Speaker:

Hey, do you know where your favorite futuristic ice cream dipping Dots

Speaker:

is headquartered here in the U.S.

Speaker:

That's right, Paducah, Kentucky, and today on Transit Unplugged.

Speaker:

We're heading there to talk with one of Transit's Rising Stars.

Speaker:

I'm your host, Paul Comfort, and I'm joined today by Jeremy Bumpus,

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executive director of the Paducah Area Transit System, or Pats, as

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it is known, in just three years in the transit industry and only two.

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As executive director, Jeremy is already leading a transformation

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from a ride hail only rural system.

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To moving toward launching more than 200 fixed route bus stops.

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Pats is redefining what mobility looks like for a growing small urban region.

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We'll explore how Jeremy and his team are preparing for big events like the

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American Quilter Society Quilt Week, and what it means to scale up service

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in a close knit community, and how innovation and energy are driving

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the future of transit in Paducah.

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Hey, if you like what you hear today, don't forget to follow U.S. on your

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favorite platform and leave U.S. a review.

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It helps more people discover the voices of tomorrow's transit

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leaders like Jeremy Bumps.

Paul Comfort:

Great to have Jeremy Bumpus with me today.

Paul Comfort:

He's the executive director of Paducah Transit Authority, and

Paul Comfort:

I guess you're calling in from your office in Paducah, Kentucky.

Paul Comfort:

Huh?

Jeremi Bumpus:

I am, I am straight from the office.

Paul Comfort:

That's great, man.

Paul Comfort:

Well, good to see you again.

Paul Comfort:

Uh, Jeremy and I were just together at the TripSpark Ignite

Paul Comfort:

Conference, , a week or two ago.

Paul Comfort:

And, um, we connected up and he's got such a great operation, a great story.

Paul Comfort:

I wanted to get him on the podcast.

Paul Comfort:

Um, so, uh, tell U.S. some about your service.

Paul Comfort:

Some Jeremy, where you guys are at, like geographically for people can position.

Paul Comfort:

Where Paducah is.

Paul Comfort:

Everybody's heard of Paducah, Kentucky, but I don't know if

Paul Comfort:

people know exactly where it's at.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Yeah.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So Paducah, Kentucky, we're located in Kentucky, but we're in

Jeremi Bumpus:

the far western part of Kentucky.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So we are right on the border of Illinois.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Um, it's about five minutes north of U.S. and about 30 minutes

Jeremi Bumpus:

West is the border of Missouri.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So we're tucked off in the far western part of Kentucky.

Paul Comfort:

And about how big is Paducah population wise?

Jeremi Bumpus:

I always like to say, if you look it up on Google, it'll

Jeremi Bumpus:

say Paducah's about 27,000 people.

Jeremi Bumpus:

However, that's just within the city limits.

Jeremi Bumpus:

The actual city of Paducah.

Jeremi Bumpus:

, we're in . McCracken County, Kentucky.

Jeremi Bumpus:

The only city in McCracken County, Kentucky is Paducah.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Okay.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And that consists of about 67,000 people.

Jeremi Bumpus:

But you have county versus city, but it's all Paducah.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So we're, we're a community of about 67,000 people.

Paul Comfort:

That's great, man.

Paul Comfort:

So tell me some about your service.

Paul Comfort:

, Jeremi Bumpus: Paducah Transit Authority, you know, we operate at, we do business

Paul Comfort:

as Paducah area, transit system.

Paul Comfort:

Um, 'cause we serve four counties in Western Kentucky.

Paul Comfort:

Um, we have two modes of transit, transportation, we do

Paul Comfort:

fixed route and paratransit.

Paul Comfort:

Of course, you know, those in the transit world, we call it demand and response.

Paul Comfort:

But for those outside the transit world, I always like to

Paul Comfort:

say scheduled transportation.

Paul Comfort:

That seems to.

Paul Comfort:

Be a little bit, seems to be a little bit better to understand.

Paul Comfort:

Uh, yeah.

Paul Comfort:

So those are our two modes.

Paul Comfort:

Uh, and again, we are the largest public transportation

Paul Comfort:

provider in western Kentucky.

Paul Comfort:

Very

Paul Comfort:

good.

Paul Comfort:

So again, we cover four counties along with two other smaller

Paul Comfort:

public transit agencies.

Paul Comfort:

Gotcha.

Paul Comfort:

And let's talk about your journey.

Paul Comfort:

Uh, how'd you find your way into public transportation and what has it been

Paul Comfort:

like leading Pats and now in your second year as executive director?

Jeremi Bumpus:

Wow.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Good question.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Um, I. What I found in transit is, is most people, um, who are in transit

Jeremi Bumpus:

never intended on being in transit.

Jeremi Bumpus:

It kind of just happened.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Yeah, that's true, isn't it?

Jeremi Bumpus:

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And for me, that's, that's what happened.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Um, I spent probably 10 years in higher education, , and my wife

Jeremi Bumpus:

and I, we, you know, we spent some time in North Carolina.

