaker:You'll love this show.
Speaker:And every week we also offer up the Transit Unplugged News Minute, where
Speaker:you can get the latest industry headlines in less than 60 seconds.
Speaker:You can find out more at transitunplugged.com.
Speaker:Now back to Paul Comfort for this edition of the award-winning
Speaker:Transit Unplugged Podcast
Speaker:John, uh, we're continuing the podcast with you now, so, uh, and Lilia too.
Speaker:We- we're, uh, tell us where we're at and what we're doing.
Speaker:So we're, we're at the Lewis Transit Center on one of our,
Speaker:uh, battery electric buses.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:And we're gonna, we're gonna take the, the bus lane down to the Rehoboth Boardwalk.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:Traditionally it's the Route 201 here in, in, on our beach bus services
Speaker:that runs frequently to get people out of the congestion to the boardwalk.
Speaker:Um, avoid the $4 an hour parking.
Speaker:Avoid looking for parking.
Speaker:It's fast, easy, and convenient.
Speaker:That's great, man.
Speaker:Um, so let's talk about your service as a whole.
Speaker:We talked a little bit about it at your, at your operation though, but
Speaker:I want to expand a little bit about this, like, three parts of the state.
Speaker:You got it.
Speaker:You've got three counties, and you really run kinda different
Speaker:type of services in each area.
Speaker:Tell me about that.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:So, so Wilmington is, is an urbanized area.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:From, from a transit FTA standpoint, we're in an urbanized area, right?
Speaker:So you have a city, you have a, you know, central business
Speaker:district, and you're running your traditional fixed route services.
Speaker:You know, bringing people into work, to shopping, all those different things.
Speaker:But it, it's your traditional service area.
Speaker:Um, as you go down the state, in the s- the center of the state, we
Speaker:have a state capital, um, Dover.
Speaker:Um, and it's more of a suburban, m- more than rural, but suburban-
Speaker:Yeah
Speaker:… type service.
Speaker:So we run a pulse system kind of in and out-
Speaker:Okay
Speaker:of, of, of the, of the, of the city, and, and, and still
Speaker:connect people where they go.
Speaker:And then when you come down here in the lower part of the state, Sussex
Speaker:County, you got two aspects of it.
Speaker:So we have a real rural area, farmlands, but there's still
Speaker:communities, and then we have a resort vacation destination at the beach.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So in the summer, you know, we have service year-round down here, but the
Speaker:summer we go to a seven-day operation that's probably 22 hours a day in service.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So we get people late at night getting off work or-
Speaker:Yeah
Speaker:… leaving entertainment, um, that can get around.
Speaker:Um, you have a lot of students, foreign students that come in here to work and-
Speaker:Oh, right
Speaker:come here without cars, and transportation's key for them.
Speaker:So it's big resort.
Speaker:You got Dewey Beach, Bethany Beach, Lewes, and Rehoboth, right?
Speaker:Rehoboth.
Speaker:And we also connect with Ocean City, Maryland, and connect-
Speaker:Oh
Speaker:… with their transit system.
Speaker:Ah.
Speaker:So when I was at MTA Baltimore, we used to loan Ocean City a dozen of our, you
Speaker:know, articulated buses every summer-
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:Yeah
Speaker:… because they had so much extra traffic than I bet you.
Speaker:How do you all handle all the extra flux here?
Speaker:So w- we do it again.
Speaker:So the summer we ramp up service, more frequency.
Speaker:We have special events like Rehoboth fireworks.
Speaker:Oh, yeah.
Speaker:Um, we'll bring service, extra buses down from Wilmington to help with the
Speaker:crush loads, um, and manage it that way.
Speaker:And then with all of those three counties, we connect them
Speaker:with our inner county buses.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:So we're, we, you know, you can get from Lewes to Dover and, and
Speaker:then transfer a bus from Dover to Wilmington, and then on the weekends
Speaker:in the summer we run a bus from Wilmington to Dover to the beach area.
Speaker:So get people down here to the beach and make sure we're connecting
Speaker:Newark to Dover in different ways.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So we really do cover the state, um-
Speaker:That's amazing
Speaker:… and any transportation needs.
Speaker:Now funding-wise, do you all get any funding from the counties, or are you all
Speaker:state money, or how does all that work?
Speaker:So we're all state transportation.
Speaker:You know, the federal dollars that come in.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:The rest of it comes through DelDOT.
Speaker:We're, we're a division of DelDOT and their Transportation Trust Fund.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:And- Which is gas tax.
Speaker:Gas tax, motor vehicles, tolls, um-
Speaker:Corporate, some corporate tax like Maryland?
Speaker:No corporate tax.
Speaker:No corporate tax.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:So there's just things- You know, and it does a pretty good job.
Speaker:They're always looking to make sure that it's keeping up with the times-
Speaker:Yeah
Speaker:and inflation.
Speaker:But you guys aren't coming up to a fiscal cliff or anything?
Speaker:No, you, you always, you know, this-
Speaker:Right
Speaker:… you know, post-COVID there's always fiscal pressure, right?
