ThinkTransit, the Trapeze Group and Vontas user conference, is around the corner. The conference will take place at the Omni Fort Worth in Fort Worth, Texas, from March 20-23, 2022, with host agency Trinity Metro. 

ThinkTransit brings together hundreds of transit industry experts from across North America and provides agencies the opportunity to learn, connect, and discuss the future of transit with their colleagues. This year ThinkTransit also includes the popular Executive Summit sessions, which provide an exclusive opportunity for C-level executives to participate in panel discussions among their peers.

The massive wealth of knowledge at ThinkTransit creates an industry-wide ripple effect. What you learn at ThinkTransit is taken back to agencies and applied to make real, impactful changes. This year the theme of ThinkTransit is “The Ripple Effect: Learning Today to Empower Communities Tomorrow” highlighting everything transit agencies do to make their communities better and stronger. From mobile vaccine clinics to delivering food via paratransit and helping build more sustainable transit networks, together the transit industry has done incredible things. 

The agenda: Tracks and Sessions

We have ninety sessions spread across six unique, theme-based tracks over the three days of the conference. The tracks are:

• ITS and On-Board Technology
• Mobility Planning and Scheduling
• Workforce Management, Operations, and Real-Time Integration
• Asset, Maintenance, and Yard Management
• Mobility on Demand—From Paratransit to Microtransit
• Innovating and Reimagining Future Mobility

Sessions will cover everything from electric vehicles and system integration to moving systems to the cloud, opportunities from the new Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and much more. View the current agenda here. 

Keynote Addresses

ThinkTransit holds three keynote sessions at the start of each day of the conference. The keynote speakers bring unique perspectives and insight into today’s public transit challenges and successes. Here is what to expect at each of the three keynotes:

Day 1: Terry White, General Manager, King County Metro

Trapeze General Manager, Teresa Domingo, and Vontas General Manager, Peter Aczel, will begin the conference and introduce our industry keynote speaker, Mr. Terry White.

Terry White began his Metro career in 1987 and has served as a transportation planner, customer service administrator, communications superintendent, and managing director of bus operations. White was previously deputy general manager, overseeing all Metro Operations across bus, rail, and marine service; facilities; and vehicle maintenance.

In his keynote address, Terry will reflect on public transit’s role in the community, his life, and his career.

Day 2: Product Showcase and Transit Unplugged Live

Trapeze VP of Product Management, Erin Skimson, and Vontas VP of Product Management, Sebastian Vaitus, will discuss the solutions-focused product lines that Trapeze and Vontas are building, which are designed to solve the industry’s most pressing challenges.

In the afternoon Trapeze and Vontas SVP and CCO, Paul Comfort hosts a live session of Transit Unplugged, with a CEO roundtable featuring:

• Holly Arnold, CEO MTA Baltimore
• Tom Egan, CEO MV Transportation
• Clinton Forbes, CEO PalmTran
• MJ Maynard, CEO RTC Las Vegas
• Randy Clarke, CEO Capital Metro

Day 3: The ThinkTransit Awards of Excellence

The final conference keynote will be given by our host agency, Trinity Metro, and will lead into the ThinkTransit Awards of Excellence, which highlight some of the best and most innovative people, teams, and agencies in North America.

Six awards will be given to agencies, people, or organizations to represent those who are pushing the industry forward. The awards are: Advancement, Alliance, Innovation, Community Building, Best Live Session, and ThinkTransit Employee Award.

Nominations for the Awards of Excellence are open until February 28, 2022. You can learn more about the ThinkTransit Awards of Excellence in this blog post.

ThinkTransit Executive Summit

The ThinkTransit Executive Summit is curated by and for C-suite executives in the transit industry, with sessions taught by industry experts. Over 20 executive panelists will join transit leaders as peers to immerse themselves in focused discussions on current trends, perspectives, opportunities, and challenges facing public transit in North America today.

“We might discuss how to handle homelessness and mental illness in public transit, or moving to free fares,” said Paul Comfort, Executive Summit host. “I'm going to encourage people who fit into that category, who are senior executives in a transit agency, to attend. It's going to be one of the best experiences you will have at a conference.”

The ThinkTransit Executive Summit page includes the program and list of featured speakers.

For more information about ThinkTransit or to register for the conference, visit the ThinkTransit website.