Jeremi Bumpus:

We lived in Tennessee.

Jeremi Bumpus:

, we relocated to Kentucky in Paducah is her hometown.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And, um, at the time I was working for a higher education

Jeremi Bumpus:

institution here in Paducah.

Jeremi Bumpus:

, and then Covid hit.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Oh yeah.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And I just, you know, I had a lot of times on my hands, like most people, um,

Jeremi Bumpus:

a lot of time to sit, think, and reflect.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And, um, I, I was just at a point in life where I wanted to do something different.

Jeremi Bumpus:

, and so I had known, uh, the previous director, I'd met

Jeremi Bumpus:

him while I was in college.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Uh, we reconnected when I moved, uh, to Paducah.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And, you know, we hadn't spoken for years.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Uh, but when I moved to Paducah, we reconnected and

Jeremi Bumpus:

sure enough he was retiring.

Jeremi Bumpus:

, and so essentially he had, was, was looking for someone

Jeremi Bumpus:

to, um, take over for him.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And so he asked me if I would be interested.

Jeremi Bumpus:

, and again, I tell people this, uh, I wasn't guaranteed anything.

Jeremi Bumpus:

He said, Hey, I'm gonna be retiring.

Jeremi Bumpus:

We're looking for an assistant director and hopefully this person will take

Jeremi Bumpus:

over once I retire in two years.

Jeremi Bumpus:

, he said, you can apply and you know, we'll go from there.

Jeremi Bumpus:

, I applied, I interviewed with the board of directors.

Jeremi Bumpus:

. So I was hired as assistant director and that's how I began my, job.

Jeremi Bumpus:

In, my first job in transit was as assistant director.

Paul Comfort:

Okay.

Paul Comfort:

And what did you do in that role?

Paul Comfort:

What was your function?

Paul Comfort:

, Jeremi Bumpus: we're a small transit agency, so what I found was the executive

Paul Comfort:

director wore very, wore many hats.

Paul Comfort:

he didn't just push papers.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

So I spent a year and a half as assistant director learning, , not only under

Paul Comfort:

the current executive director, but I spent time with the operations manager.

Paul Comfort:

I spent time with the accounting department, HR director, office

Paul Comfort:

manager, um, our mechanics.

Paul Comfort:

Pretty much learning all the ins and outs of transit and our services.

Paul Comfort:

so I did everything that you can think of, that goes on in a transit agency.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

So I spent a year and a half that.

Paul Comfort:

So coming from outside of the traditional transit world,

Paul Comfort:

kinda what fresh perspectives do you think you brought into Pats and how

Paul Comfort:

has that impacted the way your team approaches service and innovation?

Jeremi Bumpus:

So I'm 37 years old.

Jeremi Bumpus:

I came in, I was 35.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Um, and it's funny, the younger kids think I'm old, but everyone here

Jeremi Bumpus:

thinks I'm super, I'm very young.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Yeah.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Um.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Our average age here at the agency is 54, so I came as the young guy.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Yep.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And a millennial.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So essentially when I walk into, when I walk into the building, my generation

Jeremi Bumpus:

we're really big on technology and using technology to make life easier.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Um, I do that in my personal life.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So that was one of the things that I noticed here, , at our agency.

Jeremi Bumpus:

. We needed updated technology and we needed to update some of our

Jeremi Bumpus:

practices and things that we did just to make things more efficient.

Jeremi Bumpus:

, what I found is that, , people and agencies and, and businesses,

Jeremi Bumpus:

sometimes they just, they're, they're.

Jeremi Bumpus:

It's used to the norm.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Things have been away for so many years, so many decades.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And hey, if it's not, if, if it's not broke, don't fix it.

Jeremi Bumpus:

, I don't necessarily look at things that way.

Jeremi Bumpus:

I'm always looking at, Hey, how can we improve this and how can we use the

Jeremi Bumpus:

technology that's available to U.S.

Jeremi Bumpus:

to improve our services and things of that nature.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So, um, that's the perspective that I brought in.

Jeremi Bumpus:

I think it was essentially my age, , and my experiences with technology and just

Jeremi Bumpus:

kind of the way that I live my life.

Jeremi Bumpus:

. That helped me come in and kind of just see things and say, Hey, maybe

Jeremi Bumpus:

we could do this differently, or we can add this, or, change this

Jeremi Bumpus:

to make things a little efficient.

Jeremi Bumpus:

. Paul Comfort: You know, I had the same experience when I started Jeremy.

Jeremi Bumpus:

I was a little bit younger than you.

Jeremi Bumpus:

I was 22 when I started, and I was in a county about the size

Jeremi Bumpus:

of yours, and I was the county's first transportation director.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And, uh, I was just over there today meeting with him 'cause we're

Jeremi Bumpus:

gonna be filming an episode of our TV show coming up soon there.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And, but I remember everybody that worked for me could have been

Jeremi Bumpus:

my parents or my grandparents.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And so it's a big deal when you come in like that, isn't it?

