Tom Waldron Talks Transit’s Next Steps with Metro Magazine

With the world emerging from the pandemic, transit riders are coming back, but there are new trends to pay attention to. HDR Global Transit Director Tom Waldron reflected on the state of the industry recently to Metro Magazine, sharing his perspective on how transit will adjust to new work realities and rider needs.

Waldron discussed how HDR is involved with the advocacy initiatives of industry organizations such as the American Public Transportation Association and others to communicate the importance of investment in infrastructure. He offered his view on the transit market’s recovery around the world. And he explained that the big changes in rider numbers and service needs in 2020 will take time to steady, with each city and region encountering its own challenges.

“The exodus of jobs and inhabitants that we’ve seen from many of our city centers during the height of the pandemic is already being countered in some urban areas, such as Austin, Texas, with a mass influx to downtown,” Waldron said. “These migration trends will take a while to stabilize, but as they do, agencies will adjust their service patterns accordingly, rationalize their fleets, and right-size their facilities and workforce to address the overall ‘mobility as a service’ needs of the communities they serve.”

Read the whole interview in “Discussing Long-Term Growth, Transit Trends With HDR’s Waldron” in Metro magazine.