Episode 35

No Uber, No Lyft, No Taxis—So They Built Their Own Transit System

How do you rebuild a public transportation system from the ground up? In this episode of Transit Unplugged, Paul Comfort sits down with Mallory Avis, Director of Public Transit for the City of Battle Creek, Michigan, to talk about one of the most ambitious overhauls of a small-city transit system in the U.S. today.

Recorded live at the CTAA Expo in San Diego, this conversation captures the energy and complexity behind Battle Creek’s transformation from a traditional city department to a newly established transit authority—Ride Calhoun. From a successful countywide vote to fund service expansion, to launching microtransit, rebranding the system, and replacing a historic bus fleet, Mallory shares what it takes to transition a legacy system into a responsive, community-driven authority.

This is a rare behind-the-scenes look at what it means to "start fresh"—and what happens when voters actually say yes to better public transport.

🎧 Podcast Credits:

Transit Unplugged is brought to you by Modaxo

Creator, Host, + Producer: Paul Comfort

Executive Producer: Julie Gates

Producer + Newsletter Editor: Chris O’Keeffe

Associate Producer: Cyndi Raskin

Podcast 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:

Hey, did you start your day today with a great bowl of cereal?

Paul Comfort:

Maybe some Frosted Flakes, some raisin bran?

Paul Comfort:

Do you know where that cereal is made?

Paul Comfort:

I. It's made in Battle Creek, Michigan.

Paul Comfort:

That's right.

Paul Comfort:

And they've got a great transit system there that is

Paul Comfort:

actually in a big transition.

Paul Comfort:

We're gonna tell you all about it today on Transit Unplugged.

Paul Comfort:

I'm Paul Comfort, and I recently got to sit down with Mallory Avis, the

Paul Comfort:

public transit director for the City of Battle Creek, Michigan and Battle Creek

Paul Comfort:

Transit while we were at the Community Transportation Association of America.

Paul Comfort:

CTAA Expo in San Diego.

Paul Comfort:

We sat down right out on the trade show floor hosted by our good friends at

Paul Comfort:

TripSpark Technologies, and we interviewed her about something big happening

Paul Comfort:

there in Calhoun County, Michigan.

Paul Comfort:

And that is that they're transitioning the transit system from a city department.

Paul Comfort:

To a transportation authority.

Paul Comfort:

That's right.

Paul Comfort:

The voters voted to do that and they gave some money to do it as well.

Paul Comfort:

We're gonna tell you all about that.

Paul Comfort:

She'll tell you all about that on this interview and securing the additional

Paul Comfort:

funding they needed and what the process is of changing a transit system in

Paul Comfort:

serial city America from, uh, city operation to a standalone authority

Paul Comfort:

on this episode of Transit Unplugged.

Paul Comfort:

All right.

Paul Comfort:

We're in San Diego at the Community Transportation

Paul Comfort:

Association of America's Expo

Paul Comfort:

and uh, I'm Paul Comfort.

Paul Comfort:

This is Transit Unplugged, the world's leading transit executive podcast.

Paul Comfort:

I'm excited to be with Mallory Avis, who is the director of Transportation

Paul Comfort:

for the City of Battle Creek, Michigan, which is where we all get

Paul Comfort:

our Kellogg cereals from Mallory.

Mallory Avis:

Indeed it is.

Mallory Avis:

Yes.

Mallory Avis:

So we're actually at the TripSpark booth right in the center of the hall

Mallory Avis:

with hundreds of people milling around.

Mallory Avis:

U.S. you're gonna hear a little background noise.

Mallory Avis:

We love doing these live podcasts.

Mallory Avis:

Mallory, tell U.S. uh, a little bit about where you're from and

Mallory Avis:

give U.S. about serial city.

Mallory Avis:

Absolutely.

Mallory Avis:

So, uh, you know, I was born and raised in Chicago, moved to Michigan

Mallory Avis:

as a teenager, and going from Chicago to rural Michigan was a huge culture shock.

Mallory Avis:

So, went from somewhere where my grandma never had a driver's license,

Mallory Avis:

used the bus to get everywhere.

Mallory Avis:

To somewhere where a car is required to go anywhere and your closest grocery

Mallory Avis:

store is about half an hour away.

Mallory Avis:

Transportation has always been in my blood and I had the opportunity six years

Mallory Avis:

ago to go to the city of Battle Creek and run their transit department there.

Mallory Avis:

So we've made some major changes to our system and we're excited about some of the

Mallory Avis:

things that are going on in Battle Creek.