Jeremi Bumpus:

Yeah.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Yeah, yeah.

Jeremi Bumpus:

It is.

Jeremi Bumpus:

It is.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And, and it's funny, um, I, I, I thought there would be some

Jeremi Bumpus:

resistance to that when I came in.

Jeremi Bumpus:

because again, when you get sometimes, and I've, I've worked in other places

Jeremi Bumpus:

where you come in as the young guy and the people that you're working with are old

Jeremi Bumpus:

enough to be your parents or grandparents.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And, you know, I've had resistance in the past, but coming here,

Jeremi Bumpus:

I experienced none of that.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Everyone.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Oh, that's great, man.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Very welcoming with open arms.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Now some of the changes that were made, you know, everyone wasn't officially,

Jeremi Bumpus:

but you know, everyone working with was open in arms and I think some of them

Jeremi Bumpus:

really looked forward to some change and, hey, yeah, we're kind of looking

Jeremi Bumpus:

for a fresh start and, and new ideas.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And the new and the current executive director at the time have, was still

Jeremi Bumpus:

have a very, very good relationship with him, have a lot of respect for him.

Jeremi Bumpus:

He knew that and he would say it publicly.

Jeremi Bumpus:

He would say, Hey.

Jeremi Bumpus:

He would introduce me, he'd say, Hey, this is Jeremy.

Jeremi Bumpus:

This is the assistant director.

Jeremi Bumpus:

He's the new young guy coming in with the new ideas, and I'm just gonna

Jeremi Bumpus:

turn it over to him and let him run.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Oh, that's nice.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Uh, and I really appreciate him.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Yeah, yeah.

Jeremi Bumpus:

No, he would joke and say, no, you can't do this until I retire.

Jeremi Bumpus:

But, uh, you know, he, he knew that I was gonna come in and change some

Jeremi Bumpus:

things and, um, he was all for it.

Jeremi Bumpus:

He was very supportive.

Paul Comfort:

What's the structure

Paul Comfort:

there?

Paul Comfort:

So you're a transit authority.

Paul Comfort:

Do you report to like a board of directors that are appointed or

Paul Comfort:

work for the county government.

Paul Comfort:

City government.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Yeah.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So the structure we're, we're a quasi-government agency.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Okay.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Um, so essentially, um, the Kentucky Revised statutes allow municipalities

Jeremi Bumpus:

to create a transit authority.

Jeremi Bumpus:

so we're not owned or operated by the city or county government.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Okay.

Jeremi Bumpus:

County government.

Jeremi Bumpus:

It's our board that governs and directs U.S. but that's the

Jeremi Bumpus:

only tie we have to the city.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So we're our own independent agency.

Jeremi Bumpus:

That has a governing body, that's chosen by the city.

Jeremi Bumpus:

so a lot of people here in this community, um, who are unfamiliar

Jeremi Bumpus:

with pets, they always say, Hey, well I'm gonna call the city.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And I'm like, well, uh, I communicate with luck.

Jeremi Bumpus:

With luck, right.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And I'm like, we're our own standalone agency.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Um, we, we work very closely with the city, but um, our board is where it stops.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So, um, that's.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Kind of our structure.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And then of course we report to FTA and, um, our Kentucky Transportation

Jeremi Bumpus:

cabinet, which is our state transportation agency that, um, provides U.S.

Jeremi Bumpus:

funding.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Gotcha.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

where do, where do you get your funding from?

Paul Comfort:

Is it a combination?

Paul Comfort:

Who provides the most and all that stuff?

Jeremi Bumpus:

Well, uh, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, which is

Jeremi Bumpus:

the Office of Transportation and Delivery, um, they provide all of our

Jeremi Bumpus:

funding, but we are going through a transition period, which is interesting.

Jeremi Bumpus:

okay.

Jeremi Bumpus:

We are transitioning from rural to small urban, so we'll be receiving

Jeremi Bumpus:

funding directly from FTA and from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, which

Jeremi Bumpus:

makes for some interesting, Yeah, so essentially two pots of two pots of

Jeremi Bumpus:

money, which is always, which is great.

Jeremi Bumpus:

But, um, you know, we're not done with the process to become

Jeremi Bumpus:

a direct recipient from FTA yet.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Okay.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Um, hopefully we'll be done, done with that this summer, but, uh, it's

Jeremi Bumpus:

been a kind of a learning curve.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Uh,

Paul Comfort:

so explain that process a little bit.

Paul Comfort:

It's an interesting time, uh, to, to switch from, uh, a rural to a small urban.

Paul Comfort:

Is it because the last census you had more people?

Paul Comfort:

Then explain how all that works if you, if you don't mind.

Paul Comfort:

Yep.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So the 2020 census data came out and our urbanized area growth.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Okay.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Um, it, so we surpassed 50,000 people, which I believe put U.S.

