The Next Generation Shaping the Public Transit Industry

Co-hosts Brandon Lewis and Jessica Parks lead this episode of the ITP, joined by Mass Transit's Noah Kolenda. They examine one year of congestion pricing and its impact on traffic patterns and urban mobility in New York City and beyond.

Brandon also sits down with Penn State student Jorge Diaz to explore the future of transit through the lens of an emerging professional — from data analytics and machine learning to the growing need for more multimodal, people-focused infrastructure.

To close out the episode, Jessica quizzes Brandon and Noah on project pricing from Roads & Bridges' 2025 Top 10 Bridge Awards.

Featured Guests

Jorge Diaz - Penn State University

Jorge Diaz is a transportation engineering student in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Penn State. His studies focus on transit systems, with research spanning the impacts of transit policies on ridership, security incidents, accessibility and equity.

Noah Kolenda - Mass Transit

Noah Kolenda is the associate editor at Mass Transit, where he specializes in data-driven coverage of transit operations, ridership and urban mobility trends.

What You'll Learn

• How congestion pricing in New York City has reduced traffic in Manhattan and reshaped travel behavior across the Five Boroughs in its first year.
• How a new generation of transit professionals is applying data-driven thinking, global perspective and multimodal planning.
• Why the next generation of the industry is shifting from car-centric design towards systems focused on moving people more efficiently.
• How well you can stack up on bridge project pricing from Roads & Bridges' 2025 Top 10 Bridge Awards.

Inside the Episode

Episode length: 44:34

Timestamps:

• 2:17 — Congestion pricing
• 14:18 — Interview with Jorge Diaz
• 32:43 — Quiz on Roads & Bridges 2025 Top 10 Bridge Awards

Useful Links

• "NYC marks one year of congestion pricing with faster travel, cleaner air, safer streets and more revenue than expected" — Noah Kolenda
• Congestion Relief Zone Tolling First Evaluation Report
• Roads & Bridges Top 10 Bridge Awards
• Send us a topic suggestion!

Don’t forget to subscribe to the ITP and rate and review our podcast! Email [e-mail] with your thoughts on congestion pricing — we might read them on air.