Matthew Rosenbloom-Jones: A Brief Introduction to All Aspects of Transit Planning, Operations, and Management
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image / Ming DeMers for Cornell Daily Sun
Abstract
While public transit plays a crucial role in placemaking, urban economic mobility, supporting more advanced land-use patterns, and a number of other critical intersections with the planning realm, transit often remains poorly understood by planners. In North America, transit systems are largely the descendants of private for-profit companies that focused on planning routes and schedules due to business needs, aside from a planning theory. The legacy of this, as well as the service-oriented aspects of public transit, make it a very different animal to work with than a regional planning agency or local government.
This lecture will provide a basic overview of the various pieces that go into running a transit system, such as operations, maintenance, budgeting, network design, facility management, vehicle and propulsion types, and service characteristics. By attending this lecture, planning students will gain insight into the field of transit that will be invaluable in working on transit-related projects in the future or for a transit agency itself.
Biography
Matthew Rosenbloom-Jones is currently the TCAT General Manager. Prior to this position, he worked as a transit director for a Wisconsin transit agency. Before that, he was a transportation specialist in the City of Bowie, MD, and manager of scheduling for a Kentucky transit authority. Earlier in his career, he held similar positions for agencies in Minnesota, Long Island, and Rochester. In addition to earning a master's degree in regional planning, Rosenbloom-Jones also has a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and urban studies from Canisius College, Buffalo, and a Master of Arts degree in history from Aberystwyth University in Wales.
In addition to having proven experience in transit planning, scheduling, operations, and management, Rosenbloom is also trained and licensed as a transit driver. He pursued this skill several years ago so that he could fully understand drivers' perspectives and learn about what they encounter day in and day out while serving the public.