Jeremi Bumpus:

into the small urban category.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Yeah.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Um.

Jeremi Bumpus:

A portion of that is in Illinois.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Okay.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Which is right across the river from U.S. So, um, you know, that triggered

Jeremi Bumpus:

a bunch of different things and it started receiving communication from FTA.

Jeremi Bumpus:

and we started this process a year, probably a year and a half ago.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Um, getting everything set up and I didn't realize it.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Yeah.

Jeremi Bumpus:

I didn't realize it, it, it's, it's a lot, it's a lot of work.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

and, but will you end up with more money at the end?

Jeremi Bumpus:

That's still kind of undetermined.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Okay.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Because apparently we after, and you know I'm gonna speak in our transit language.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Yeah.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Um, fiscal.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Which the feds, you know, is Sept October one to September 30th.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Right.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Um, that's when the FTA dollars became available to U.S. We still have yet

Jeremi Bumpus:

to access those because we haven't gone through the entire process yet.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Okay.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So essentially we have two years coming up on three years of money

Jeremi Bumpus:

that we can access from FTA.

Jeremi Bumpus:

But we're still being fully funded by the state of Kentucky.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Once we're able to access that money, the state of Kentucky is going to

Jeremi Bumpus:

reduce the amount of funding, but that hasn't been determined yet.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Okay, I gotcha.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So we're still kind of in limbo.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Yeah.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Um, until hopefully,

Paul Comfort:

you know, this summer when we, we get an answer.

Paul Comfort:

And what part of what FTA region are you a part of?

Paul Comfort:

Four.

Paul Comfort:

Four, okay.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

Region four.

Paul Comfort:

Um, and, and I, I understand that's very interesting.

Paul Comfort:

Thank you for sharing that.

Paul Comfort:

I think, uh, I don't think we've ever had a conversation about that before

Paul Comfort:

on the show, so that's, it's good.

Paul Comfort:

A little bit of education for people, how that works.

Paul Comfort:

Your, yeah.

Paul Comfort:

When your census, uh, of your urban, what do they call that?

Paul Comfort:

Your consolidated metropolitan area?

Paul Comfort:

Statistical or something?

Paul Comfort:

Statistical area, when it grows above a certain amount, 50,000 and then

Paul Comfort:

200,000 I think is the next one.

Paul Comfort:

Right.

Paul Comfort:

You, uh, end up in a different category and the funding, you get the

Paul Comfort:

formula funding, which comes through the federal government changes.

Paul Comfort:

Mm-hmm.

Paul Comfort:

It's a, it's actually a good primer for people as we think about reauthorization.

Paul Comfort:

So the federal government has their, uh, every five or six years they

Paul Comfort:

put out a reauthorization act.

Paul Comfort:

Uh, the last one was, you know, colloquially called the

Paul Comfort:

Bipartisan Infrastructure Act.

Paul Comfort:

And inside of that was our reauthorization and funding went up dramatically for most

Paul Comfort:

of the categories, 40% in some categories.

Paul Comfort:

We were just in Washington recently talking with the House Transportation

Paul Comfort:

Infrastructure Committee and they were talking about that.

Paul Comfort:

Now they've started the reauthorization process again for the next version,

Paul Comfort:

which will kick in at the end of 2026.

Paul Comfort:

So the House Transportation Infrastructure Committee, their

Paul Comfort:

highways and transportation subcommittee is working on that.

Paul Comfort:

So it's all part of, um, the formula funds that come out of Washington.

Paul Comfort:

And it's very important, isn't it, for systems like yours, right.

Paul Comfort:

For smaller systems, they rely on a lot of those funds.

Paul Comfort:

I.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Yeah, absolutely.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Absolutely.

Jeremi Bumpus:

I mean, without those funds, obviously we wouldn't be able to operate.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And then of course, you know, just with limited resources, we don't, we

Jeremi Bumpus:

don't receive, uh, any other funding.

Jeremi Bumpus:

We receive a little bit of funding from our, uh, city of Paducah.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Okay.

Jeremi Bumpus:

and as, and we're, we're super grateful for that, those funds.

Jeremi Bumpus:

But you know, it's just enough.

Jeremi Bumpus:

It's not even enough.

Jeremi Bumpus:

It's not enough to cover the fuel.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Right.

Jeremi Bumpus:

I gotcha.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Right.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And outside of that, we don't, we don't have enough to, you

Jeremi Bumpus:

know, run our operations or sustain what we have going on.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So, we're heavily reliant on that funding.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And I'm, I'm hoping you know, the way things look, we'll, we'll be okay.

Jeremi Bumpus:

But I'm, I'm hoping that this process is, is done sooner rather than later.

Paul Comfort:

How many employees

Jeremi Bumpus:

do you have there?

Paul Comfort:

I.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So we're about 45 employees.

Paul Comfort:

Okay, very

Jeremi Bumpus:

good.