Speaker:You gotta be efficient and you gotta be smart with what you're doing.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Um, you know, we're adjusting routes based on changes in demand by COVID.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:But we're not out for referendums.
Speaker:We're not out for those types of things.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:You're not looking for a property tax?
Speaker:Tax, no.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:Yeah, that's interesting.
Speaker:Lilia,
Speaker:let
Speaker:me ask you a question.
Speaker:you were at Long Beach, right?
Speaker:I was.
Speaker:Which was kind of like a resort.
Speaker:How is that different?
Speaker:Would, what was your job there, and, and how was that different than what we,
Speaker:what you're doing here, do you think?
Speaker:Um-
Speaker:Or same?
Speaker:Well, it's, it's a little bit different.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:I mean, here because as, as, you know, John has stated, you know, this
Speaker:is state run, and, you know, it's-
Speaker:Oh, right.
Speaker:Yeah, and you were like a local operation.
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And so we, our, our operation there, I was a deputy CEO there, and,
Speaker:uh, we also had, you know, boats.
Speaker:Oh, okay.
Speaker:So the service was, yes.
Speaker:That-
Speaker:Yeah
Speaker:… that, that we, we had contracted out, and, but that was just
Speaker:local, just around the bay.
Speaker:Yes, gotcha.
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:But it's a resort town, so did you have to ramp up and down through the seasons?
Speaker:Or California's always nice, right?
Speaker:Well, I mean, it, it, it does- It never rains in California.
Speaker:It, it, it doesn't maybe viewed as a resort town, but it's, you
Speaker:know, it's, it's a busy city.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:You know, the ridership had increased also with the student ridership
Speaker:had, it just, it, it made it like it was, went up like 1,000%-
Speaker:Wow
Speaker:with that, that initiative.
Speaker:And you know, we also had the shuttle service over to UCLA.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:You know, to support the university.
Speaker:So I mean, it's just, I think it's all in, in the mindset-
Speaker:Yeah
Speaker:… and being innovative and introducing n- new programs.
Speaker:Hey, as long as, you know, we have the support and the funding-
Speaker:Yeah
Speaker:we can do a lot.
Speaker:So you were deputy CEO.
Speaker:Wasn't Deborah from Denver?
Speaker:Didn't she used to work there too, at Long Beach?
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:Yes, she absolutely did.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And then who's your CEO there?
Speaker:Uh, currently?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Uh, it's still Ken McDonald.
Speaker:Yeah, yeah, CEO of the year for APTA.
Speaker:So, uh-
Speaker:Yes
Speaker:… for those of you who are listening, hopefully we'll get him on
Speaker:the podcast later this summer.
Speaker:That's good.
Speaker:Man, d- that's a great system there.
Speaker:You're pumping out leaders.
Speaker:Yeah, I, I hope that.
Speaker:So you'll have to, you'll have to thank him.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah, I will, I will.
Speaker:That's great.
Speaker:So John, I noticed in the front of Dartley you got some numbers down there.
Speaker:What are they?
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:So when we, when we created Dartley, we wanted to make sure that really
Speaker:re- reflective of the organization.
Speaker:So-
Speaker:black, back, block-
Speaker:Yeah, stop announcement.
Speaker:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker:So we have, uh, the three, those three u- numbers represent
Speaker:our three, uh, labor unions-
Speaker:Oh, okay
Speaker:that work at DART: drivers, mechanics, service supervisors, info center.
Speaker:Those represent the three unions.
Speaker:A- and then on the back, there's the number 1787, which is the year
Speaker:Delaware ratified the Constitution.
Speaker:Oh, yeah.
Speaker:We went to the, uh, the courthouse in Newcastle-
Speaker:Oh, yeah
Speaker:… where, where they were voting and all that jazz.
Speaker:Oh, yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And then the, uh, the route number's 95 for 1995 when Delaware
Speaker:Transit Corporation was created.
Speaker:Oh, okay.
Speaker:That's cool, man.
Speaker:That's-
Speaker:What's this deal up here, John?
Speaker:So that's our infotain- infotainment system.
Speaker:Um, we installed it a few years ago, and it's, it's really a tool to help
Speaker:us communicate with our customers.
Speaker:You know as a former transit CEO how to connect with your
Speaker:customers is challenging.
Speaker:And so this does a lot of different things.
Speaker:Traditionally, buses have audio announcements, right?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:A- and whatever.
Speaker:Well, this brings visual to it as well.
Speaker:So if someone has a hearing impairment, they'll see the things that the buses say.
Speaker:It also allows us to, you know, put alerts out about public hearings
Speaker:or things very specific to a route.
Speaker:You can s- you could put a route detour for a very specific route up there.
Speaker:Oh, yeah.
Speaker:We talk about some of the goodwill stuff we do.
Speaker:Um, it's a, it could be a revenue source selling advertisement.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:So it's, it's really multifunctional.
Speaker:We can do things in English and Spanish.
Speaker:We can do multiple ways of doing things if we know the community and the needs.
