The Jawnt team headed to Washington DC for the Transportation Research Board’s Annual Meeting. With four full days of transportation programming, we had packed schedules, but also managed to present a research paper with SEPTA and host a happy hour. Read on for our takeaways and favorite moments from the week. 

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Will Sanderson, Co-Founder ‍

“For me, it was great to see how Philadelphia compared to its peers on a national and international stage. SEPTA and the City of Philadelphia's work was front and center throughout TRB. The paper we co-wrote with SEPTA on its institutional fare program was presented alongside initiatives in Chicago and Germany - our joint work to boost ridership by providing discounted passes through organizations in Philadelphia resonated with the standing room only crowd. SEPTA GM & CEO Leslie Richards presented on ridership and safety initiatives that other agencies across the country are looking to replicate (Key Advantage and its SCOPE program, respectively). Presentations on low-income transit fare programs in DC and Southern California were highlights for me too - we're excited about the opportunity to present on Philadelphia's Zero Fare Program at next year's TRB!”

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Leo Walsh, Senior Customer Success Manager

“My TRB experience began at Transportation Camp with Ruth. As a relative newcomer to the field (one man said he began fighting for a single bike lane in Chicago in the early 90s), I was a little intimidated. But I quickly learned that everyone there shareed in the common goal of making safe, sustainable transportation affordable and accessible to all who desire it, which provided a fresh feeling of belonging. I also quickly learned that everyone (everyone) knows Ruth. Of all of the day's highlights, my favorite was listening to John Bauters speak about his eight years spent as mayor of Emeryville, CA and the many human-first, car-second changes that he brought to the town. At TRB, I found a session on Nontraditional Pathways to Leadership to be particularly earnest and refreshing. And of course, Jawnt's happy hour on Tuesday night at Calico was especially fun. I'm already looking forward to the next Transportation Camp (Philly in April 2024!) and TRB 2025!”

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Ruth Miller, Senior Product Manager

“This was my whopping ninth (9th!) TRB, and possibly the best. It was so inspiring to check up with colleagues and friends I've met over the years and see what exciting things they've been working on, and of course gratifying to share my news from the transit payments world. I was especially proud of the Boston-based team at TransitMatters, a volunteer-led transit data advocacy team, for winning the People's Choice Award at the Transit Data Challenge for their Slow Zone Tracker. I started the trip with Transportation Camp, a less formal gathering of transportation planners, advocates, and technologists, and enjoyed hearing Veronica O. Davis, Director of Transportation for the City of Houston forecast transportation trends of the future.”

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Caitlin Van Horn, Senior Marketing Manager

“This was actually my first TRB annual meeting, and as someone new in the field, a conference full of 10,000+ transportation professionals could have been overwhelming. Instead, it was an environment full of knowledge-sharing and problem-solving. Hearing Mia Held speak about her background in theater and communications on the "Next Gen Leaders of Tomorrow on Issues of Today" panel was really inspiring. 

It was also incredibly compelling to hear how different transit providers and agencies are looking to boost ridership and ease complexity within their transit systems. Whether it's in Philly, Germany, or Chicago, the overarching theme seems to be that making fares easy to understand and then subsidizing them is the key to getting more people riding transit–which are all things we love to do at Jawnt.”

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Jeff Stade, Co-Founder

“Jawnt is a company made of passionate public transit users and bike riders, and it’s energizing to be surrounded by the same types of people at TRB. Professionally, we loved meeting representatives from transit agencies at events like our happy hour at Calico to learn more about the challenges we face, whether it's implementation barriers to institutional fare programs, or recovering ridership post-pandemic. It’s rewarding to know that Jawnt can bring new and innovative solutions to this group.”

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