Jeremi Bumpus:

45 employees.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So yeah, we're in, and it's funny as a, when I travel, you

Jeremi Bumpus:

know, to some that's large and to some, you know, it's minuscule.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So, I still feel, extremely small and I still feel understaffed.

Jeremi Bumpus:

so I, I'm sure you know, a lot of other transit agents feel the exact same way.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

What's your total annual

Jeremi Bumpus:

budget?

Jeremi Bumpus:

So

Paul Comfort:

about

Jeremi Bumpus:

$4 million.

Paul Comfort:

Okay.

Paul Comfort:

Very good.

Paul Comfort:

Yep.

Paul Comfort:

That's great.

Paul Comfort:

About 4 million.

Julie Gates:

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Julie Gates:

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Paul Comfort:

So you've also been working on improving your fixed route system.

Paul Comfort:

Right?

Paul Comfort:

Can you walk U.S. through what that, uh, what that's happening there and

Paul Comfort:

what that'll mean for riders in Paducah?

Jeremi Bumpus:

Yeah.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Yeah.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So when I came to Pat's, as we refer to it, I did not realize that our fixed

Jeremi Bumpus:

route system did not have bus stops.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And up until last week at Ignite, I met another transit agency in South

Jeremi Bumpus:

Dakota that has a similar fixed route.

Jeremi Bumpus:

they operate on a hail system just like we do.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And so for anyone that doesn't know, a hail system is anywhere along the route.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Someone can stand and hail down the bus or flag wave their hand, right?

Jeremi Bumpus:

Nope.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And just wave their hand.

Jeremi Bumpus:

as long as it's in a safe area.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Right, right.

Jeremi Bumpus:

When I came on, I said, wow, this is crazy.

Jeremi Bumpus:

I said, this is crazy.

Jeremi Bumpus:

and I learned, um, over time, uh, for U.S. it, it caused a lot of issues.

Jeremi Bumpus:

you know, it's, it's inefficient, it's dangerous.

Jeremi Bumpus:

People who come into the community who weren't familiar with the system

Jeremi Bumpus:

didn't know where to go because if you're coming from other cities,

Jeremi Bumpus:

whether you know, small, large, or medium sized, they have bus stops.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And so when you wanna access a fix route, you typically

Jeremi Bumpus:

find where the bus stops are.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Through some app or a map or something and you catch the bus

Jeremi Bumpus:

to get you where you need to go.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Well, that wasn't the case here in Paducah.

Jeremi Bumpus:

so I decided, uh, once, you know, the previous director, uh, retired

Jeremi Bumpus:

and I explained his plan to him.

Jeremi Bumpus:

He's like, Hey, you got it.

Jeremi Bumpus:

I want you to be successful.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Do it.

Jeremi Bumpus:

I said, Hey, we're gonna do it.

Jeremi Bumpus:

We're gonna hit the ground running.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So as a part of U.S. changing or transitioning to a 53 0 7.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Which is, you know, the, the small urban, as you you're probably familiar,

Jeremi Bumpus:

an MPO was formed a metropolitan planning organization in our area.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And through that MPO, they received the MPO received, some additional funding

Jeremi Bumpus:

and it was decided amongst that exec board that that funding can be used

Jeremi Bumpus:

for U.S. to conduct a transit study.

Jeremi Bumpus:

To study our fixed routes and essentially to make them more efficient.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And this was kind of the, this is the first thing that needed to happen before.

Jeremi Bumpus:

We put in the bus stops.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So I worked with the, well I'm on the exec board, but essentially

Jeremi Bumpus:

I asked for that funding.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Yeah.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Um, they allowed me to use it.

Jeremi Bumpus:

We worked with a local consulting firm.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Actually it's a national consulting firm that has an office here in Paducah.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Okay.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Um, we started that transit study in December, I'm sorry,

Jeremi Bumpus:

in September of last year.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Um, we've pretty much finished it up and we determined where those stops should be.

Jeremi Bumpus:

. We're almost done.

Jeremi Bumpus:

, I'm working with our local government here to get those, , bus

Jeremi Bumpus:

stops made and, , implemented.

Jeremi Bumpus:

But on the flip side, I also, and this again, this is where the technology

Jeremi Bumpus:

piece comes in, I said, well, hey, we need some sort of technology or app

Jeremi Bumpus:

that allows people to see the buses in real time and track the buses.

Jeremi Bumpus:

We know this technology exists.

Jeremi Bumpus:

It's all over the country.

Jeremi Bumpus:

We don't have it here, and I'm gonna make that happen.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So.

Jeremi Bumpus:

That's where TripSpark came in and worked with the TripSpark, purchased the

Jeremi Bumpus:

street software, and the My Ride app.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And we're working through that now, and we're about 90% complete on that.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So we're looking to launch the app, and the bus stop signs and all of that.

Jeremi Bumpus:

I'm looking to launch that all by July one, so Oh, that's awesome, man.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Yeah.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Yeah.