Speaker:So it's just, you know, I remember starting my career, we used to run
Speaker:around and post up, you know, "Hey," you know, "Bus stop closures"-
Speaker:Yeah, yeah
Speaker:public hearing notices, and all those things were, were
Speaker:l- really labor-intensive.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So this, this really helps bridge that gap and, and, and do a lot of stuff.
Speaker:So right now there's a thing up there about our, our customer survey that
Speaker:we just launched, um, on Monday.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:So there's a QR code.
Speaker:You can click the QR code and take our customer satisfaction survey.
Speaker:Oh, right here on the bus.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Oh, that's awesome, dude.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So instead of having pieces of paper out there, and then we can
Speaker:change things out at an instant.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So it's really, really neat.
Speaker:And you have this on all your buses?
Speaker:All our bu- all our fixed route buses.
Speaker:Yeah, that's awesome.
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:And, uh, who controls the messaging?
Speaker:So our marketing team-
Speaker:Okay
Speaker:… um, in the back office Oh,
Speaker:I know somebody there.
Speaker:I think her name's Lerrissa.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah, in our team.
Speaker:They do amazing job.
Speaker:So they, they program what's going on.
Speaker:We have a contractor that helps us sell advertising, whether
Speaker:it's a bus wrap or internal ads.
Speaker:Oh,
Speaker:that's
Speaker:good.
Speaker:So they've done some with the lottery and some other areas to,
Speaker:to do some ads that way, and we, we expect that to continue to grow.
Speaker:Um, you can, you know, you can show the route tree and what your next stop's
Speaker:coming up, all those different things.
Speaker:So it's really convenient.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:That's awesome, man.
Speaker:- We've had a great time in Delaware here, uh, filming with John Sisson, the CEO,
Speaker:the outgoing CEO of Delaware Transit Corporation's DART First State service.
Speaker:Um, they are, you know, a state organization, but they operate transit
Speaker:system in multiple parts of the state.
Speaker:When I was at the MTA, you remember, I, I was a general manager of the
Speaker:city of Baltimore and gave money to all the 23 jurisdictions to
Speaker:run their own transit systems.
Speaker:That's not how it is here in Delaware.
Speaker:They may be the only state, or one of only two or three, that do it this way.
Speaker:It was great to also be here at the perfect time when Lilia Montoya was here.
Speaker:She's the incoming CEO coming from California.
Speaker:She's got a month overlap with John so she can learn the ropes and what all
Speaker:the new projects are, current projects are, and then take it on from there.
Speaker:John's been a good friend of mine for years, uh, being neighbors.
Speaker:I live only, you know, 45 minutes from here.
Speaker:Uh, and this transit system's fantastic.
Speaker:Um, not only is it a statewide system where they have, you know, the big buses
Speaker:and heavy rail that they, uh, pay money to SEPTA to come down to Wilmington
Speaker:and operate that service in Newark, but also, uh, they've got a whole system
Speaker:in the center of the state, right?
Speaker:In, in Dover, the capital, and then more down, uh, down here at the
Speaker:beach, shuttle services, all that back and forth to park and rides.
Speaker:It really is a fully integrated system, and I think they're the
Speaker:only one in America that does paratransit border to border.
Speaker:We didn't talk a whole lot about it, but they also have a microtransit
Speaker:service which, um, is operating in zones right now where they have
Speaker:their own vehicles are operating.
Speaker:You can, you know, dial it up or put it on your phone.
Speaker:It's a great… John's built a great system here, really.
Speaker:So kudos to him as he heads out into retirement.
Speaker:We wish him the very best.
Speaker:This has been an awesome visit with him.
Speaker:Hopefully you've enjoyed.
Speaker:You know, as I mentioned before, we're gonna be doing video podcasts
Speaker:now whenever we can, and, um, this is one of those travel podcasts.
Speaker:But we've got the great Cyndi doing the filming behind the scenes,
Speaker:Cyndi Raskin, and we're gonna try to bring you video whenever we can
Speaker:for this podcast going forward.
Speaker:Thanks for being with us on this episode of Transit Unplugged, and if
Speaker:you think about Delaware Transit, think about what an amazing system it is.
Speaker:Thank you for listening to this episode of Transit Unplugged, the world's
Speaker:number one transit executive podcast.
Speaker:I'm Julie Gates, executive producer of the podcast.
Speaker:Many thanks to the team that makes this show happen: host and
Speaker:producer Paul Comfort, producer Chris O'Keefe, editor Patrick Emile,
Speaker:associate producer Cyndi Raskin.
Speaker:Transit Unplugged is being brought to you by Modaxo, passionate
Speaker:about moving the world's people.
Speaker:If you would enjoy behind-the-scenes insights and updates from the show,
Speaker:sign up for our weekly newsletter, which has links to can't-miss conversations
Speaker:with the biggest names in mobility.
Speaker:Head to transitunplugged.com and scroll to the bottom of the page to sign up.
Speaker:Thanks for listening, and we'll catch you on the next episode of Transit Unplugged
