Our team thrives by learning from one another, investing in professional development, and sharing ideas with peers and clients. We prioritize exchanging best practices and lessons learned because it strengthens our work and helps us better support our clients and the communities they serve. Throughout the year, staff participate in conferences and industry events to learn, stay connected, and contribute to broader conversations. Most recently, team members attended the Association for Commuter Transportation (ACT) International Conference, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Sustainability/Operations Planning and Scheduling Workshop, and APTAtech, returning with insights that broaden our expertise and inform our work in transportation demand management (TDM), transit, and analytics, three of our core services.
ACT International Conference
At the end of July, more than 600 TDM professionals gathered in Philadelphia for the ACT International Conference. Our team joined peers from across the country to share our expertise and highlight project successes in residential engagement, partnerships with Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), and the design of foundational TDM programs, while learning from emerging industry practices.
- Joyce Xin, AICP, TDM Coordinator, facilitated a roundtable on strengthening residential TDM partnerships, drawing on her experience leading Residential Services for goDCgo. She outlined strategies such as the site plan lifecycle, recognition programs, Travel Training, incentives, and on‑site engagement—reinforcing the importance of using multiple approaches to reach property managers and residents.
- Danelle Carey, Senior TDM Project Manager, presented on a panel focused on the core pillars of TDM, helping attendees understand how planning, implementation, and evaluation work together to build effective programs. She also led a Sponsor Showcase on strategic planning, highlighting our IMPACT tool and its support for program development, improvement, and evaluation.
- Lisa Kay Schweyer, MPM, TDM-CP, TDM Service Line Lead, shared practical guidance on how TDM programs can collaborate with MPOs, including how to connect with MPO plans and funding opportunities. She also contributed to a session on commuter benefits and incentives, sharing lessons from Maryland’s Ride Together Rewards program, developed in response to the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse.
Our sessions, along with the other presentations and discussions we participated in throughout the conference, offered practical insights and tools that we brought back to share across our teams and apply to our work. We also hosted an exhibit booth to showcase our TDM services, demo our IMPACT tool, and learn more about the successes, challenges, trends, and needs our fellow practitioners are seeing across their programs and projects. Our exhibit presence also created opportunities to make new connections and reconnect with clients, partners, and peers.
APTA Sustainability/Operations Planning and Scheduling Workshop
In August, our team traveled to St. Louis for APTA’s Sustainability/Operations Planning and Scheduling Workshop and came away with a clear reminder that operator quality of life and service reliability are deeply connected.
- Thomas Orgren, Senior Transportation Planner & Data Scientist, presented on optimizing garage assignments for the Maryland Transit Administration using DEPOT, our non‑revenue service optimization tool. His analysis identified opportunities to reduce weekday deadhead hours by seven percent, demonstrating how data‑driven non‑revenue planning can free up operator time and agency resources without affecting service coverage.
- During the poster session, Laura Duke, Project Manager & Senior Transportation Planner, shared our data‑driven approach to bus rapid transit (BRT) corridor planning, highlighting methods that support demand and design decisions. Daniel Ritter, Transportation Planner, presented on stop‑level decisions for system‑wide reliability, using a Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) case study to demonstrate how stop placement and amenities planning contribute to broader reliability gains.
A recurring theme across sessions was the direct link between operator working conditions and service reliability. Examples from the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) and King County Metro showed how investments in basic operator needs, from restroom facilities to recovery time and break spaces, can improve on-time performance, build operator buy-in, and ultimately improve the rider experience.
APTAtech
At the same time, across the hotel and conference center at St. Louis Union Station, APTAtech was filled with conversations about fares, artificial intelligence, and the technologies shaping the future of transit. A common thread running through these discussions was the importance of data standards and governance—an area where our team had much to contribute.
- Wylie Timmerman, Director of Data Science, demonstrated practical approaches to setting up a data warehouse, drawing on recent work with Houston METRO and highlighting methods agencies can begin with for free using open‑source tools. His session underscored a key challenge we’ve written about previously (See: Making the Most of AI): agencies are eager to use AI, but off‑the‑shelf tools can’t answer questions using an agency’s own data. Building a source of truth—a well‑structured data warehouse with clear ownership and standards—is essential for meaningful AI applications.
- Steven Schrayer, AICP, Senior Transportation Planner & Data Scientist, described how our team implemented the Transit Integrated Data Exchange Specification (TIDES) at WMATA, addressed challenges related to faregate-processed payments, and created a consistent approach for reporting faregate and fare payment data. He also referenced our detailed write-up on this work (See: Overcoming Data Challenges with TIDES) and noted that WMATA and other agencies are evaluating TIDES as a foundation for National Transit Database (NTD) reporting, which could save agencies significant time.
- Daniel Ritter showed how the General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) standardized planning analyses and was adopted by the Federal Transit Administration for ridership modeling and demand analysis. He also pointed to our earlier write‑up on this work (link to article) and noted that GTFS’s limitations—particularly its focus on scheduled rather than delivered service—could be addressed through broader adoption of the TIDES data standard.
Together, these sessions highlighted how shared standards and practical tools can strengthen agency data practices and support more reliable, informed decision-making. Our team will continue to share lessons from TIDES implementations and practical approaches to building strong data practices within agencies.
Looking Ahead
Across these conferences, our team strengthened the practices that shape how we work—learning from peers, sharing what we’ve built, and contributing to conversations that move the industry forward. These investments in learning, knowledge sharing, and thought leadership help us stay ahead of emerging needs and maintain deep expertise across all our service areas. As we continue refining tools, approaches, and partnerships, we remain focused on supporting agencies and communities with solutions grounded in practical experience and informed by the latest developments in the field.