Jeremi Bumpus:

It's, it's gonna be a complete game changer for our community, so.

Paul Comfort:

Do you know?

Paul Comfort:

So you don't know how many bus stops you're gonna get yet 'cause

Paul Comfort:

your study's not done right?

Jeremi Bumpus:

Oh, well, the study's done.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Yeah.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Okay.

Jeremi Bumpus:

207, 207 bus stops.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Really?

Jeremi Bumpus:

Yes.

Jeremi Bumpus:

From nothing to 200.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Yes.

Jeremi Bumpus:

From nothing to 200.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So designated stops.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Um, again, it's gonna be a complete game changer for our city.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Um, in terms of, you know, economic development, you know, uh, the,

Jeremi Bumpus:

the morale, the passengers, uh.

Jeremi Bumpus:

You know, just the reputation that Pat's has, you know, uh, and it also cut down on

Jeremi Bumpus:

calls that we receive here in the office.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So our staff, that's just one less thing that they have to do.

Jeremi Bumpus:

yeah, again, you kind of put some of the power back into

Jeremi Bumpus:

the hands of the passengers.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Hey, they can plan out their trips.

Jeremi Bumpus:

They can set reminders on their phone to say, Hey, I catch this bus at this

Jeremi Bumpus:

location every day to get to work.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Now I don't necessarily need to call.

Jeremi Bumpus:

I can just plan it and receive a text notification.

Jeremi Bumpus:

When that bus is on its way, and I can ha I can set that to remind me every day when

Jeremi Bumpus:

I need to catch this bus at this location.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Yeah.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So again, it's, it's a game changer for U.S. and I'm, I'm excited.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Yeah, that's

Paul Comfort:

wonderful because people then know where to be at what time the

Paul Comfort:

bus will definitely be there, right?

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

Right.

Paul Comfort:

That's great, man.

Paul Comfort:

switching, uh, switching topics slightly here.

Paul Comfort:

Uh, Paducah has a unique cultural identity.

Paul Comfort:

When people think about Paducah, Kentucky, I mean, it's in my mind.

Paul Comfort:

What, what, what are you known for?

Jeremi Bumpus:

Two things.

Jeremi Bumpus:

of course you've heard of Dipping Dots,

Paul Comfort:

correct?

Paul Comfort:

Yes.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Yes.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Did you know that they're headquartered here in Paducah?

Paul Comfort:

Dipping Dots Ice cream is headquartered in Paducah.

Paul Comfort:

No, I did not know that.

Paul Comfort:

Wow.

Paul Comfort:

Yes.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Yep.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So that's one, which is a co fact.

Jeremi Bumpus:

actually, I told someone there at Ignite, there was a dipping Dots

Jeremi Bumpus:

stand there and I said, Hey, you know, that's headquarters where I live.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Idea.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And also the National Quilt Museum is located in Paducah.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And so every year the American Quilter Society holds an annual quilt week,

Jeremi Bumpus:

and you have thousands of people that travel from all over the country that

Jeremi Bumpus:

are really into quilting and the history of it and all these different things.

Jeremi Bumpus:

they travel here to Paducah and it's, it's great for our economy.

Jeremi Bumpus:

influx of money and tourism, um, goes up and it's something that

Jeremi Bumpus:

we all look forward to this year.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And, uh, we play a really vital role in that.

Jeremi Bumpus:

our role has kind of transitioned and changed over the years, again,

Jeremi Bumpus:

that's, that's one of the things we're known for is quilt week.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So, dipping ducks.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

Quilt.

Paul Comfort:

So what do you, yeah, that's great.

Paul Comfort:

What does your service actually, do?

Paul Comfort:

You say you play an important role.

Paul Comfort:

Tell U.S. about it.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Yeah.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Yeah.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So at one point we provided all transportation for quilt week.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Okay.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So we would run our fixed routes and we would run additional vehicles to transport

Jeremi Bumpus:

all of the quilters is what we call them.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Yeah.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Um, all over the city and over time.

Jeremi Bumpus:

There were some, and this was, this was before my time, but there

Jeremi Bumpus:

were some, uh, things that came up.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And essentially we had to reduce our service.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So now what we're doing is we have a couple of trolleys that we run.

Jeremi Bumpus:

We start that halfway through the week and we run it through the weekend and

Jeremi Bumpus:

it's a complimentary trial, so no.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So there's no cost associated with it.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Uh, we work with our local visitors bureau and the convention center

Jeremi Bumpus:

and the Quilt Museum, and our, we call them our Paducah ambassadors.

Jeremi Bumpus:

We hold, they hold this meeting, we all work together and we

Jeremi Bumpus:

coordinate this transportation.

Jeremi Bumpus:

and again, it's, it's great for the community, it's great for U.S.

Jeremi Bumpus:

and people just love to see that trolley.