Mallory Avis:

That's great.

Mallory Avis:

So tell U.S.

Mallory Avis:

about Battle Creek.

Mallory Avis:

All right, we gotta dive into this.

Mallory Avis:

'cause as a kid growing up Yeah.

Mallory Avis:

You always hear, you know, I'm getting my Kellogg's, whatever cereal I'm eating that

Mallory Avis:

morning, it's from Battle Creek, Michigan.

Mallory Avis:

So give U.S. a story on that.

Mallory Avis:

Yeah.

Mallory Avis:

So we are the breakfast capital of the world.

Mallory Avis:

Okay.

Mallory Avis:

Uh, our city logo even, you know, says Cereal city USA.

Mallory Avis:

Oh, that's cool.

Mallory Avis:

Our first transit system was actually called Serial City Coach Company back in

Mallory Avis:

the 18 hundreds, the old interurban days.

Mallory Avis:

Nice and

Mallory Avis:

serial city coach company transferred over to the

Mallory Avis:

city of Battle Creek and the.

Mallory Avis:

1970s and, uh, now we've been known as Battle Creek Transit since, but Kellogg

Mallory Avis:

is still a staple as well as post cereal.

Mallory Avis:

So, oh, post is there, that's right post is there as well.

Mallory Avis:

Yeah.

Mallory Avis:

Raisin brand.

Mallory Avis:

Yeah.

Mallory Avis:

I love Raisin brand.

Mallory Avis:

Yeah,

Mallory Avis:

the, it smells like Fruity Pebbles some days, so I Oh wow.

Mallory Avis:

I was the idiot when we moved there.

Mallory Avis:

Who?

Mallory Avis:

Uh, I walked outside and I'm like, what's that smell like?

Mallory Avis:

It smells like blueberries.

Mallory Avis:

And they're like, uh, cereal.

Mallory Avis:

It's just the, the norm in, in Battle Creek.

Mallory Avis:

A lot of people work in the serial business, I guess, there, yeah.

Mallory Avis:

Yeah.

Mallory Avis:

So we have

Mallory Avis:

a very large manufacturing, um, industrial park and, uh, so I

Mallory Avis:

would say manufacturing is our, our primary and Kellogg's headquarters

Mallory Avis:

are there in Battle Creek as well.

Mallory Avis:

Okay.

Mallory Avis:

Have you toured any of the places where they make it?

Mallory Avis:

Do they offer tours?

Mallory Avis:

They used to, so I actually have from when I was a, a teenager, I have

Mallory Avis:

a picture of myself on a cornflake spot.

Mallory Avis:

Oh, you could get a souvenir Corn Flakes box with your picture out there.

Mallory Avis:

Oh,

Mallory Avis:

that's cool, man.

Mallory Avis:

Yeah, yeah.

Mallory Avis:

Well, that's good.

Mallory Avis:

So what's your population?

Mallory Avis:

Give U.S. some of the demographics and then we'll talk about your system.

Mallory Avis:

Yeah, yeah.

Mallory Avis:

So Battle Creek, the city of Battle Creek is just over 50,000 in populations.

Mallory Avis:

So we're a very small city.

Mallory Avis:

Our county in total is more in the 130,000 range.

Mallory Avis:

So we have four cities, small cities in the uh, Calhoun County.

Mallory Avis:

We run fixed route and demand response paratransit.

Mallory Avis:

And then we launched a small microtransit pilot that kind of led

Mallory Avis:

to some big things in Calhoun County over the west gonna meet you person.

Mallory Avis:

Wow.

Mallory Avis:

And I think the biggest thing that I'd love you to talk about today is you're

Mallory Avis:

in the process of changing from a city department to a transit authority.

Mallory Avis:

Tell U.S. about that, Mallory.

Mallory Avis:

Yeah, so when I came to the city five years ago, we were

Mallory Avis:

kind of told this is this is it.

Mallory Avis:

The city is looking to transition away from this being a general

Mallory Avis:

fund responsibility and.

Mallory Avis:

Fix this problem.

Mallory Avis:

And so that's what we did.

Mallory Avis:

We've spent the last five years really doing community stakeholder engagement,

Mallory Avis:

education, advocacy, and talking to the communities about what they need.

Mallory Avis:

We did a study in 2020 that demonstrated about 20,000 unmet trips per year.

Mallory Avis:

So we launched a pilot with the help of MDA that we call bc Go.

Mallory Avis:

And that pilot, we were like, okay, two vehicles, that should be enough.

