Stop Requested

In this episode of Stop Requested, Levi McCollum and Christian Londono talk with Hunter Abel, Project Manager and Transit Lead at Modern Mobility Partners. Hunter shares how his experience at LeeTran, MARTA, and now in consulting has shaped the way he approaches transit planning and project delivery.

The conversation explores why plans often stall between planning and implementation, how agencies can define clearer goals, and why public input should focus on how people actually travel rather than which mode looks most appealing. Hunter also discusses data, tradeoffs, post-COVID service changes, and the value consultants can bring when agencies need additional capacity or a fresh perspective.

In this episode of Stop Requested, John Maglio, Levi McCollum and Christian Londono talk with Jolene Molitoris, former Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration and former Director of the Ohio Department of Transportation.

As the first woman to lead the FRA, Jolene shares how her career grew from Ohio rail advocacy to national transportation leadership. The conversation explores rail safety, collaborative rulemaking, the creation of the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee, and why lasting progress in transportation depends on teamwork across government, labor, industry, and the private sector.

In this replay episode of Stop Requested, Levi McCollum and Christian Londono talk with John Maglio, Founder and CEO of ETA Transit, about building transit technology and trust over the long term. John explains how disciplined growth, reliability, and focus shape effective CAD/AVL systems, and why trust is earned through follow-through rather than features. The conversation covers leadership and company culture, what separates vendors from true partners, how agencies can approach RFPs more clearly, and why long-term thinking leads to better outcomes for riders, agencies, and technology providers alike.

In this episode of Stop Requested, Levi McCollum and Christian Londono talk with Christy Wegener, Executive Director of the Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority, also known as LAVTA. Christy shares how she found her way into transit from social work and public policy, and how her career across multiple agencies shaped the way she thinks about planning, operations, customer service, and leadership.

The conversation explores why planning and operations need to understand each other, how politics shapes service decisions, and why agencies need better market research before making major changes. Christy also discusses the tradeoffs behind service redesigns, the role of pilots, the impact of work-from-home patterns on Bay Area transit, and why field work remains one of the most important habits for transit leaders.

In this episode of Stop Requested, Levi McCollum and Christian Londono talk with Mark Hughes, founder and Principal Transit Experience Lead at Transit Experience Group and Chief Design Officer at Mark Hughes Creative. With a background in product design, digital experience, and customer experience, Mark brings a private sector design perspective into the transit industry.

The conversation explores how riders experience transit through human interaction, why frontline employees shape trust in the system, and how training can better prepare operators for real world conditions. Mark also discusses wayfinding, communication during disruptions, rider confusion, and why customer experience is not separate from operations.