Jeremi Bumpus:

and those trolleys running around our city, knowing that, hey, when

Jeremi Bumpus:

you see those trolleys at this time of year, you know, it's quilt week.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So yeah.

Paul Comfort:

That's awesome, man.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Yeah, it's

Paul Comfort:

great.

Paul Comfort:

So you, one of the cool things about, uh, that I have found about being in a

Paul Comfort:

smaller agency is you get to wear a lot of hats most people in these jobs don't

Paul Comfort:

complain about it because it's fun.

Paul Comfort:

I mean, I've got a chapter in my upcoming book called, do Not

Paul Comfort:

Despise The Day of Small Beginnings.

Paul Comfort:

A great quote, you know, from the good book.

Paul Comfort:

And, uh, I started out my career in a small transit system

Paul Comfort:

and got to wear all the hats.

Paul Comfort:

But you there, you do a lot, right?

Paul Comfort:

You're the head of media and marketing for your own agency.

Paul Comfort:

And, uh, as such, how do you, uh, spread the word about what's working for

Paul Comfort:

you guys and how's it working so far?

Jeremi Bumpus:

Yeah, so a couple things.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Um, when I started, there was no marketing, and we didn't have any media.

Jeremi Bumpus:

The extent of our marketing and media was our local newspaper.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Okay.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Um, which again, it, it kinda speaks to the generational differences.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Between myself and the, the former director.

Jeremi Bumpus:

I've come in, I've started the social media pages, which, you know,

Jeremi Bumpus:

they're not as active as they were.

Jeremi Bumpus:

when I was assistant director, I was a little more active with those.

Jeremi Bumpus:

But as director, I've kind of tapered back a little bit, but,

Jeremi Bumpus:

um, our social media pages, and then, uh, using the local media.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So again, still using newspaper.

Jeremi Bumpus:

'cause I understand we have a large population of our, uh, community

Jeremi Bumpus:

that still reads a newspaper, um, using the local news station.

Jeremi Bumpus:

then one of the key things that I've done is I've worked with

Jeremi Bumpus:

TripSpark and Message Point Media.

Jeremi Bumpus:

I've added a kiosk outside of our building, which again,

Jeremi Bumpus:

for some agencies around the country, that's a complete norm.

Jeremi Bumpus:

It's total game changer for U.S. because then we essentially have a 24 hour

Jeremi Bumpus:

kiosk that is outside of our building that we can use for advertising,

Jeremi Bumpus:

we can use for announcements, so we can use for things of that nature.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Also, with U.S. using the app My Ride, we'll be able to put

Jeremi Bumpus:

things out to all passengers using that via the, OR using the app.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Um.

Jeremi Bumpus:

That allows U.S. to market and reach a broader audience

Jeremi Bumpus:

quicker, and it's cheaper.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So, um, that's one of the things that I do.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And I have a couple of people on my team, you know, that assist with that, but Yeah.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Um, again, director, we wear many hats.

Jeremi Bumpus:

That's right, man.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So when it comes to marketing, it's like, hey, I'm the, I'm the go-to.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And, you know, I'm not above it.

Jeremi Bumpus:

You know, things have to happen.

Jeremi Bumpus:

We all, we all are busy, but you know, it's what I signed up for.

Jeremi Bumpus:

It's a job.

Jeremi Bumpus:

That's wonderful.

Paul Comfort:

Well, when you're not leading Pats, I know you're into

Paul Comfort:

fitness, I met you and your wife there in, in, uh, at the conference and at

Paul Comfort:

the ball game, and you like to travel and spend times with loved ones.

Paul Comfort:

How do those passions recharge you as a leader and do they

Paul Comfort:

influence your approach to work?

Jeremi Bumpus:

They do.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Um, the way that they recharge me as a leader is I'm really

Jeremi Bumpus:

big into compartmentalization.

Jeremi Bumpus:

I, I absolutely believe in work-life balance, and that

Jeremi Bumpus:

doesn't look the same for everyone.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So I always tell people, Hey, when I'm not working, I'm not working right.

Jeremi Bumpus:

When I'm off, I'm off.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Um, now that doesn't mean I won't answer my phone.

Jeremi Bumpus:

That doesn't mean I won't respond, but I love to enjoy time away from work.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And so what that allows me to do is it allows me to decompress.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And it allows me to think, get new fresh ideas, think how I'm gonna do

Jeremi Bumpus:

this, what do I need to do tomorrow?

Jeremi Bumpus:

It kind of just resets me.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So if I go home and I'm able to work out, or I can just spend some

Jeremi Bumpus:

time with my kids and I can just not necessarily think of work when I

Jeremi Bumpus:

get back into the office, I'm fresh.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And for me to, for me, that helps eliminate, or it, it helps keep, um.

Jeremi Bumpus:

It helps keep me from feeling burnt out because when you're running 24 7 and it's

Jeremi Bumpus:

just work, work, work, work, work, it's e it's really, really easy to get burnt out.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Especially in transit in a small transit agency where you are wearing many hats.