Mallory Avis:

You know, we're gonna meet the need that the consultants identified.

Mallory Avis:

They way underestimated it.

Mallory Avis:

So our first year of operations, we had 150,000 trip requests.

Mallory Avis:

Wow.

Mallory Avis:

And we only met about 22,000 photos.

Mallory Avis:

So we are not meeting all of the demand.

Mallory Avis:

And we used all of that data to engage the community and say, Hey,

Mallory Avis:

let's start a robust, comprehensive, countywide transportation system.

Mallory Avis:

But it's gonna cost you.

Mallory Avis:

Yeah.

Mallory Avis:

So, uh, we went to the voters last year and asked them to create

Mallory Avis:

a transit authority and fund a transit authority, and it passed

Mallory Avis:

59% like the WOW community spoke.

Mallory Avis:

Wow.

Mallory Avis:

That's something, yeah.

Mallory Avis:

When they did that, did they vote on funding?

Mallory Avis:

They did.

Mallory Avis:

We proposed a 2.66 mills property tax millage.

Mallory Avis:

So that means it's roughly $266 per year for every $100,000 of

Mallory Avis:

value on somebody's property.

Mallory Avis:

Yeah.

Mallory Avis:

So if I got a $200,000 house in Battle Creek, I'm paying 500 for transit.

Mallory Avis:

Yeah.

Mallory Avis:

500 a year.

Mallory Avis:

And they

Mallory Avis:

voted 59% of the people voted Yes.

Mallory Avis:

Understanding that, voted for it.

Mallory Avis:

Yes.

Mallory Avis:

They want

Mallory Avis:

better transit.

Mallory Avis:

They, yeah, they spoke.

Mallory Avis:

That's really interesting, Mallory.

Mallory Avis:

When we come back after, uh, this quick break, I want to ask you how

Mallory Avis:

it's been implemented and what the next steps are to actually start,

Paul Comfort:

uh, public Transit Authority.

Paul Comfort:

We're back at the Community Transportation

Paul Comfort:

Association of America CTAs Expo.

Paul Comfort:

We are in San Diego.

Paul Comfort:

Go California, and it has been kind of a chilly day, a little bit, maybe 68.

Paul Comfort:

What do you think Mallory?

Mallory Avis:

Uh, who would've thought that Michigan would be warmer right now?

Mallory Avis:

Yeah.

Mallory Avis:

Than California.

Mallory Avis:

How about it?

Mallory Avis:

Southern California?

Mallory Avis:

That, yeah.

Mallory Avis:

So right before the break we were talking about the voters voted 59%.

Mallory Avis:

To fund a new transit authority.

Mallory Avis:

Yeah.

Mallory Avis:

So where are you at in the process now and what does that look like

Mallory Avis:

when you start a transit authority?

Mallory Avis:

You know, I think a lot of people take for granted the

Mallory Avis:

work that has to go on behind it.

Mallory Avis:

And we passed it, what, November 5th was the election.

Mallory Avis:

Okay.

Mallory Avis:

We passed the millage and then I think people were expecting buses

Mallory Avis:

to be on the road November 6th.

Mallory Avis:

So, you know, a lot of it is community education and community input.

Mallory Avis:

We have a board.

Mallory Avis:

Uh, the board is really working to make sure that the community has input.

Mallory Avis:

Some of these communities have never had transportation at all before.

Mallory Avis:

So I shared earlier that we are, you know, 50,000, just over 50,000 in population.

Mallory Avis:

We don't have Uber, we don't have Lyft.

Mallory Avis:

We don't even have taxis like private taxi companies.

Mallory Avis:

Oh, wow.

Mallory Avis:

Yeah.

Mallory Avis:

So public transit is the only option.

Mallory Avis:

That's probably why the voters voted for it.

Mallory Avis:

Absolutely.

Mallory Avis:

Like they, they don't have lot of other options.

Mallory Avis:

Yeah.

Mallory Avis:

They know.

Mallory Avis:

And so really I, you know, we're starting a business from the ground up and we had

Mallory Avis:

to do everything from brand recognition.

Mallory Avis:

So we had to create a brand.

Mallory Avis:

From, you know, the ground up and that brand's gonna be called Ride Calhoun

Mallory Avis:

is that's the name of your county?

Mallory Avis:

Yes.

Mallory Avis:

Yep.

Mallory Avis:

So Battle

Paul Comfort:

Creek is a city in Calhoun County?

Paul Comfort:

Yes.

Paul Comfort:

Okay, got it.

