Change Means Growth and Opportunity

Feb. 9, 2016
A new year and new optimism brings new opportunities for us all to grow.

With a new year in full swing and a new long-term funding bill in place for transportation across the U.S., there are lots of reasons to be optimistic in 2016.

For the first time in a decade, transit agencies can look at service and capital projects needed in their communities and know money will be there. You can take a breath, look at current needs and find ways to address them as opposed to playing a game of budget Jenga with disconnected federal lawmakers.

The FAST Act is a good bill. A great bill? No. A bill to address all our infrastructure needs? No. A bill that creates a strong foundation for the future? Absolutely.

When I came to Mass Transit on a full-time basis in 2013, the concept of even an imperfect bill seemed implausible given political rhetoric on Capitol Hill. Federal funding limped along, with everyone waiting for a government shutdown or for the Highway Trust Fund to finally go bust.

Luckily the worst case scenario didn’t happen and 2016 looks to be a bright year for agencies making investments and new technology to hit the market as we transition to the multimodal systems of the future.

With improvement comes change, including us here at Mass Transit. After serving three years as associate editor, sadly, time has come for me to say goodbye to you in this capacity. Our parent company SouthComm Business Media named me editor-in-chief of Airport Business Magazine, a sister publication of Mass Transit. We're building even better transportation coverage with an opportunity to connect industries and find more ways to help our readers.

In my time at the magazine, you’ve shown me more about the transportation system in the U.S. and the importance of multimodal transportation in our communities than most people will see in a lifetime. The passion and importance you have for your mission is unmatched. Your stories, your challenges, your drive, your welcoming spirit, your ability to look at the direst situations facing your systems as not merely crisis, but opportunity, has been surreal.

While writing my first cover story for the magazine in 2013, I was aboard the Market-Broad Street line and talking to now-General Manager Jeff Knueppel about some of the improvements taking place on the line when a rider tapped me on the elbow, told me how wonderful the improvements were, then went over to thank Jeff. Here was someone totally dependent on transit genuinely thankful for efforts to clean and improve the system no matter how small they were because it’s the way he goes to work, how he goes to the store, how he goes to a game and what connects him as a member of society.

Each day I get to thank the operator on my regular bus route (MCTS #15) when I disembark. Now I wanted to take this chance to thank you and for letting me be a part of what you do.

Plenty of you will still be seeing me, just in a different setting. I’m looking forward to this new journey and what incredible stories we can share to advance the transportation industry. Contact me at [email protected] as we keep moving forward. After all, when we change, we grow.

Now let’s grow together.

About the Author

Joe Petrie | Associate Editor

I came to Mass Transit in 2013 after spending seven years on the daily newsbeat in southeastern Wisconsin.

Based in Milwaukee, I worked as a daily newspaper reporter with the Waukesha Freeman from 2006-2011, where I covered education, county and state government. I went on to cover courts for Patch.com, where I was the main courts reporter in the Metro Milwaukee cluster of websites.

I’ve won multiple awards during the course of my career and have covered some of the biggest political events in the past decade and have appeared on national programs.

Having covered local government and social issues, I discovered the importance of transit and the impact it can have on communities when implemented, supported and funded.