Jeremi Bumpus:

'cause there are gonna be days where you're frustrated.

Jeremi Bumpus:

things are not gonna go your way.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And you know, you know this where in transit it's never if something is going

Jeremi Bumpus:

to happen, it's just when That's right.

Jeremi Bumpus:

You know, that's a.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Yeah, go ahead.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Something's gonna happen.

Jeremi Bumpus:

No, something's gonna happen.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And that's right.

Jeremi Bumpus:

You know, to, I, I never wanna allow myself to be jaded.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So some, it's good to just step away, compartmentalize, and

Jeremi Bumpus:

hey, if I'm in the gym and I'm working out, that's all I'm doing.

Jeremi Bumpus:

If I'm playing with my kids, I'm playing with my kids.

Jeremi Bumpus:

If my wife and I are on a date somewhere, we're on a date,

Jeremi Bumpus:

I'm not thinking about work.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Now.

Jeremi Bumpus:

If they call me, if something work comes up, you know, I gotta take care of it.

Jeremi Bumpus:

But I just compartmentalize.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And I just, I, I, I, I like, I like my life.

Jeremi Bumpus:

I like to live my life that way, so

Paul Comfort:

very, very good.

Paul Comfort:

And looking ahead, last question.

Paul Comfort:

What's your vision for Pat?

Paul Comfort:

Where, where do you think it'll be in two or three years

Paul Comfort:

from now into your leadership?

Paul Comfort:

I. Uh, two to

Jeremi Bumpus:

three years from now.

Jeremi Bumpus:

it's a good question.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Where do I see pets?

Jeremi Bumpus:

I see pets, um, just continuing to improve our services, looking at technology,

Jeremi Bumpus:

how we can use it to improve our services, to make them more efficient.

Jeremi Bumpus:

I will say this, one of the things that recently I've come

Jeremi Bumpus:

across is some AI software.

Jeremi Bumpus:

That will allow U.S. to monitor maintenance issues on our

Jeremi Bumpus:

vehicles in real time and not necessarily wait for a breakdown.

Jeremi Bumpus:

So as technology improves, it evolves.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Those are the things that I'm always looking into, talking with

Jeremi Bumpus:

my team about getting new ideas, um, and not just myself always.

Jeremi Bumpus:

I have an open door policy and I communicate with my

Jeremi Bumpus:

team and our employees daily.

Jeremi Bumpus:

And when people have ideas or thoughts on something, I never

Jeremi Bumpus:

shoot them down immediately.

Jeremi Bumpus:

I always hear them out and, and people do it often.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Hey Jeremy, what do you think about this?

Jeremi Bumpus:

And I'm like, okay, yeah, that's a good idea.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Or Hey, yeah, we can do that, but we need to find the money for it or the funding.

Jeremi Bumpus:

I see Pats just continuing to move forward, improve our services, and,

Jeremi Bumpus:

and trying to catch up to some of the other transit agencies in the country

Jeremi Bumpus:

that, that have a little more resources.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Um, you know, I don't want people to look at Pats and say, okay, well

Jeremi Bumpus:

Pats is functioning like it's 2005.

Jeremi Bumpus:

No.

Jeremi Bumpus:

I want people to look at Pats and say, Hey, pats is functioning

Jeremi Bumpus:

like the times we're in.

Jeremi Bumpus:

They have the technology, they have the resources that they need to provide

Jeremi Bumpus:

the best service that they can provide.

Paul Comfort:

That's awesome, man.

Paul Comfort:

Great vision.

Paul Comfort:

I love it.

Paul Comfort:

And this has been a great conversation, very informative for

Paul Comfort:

people to see a mid-size, smaller, mid-size agency and how you operate.

Paul Comfort:

Uh, when you get to your new fixed routes and you implement the

Paul Comfort:

software seriously, send me another note and gimme an update on it.

Paul Comfort:

We'll, we'll let folks know how it's going.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Oh yeah, for sure.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Absolutely.

Jeremi Bumpus:

Absolutely.

Paul Comfort:

Thank you Jeremy Bump U.S. for being our guest today.

Paul Comfort:

Best wishes as you continue to lead Paducah Transit authorities

Paul Comfort:

or executive director.

Paul Comfort:

It was great meeting you and we, I hope to see you again sometime

Paul Comfort:

at another TripSpark conference.

Julie Gates:

Thank you for listening to this week's episode

Julie Gates:

of the Transit Unplugged Podcast.

Julie Gates:

We're so glad you're here.

Julie Gates:

My name is Julie Gates.

Julie Gates:

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Julie Gates:

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Julie Gates:

by providing you with behind the scenes access with industry executive

Julie Gates:

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Julie Gates:

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Julie Gates:

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Julie Gates:

Head to the show notes to find the link.

Julie Gates:

Thanks for listening to Transit Unplugged with Paul Comfort, our favorite transit

Julie Gates:

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Julie Gates:

Thanks for tuning in.