Paul Comfort:

So

Mallory Avis:

we're gonna go from Battle Creek Transit to Ride Calhoun, and

Mallory Avis:

we're gonna have three modes of service.

Mallory Avis:

RC Ride Calhoun, RC Max, RC Move, and RC Flex.

Mallory Avis:

And so really creating all of those services.

Mallory Avis:

And now working on what do the legal agreements and arrangements look like

Mallory Avis:

for the transition of the assets?

Mallory Avis:

The experts already exist in, in Calhoun County.

Mallory Avis:

We're already there.

Mallory Avis:

We've been doing the work, and so transitioning all of that over to an

Mallory Avis:

entirely different governance structure, that is where the work really begins now.

Mallory Avis:

Yeah.

Mallory Avis:

So what do the city council think of it?

Mallory Avis:

I'm not gonna lie, it's mixed.

Mallory Avis:

Obviously it's political.

Mallory Avis:

There's some people who feel like they're losing control of transit and

Mallory Avis:

the decision making related to transit.

Mallory Avis:

I look at it as now the people have more direct control.

Mallory Avis:

Right?

Mallory Avis:

So.

Mallory Avis:

We have to go for renewal of this millage in four years, and obviously

Mallory Avis:

if we aren't meeting the needs of the voters and we aren't fulfilling

Mallory Avis:

our promises that we made, then they can choose not to renew that millage.

Mallory Avis:

And that's roughly $5 million a year of funding that.

Mallory Avis:

Yeah, that we're looking at.

Mallory Avis:

What's your total of budget?

Mallory Avis:

The

Mallory Avis:

total budget for the system is 12 million.

Mallory Avis:

Okay.

Mallory Avis:

Our current budget for Battle Creek Transit is

Mallory Avis:

only about four or 5 million.

Mallory Avis:

Oh, wow.

Mallory Avis:

So, you know, we're growing significantly, almost doubling the size

Mallory Avis:

of our fleet and then serving three cities that previously weren't served before.

Mallory Avis:

That's interest.

Mallory Avis:

So you have a new board of directors.

Mallory Avis:

Yeah, and it's a good mix of people.

Mallory Avis:

Really.

Mallory Avis:

We're lucky this first round of board members are everywhere from the

Mallory Avis:

president of the local community college.

Mallory Avis:

To the chair of the local economic development firm.

Mallory Avis:

Oh yeah.

Mallory Avis:

Movers and Shakers Local, yes.

Mallory Avis:

Local elected officials like, and these people are doing it voluntarily.

Mallory Avis:

Right?

Mallory Avis:

They don't get paid.

Mallory Avis:

And I think making sure the community knows that they're doing it because

Mallory Avis:

they're passionate about it, not because there's any sort of quid pro quo going on.

Mallory Avis:

Yeah,

Mallory Avis:

that's good.

Mallory Avis:

They care about mobility and they understand the

Mallory Avis:

need from whatever their respective positions are in their full-time job.

Mallory Avis:

Yeah.

Mallory Avis:

So, where are you at in the process and what happens next?

Mallory Avis:

So, we are expecting to fully launch Ride Calhoun by October 1st.

Mallory Avis:

So we are Wow.

Mallory Avis:

This year, 2025.

Mallory Avis:

Yeah.

Mallory Avis:

We are

Mallory Avis:

in the thick of it.

Mallory Avis:

I have the honor of serving as the executive director for Ride Calhoun,

Mallory Avis:

while also being the public transit director for the city of Battle Creek.

Mallory Avis:

Alright, now

Mallory Avis:

pause.

Mallory Avis:

Yeah.

Mallory Avis:

You get double paid.

Mallory Avis:

No.

Mallory Avis:

Oh man, double,

Mallory Avis:

definitely double the work.

Mallory Avis:

Double the headache.

Mallory Avis:

Okay.

Mallory Avis:

Yeah.

Mallory Avis:

Uh, same paycheck.

Mallory Avis:

Okay.

Mallory Avis:

All.

Mallory Avis:

Are you gonna need more federal money and stuff for the buses?

Mallory Avis:

Because you're gonna We are.

Mallory Avis:

Yeah, we are.

Mallory Avis:

We have been so lucky to have the support at both the

Mallory Avis:

federal level and the state level.

Mallory Avis:

So really for the last four years we've been doing the pilot, our BC Go pilot.

Mallory Avis:

Yeah.

Mallory Avis:

Which was a microtransit system that ran countywide.

Mallory Avis:

So it was a rural microtransit demonstration.

Mallory Avis:

It's to kind of see like, would this idea work?

Mallory Avis:

In mdot, the Michigan Department of Transportation, they funded

Mallory Avis:

that at a hundred percent Okay.

Mallory Avis:

For the last four years.

Mallory Avis:

Wow.

Mallory Avis:

So capital operating all of it.

Mallory Avis:

And then now they've come through with kind of the, the funding that

Mallory Avis:

we need to transition as well as FTA.

Mallory Avis:

And then we were very lucky to get some congressionally directed.

Mallory Avis:

Spending over the last year to help with all of the, I'm gonna

Mallory Avis:

say startup costs that go with,

Mallory Avis:

who's your congress person up there?

Mallory Avis:

Uh,

Mallory Avis:

Senator Peters, so Thank you.

Mallory Avis:

Senator Peters.

Mallory Avis:

Okay.

Mallory Avis:

For the, the congressionally directed spending.

Mallory Avis:

That's great.

Mallory Avis:

Yeah.

Mallory Avis:

Where are you getting, like your buses, are they gonna be electric?

Mallory Avis:

What are you doing with all the buses kind of stuff, and how are

Mallory Avis:

you gonna get buses so quick?

Mallory Avis:

I know, right?

Mallory Avis:

So I don't think people understand that.

Mallory Avis:

Like there's not a dealership that, yeah.

Mallory Avis:

Right.

Mallory Avis:

You can just walk on a lot and drive away with a bus.

Mallory Avis:

Right.

Mallory Avis:

So making sure the community understands that.

Mallory Avis:

The good thing is that.

Mallory Avis:

Over the last five years in Battle Creek, 70% of our fleet has been

Mallory Avis:

replaced over the last five years.

Mallory Avis:

Oh, wow.

Mallory Avis:

Good job.

Mallory Avis:

So when I came to Battle Creek, our average age of our buses was 17 years.

Mallory Avis:

Oh man.

Mallory Avis:

So when I came in 2019, most of our buses were between 2001 and 2006 years.

Mallory Avis:

That's almost historic,

Paul Comfort:

you know, it

Mallory Avis:

really, they had like 900,000 miles on them.

Mallory Avis:

Wow.

Mallory Avis:

And they had been passed down from several other agencies.

Mallory Avis:

So, you know, it was one of those like, we'll give you this

Mallory Avis:

bus for a dollar kind of thing.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Mallory Avis:

And so I had the challenge of like, we've gotta fix our state

Mallory Avis:

of good repair situation right now.

Mallory Avis:

And so now we're going into this brand new authority with an entirely new fleet.

Mallory Avis:

Funding for a new renovated facility.

Mallory Avis:

Funding for a new cad, A BL software, funding for rebranding and marketing.

Mallory Avis:

We really get the chance to truly build it.

Mallory Avis:

Are you in the middle of all that right now?

Mallory Avis:

In the middle of all of it.

Mallory Avis:

Wow.

Mallory Avis:

Yeah.

Mallory Avis:

With three people.

Mallory Avis:

A lot going on.

Mallory Avis:

Which are People are, yeah.

Mallory Avis:

Yeah.

Mallory Avis:

Who are they?

Mallory Avis:

I have an operations supervisor.

Mallory Avis:

Okay.

Mallory Avis:

A maintenance supervisor myself.

Mallory Avis:

And then I have a mobility manager who's really, you know, kind of taken on a lot

Mallory Avis:

of the community engagement aspects of Oh

Mallory Avis:

yeah.

Mallory Avis:

You know,

Mallory Avis:

making sure the public gets a chance to stay involved in this.

Mallory Avis:

And, and what does that look like?

Mallory Avis:

What's the process of communication?

Mallory Avis:

Oh,

Mallory Avis:

I tell you, so I'll give you a perfect example.

Mallory Avis:

I land back in Michigan Thursday at 5 55.

Mallory Avis:

I think our clean land after this.

Mallory Avis:

Yeah, yeah.

Mallory Avis:

Yep.

Mallory Avis:

After CTAA is over, I have a presentation that Thursday night at 7:00 PM Wow.

Mallory Avis:

Yeah.

Mallory Avis:

You know, going to all of our city council meetings, township meetings,

Mallory Avis:

making sure that we are anywhere, we are invited to be able to educate the

Mallory Avis:

community on what's happening, because ultimately they're paying for it.

Mallory Avis:

Right?

Mallory Avis:

And they have questions about what's happening, where are we going, and when

Mallory Avis:

do we get to start riding these new buses?

Mallory Avis:

Yeah.

Mallory Avis:

How about it?

Mallory Avis:

Yeah, that's good.

Mallory Avis:

Well, that's wonderful.

Mallory Avis:

Congratulations to you, Mallory, on this.

Mallory Avis:

Thank you.

Mallory Avis:

Do you think it'll be started by October?

Mallory Avis:

October 1st?

Mallory Avis:

We are, you know, I actually met some great people here that are gonna,

Mallory Avis:

you know, we're gonna touch base on.

Mallory Avis:

Wrapping the vehicles, rebranding everything.

Mallory Avis:

We get a chance to start fresh.

Mallory Avis:

I don't think very many communities get to do that.

Mallory Avis:

No.

Mallory Avis:

So we get to start fresh, a brand new transit system in a community that's

Mallory Avis:

never had this level of transit before.

Mallory Avis:

And our goal is to just do it.

Mallory Avis:

Right.

Mallory Avis:

That's great.

Mallory Avis:

That's great.

Mallory Avis:

So wrapping up, give U.S. a little bit about your personal

Mallory Avis:

life, if you don't mind.

Mallory Avis:

Family hobbies?

Mallory Avis:

Any good books you've read lately?

Mallory Avis:

Oh yeah.

Mallory Avis:

You mean

Mallory Avis:

besides yours?

Mallory Avis:

Oh, thank you.

Mallory Avis:

And I didn't pay her to say that.

Mallory Avis:

Yeah, so I said earlier, I grew up in Chicago and I think when you

Mallory Avis:

get moved as a teenager, you're always like, I'm going back to where I came from.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Mallory Avis:

Michigan has grown on me.

Mallory Avis:

I think if you've never been to Michigan.

Mallory Avis:

Michigan is a beautiful, beautiful state.

Mallory Avis:

No matter which side of the state you're on.

Mallory Avis:

So, you know, I, I married my high school sweetheart.

Mallory Avis:

We've been married for 17 years.

Mallory Avis:

We have two beautiful children.

Mallory Avis:

I'm lucky.

Mallory Avis:

I have a boy and a girl.

Mallory Avis:

Oh, that's good.

Mallory Avis:

Yeah.

Mallory Avis:

Uh, my daughter's four, my son is two.

Mallory Avis:

And we get the chance to kind of be active in our communities.

Mallory Avis:

So my husband works at the VA hospital in Battle Creek, and we both get

Mallory Avis:

to kind of work in these pillars.

Mallory Avis:

Of the community industries.

Mallory Avis:

Yeah.

Mallory Avis:

And uh, it's really nice.

Mallory Avis:

Yeah.

Mallory Avis:

We're looking forward to raising our family in, in Battle Creek.

Mallory Avis:

That's good.

Mallory Avis:

And what do you do like for hobbies?

Mallory Avis:

Oh, work.

Mallory Avis:

Yeah.

Mallory Avis:

Not gonna lie.

Mallory Avis:

Right now it's, it's two full-time jobs.

Mallory Avis:

I've always been a workaholic a little bit, I think.

Mallory Avis:

So in the past, bartending was my hobby.

Mallory Avis:

Okay.

Mallory Avis:

Right.

Mallory Avis:

It like how many hobbies make you money on the side as well.

Mallory Avis:

Now I, you know, around a patio fire, I get to, I get to bartend a

Mallory Avis:

little bit for my husband and I, but.

Mallory Avis:

Really our, our time is consumed with our kids right now.

Mallory Avis:

Right now they're little.

Mallory Avis:

We're kind of soaking it in.

Mallory Avis:

Yep.

Mallory Avis:

Understood.

Mallory Avis:

And then when we're not doing that, I'm working, when I'm not

Mallory Avis:

wearing the Battle Creek Transit hat, I'm wearing the Ride Calhoun hat.

Mallory Avis:

So there

Mallory Avis:

you go.

Mallory Avis:

Well Ma, you've got a big job still ahead of you all this summer and into the fall.

Mallory Avis:

Yeah.

Mallory Avis:

I wish you the very best.

Mallory Avis:

I can't wait to see what all happens in October when you

Mallory Avis:

actually make the transition.

Mallory Avis:

Yes.

Mallory Avis:

You'll have to come check it out when we're done.

Mallory Avis:

Alright, thanks again for being a guest on Transit Unplug.

Mallory Avis:

Thank

Paul Comfort:

you.

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About the Podcast

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

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