Paul Comfort:

I'm Paul Comfort, and on this episode of Transit Unplugged,

Paul Comfort:

we go to the Community Transportation Association of America's Live 2025 Expo

Paul Comfort:

recording in San Diego, California.

Paul Comfort:

I was just there a couple weeks ago and we had a wonderful time.

Paul Comfort:

Uh, at the expo itself.

Paul Comfort:

Um, Scott Borin, the executive director of CTA, does such a great job.

Paul Comfort:

There's 1200 people there.

Paul Comfort:

I spoke while I was there.

Paul Comfort:

Uh, along with Mark Ash, we did a, a joint presentation over about two

Paul Comfort:

hours and we also, uh, I also did a book signing at the trans track booth,

Paul Comfort:

and then on the trade show floor.

Paul Comfort:

We recorded a couple podcasts live.

Paul Comfort:

It's always fun when you do that, right?

Paul Comfort:

You sit in front of a booth and you have a, a crowd gather around you

Paul Comfort:

and you record a CEO there today.

Paul Comfort:

Uh, we interviewed Ryan Daniel, who's CEO of St. Cloud, Metro Bus, and

Paul Comfort:

he had his board chairman with him.

Paul Comfort:

And I said, Hey man, will you come over and join U.S.

Paul Comfort:

on the show?

Paul Comfort:

So Dave Kleis , long term board chair and long-term mayor, um, of the city

Paul Comfort:

of St. Cloud was mayor for many years.

Paul Comfort:

Uh, joined U.S. on the show and we have a two part interview

Paul Comfort:

with both these gentlemen.

Paul Comfort:

Uh, recorded right there on the trade show floor.

Paul Comfort:

We have another one coming up for you, uh, soon after that.

Paul Comfort:

And we did a live roving reporter one.

Paul Comfort:

And you know, I'm Paul Comfort and Trepid reporter walking the floor and

Paul Comfort:

talking to various people, including our friends at Mass Transit Magazine

Paul Comfort:

and some other leaders in the industry.

Paul Comfort:

Uh, so we've got three podcast episodes coming from the CTAA,

Paul Comfort:

expo 2025, and San Diego.

Paul Comfort:

Enjoy this great interview with Ryan Daniel, CEO of St. Cloud, Metro

Paul Comfort:

Bus, and his board chair Dave Kleis.

Paul Comfort:

We're at the CTAA Expo in San Diego, California.

Paul Comfort:

I'm Paul Comfort and this is Transit Unplugged.

Paul Comfort:

We're doing a couple of live podcasts here from the floor

Paul Comfort:

of the expo, and I'm excited to have with me today, Ryan Daniel.

Paul Comfort:

Ryan is CEO of the St. Cloud Metro Bus System.

Paul Comfort:

Ryan, thanks for being on the show.

Ryan Daniel:

Thank for having me.

Ryan Daniel:

Yeah, It's great

Ryan Daniel:

to

Paul Comfort:

And as a last minute edition, we added his

Paul Comfort:

board chair and the former mayor,

Paul Comfort:

20 year

Paul Comfort:

mayor of St. Cloud Minnesota.

Paul Comfort:

Dave Kleis thanks so much for on the show in a green, you know, of not

Paul Comfort:

knowing I was gonna drag you over here.

Dave Kleis:

uh, just

Dave Kleis:

In the expo, but no happy

Dave Kleis:

be on

Dave Kleis:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

So the show goes all over the world.

Paul Comfort:

We're in a hundred countries.

Paul Comfort:

Uh, it's the number one Mass Transit podcast, and so we're

Paul Comfort:

excited to talk about St. Cloud.

Paul Comfort:

I was telling you, Ryan, I've been there before, but tell U.S. actually,

Paul Comfort:

let me ask the mayor, if you don't mind kick it off, mayor, tell U.S.

Paul Comfort:

some about St. Cloud you know, the city itself, the demographics, et cetera.

Dave Kleis:

Sure.

Dave Kleis:

St Cloud's, uh,

Dave Kleis:

you know, been around for about 168 years.

Dave Kleis:

Um, it uh, 72,000 people, but it's a regional center, so it has daytime

Dave Kleis:

population of about, about 180.

Dave Kleis:

Plus thousand.

Dave Kleis:

So it's a college town.

Dave Kleis:

It has, uh, you know, large hospital.

Dave Kleis:

So it's, uh, the second largest metropolitan area the Minne

Dave Kleis:

Minnesota next to the Twin Cities.

Paul Comfort:

Oh, wow.

Dave Kleis:

uh, uh.

Dave Kleis:

By

Dave Kleis:

it's

Dave Kleis:

MSA,

Dave Kleis:

um, so, or at the municipal, statistical

Dave Kleis:

area, but it's, uh, yeah, a nice little area middle uh,

Dave Kleis:

Minnesota.

Dave Kleis:

And, uh, got a, uh, growing,

Dave Kleis:

it continues

Dave Kleis:

to grow.

Dave Kleis:

Metro big part of

ZOOM0003_Tr2 00:03:09

it.

Dave Kleis:

Uh,

Dave Kleis:

Because, uh, St. Cloud, 72,000 people, there are four additional cities that are

Dave Kleis:

right connected, um, would be considered in most areas, those suburban areas.

Dave Kleis:

so.

Dave Kleis:

Metro bus or our transit is a joint powers agreement.

Dave Kleis:

So it actually operates under, uh, under a collaborative effort between the,

Dave Kleis:

uh, three cities four, four cities the area.

Dave Kleis:

So the, uh, mayors council members, uh, the city's appoint, uh, representation,

Dave Kleis:

St. Cloud of course being the biggest city two representatives on there.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, I've been on the board, uh, I've been mayor, so I've been

Dave Kleis:

board years, um, and, uh, and been chair, I for 16 of those years.

Dave Kleis:

So, uh,

Dave Kleis:

but it's a, you know, it's

Dave Kleis:

community in

Dave Kleis:

and.

Dave Kleis:

about, uh, about an hour from, uh, Minneapolis.

Dave Kleis:

so we're,

Dave Kleis:

we're, we're uh,

Dave Kleis:

uh, close to the lakes.

Dave Kleis:

What we in would consider up north.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, anything, uh, north

Dave Kleis:

Cloud

Dave Kleis:

probably up north, but, uh, know, we've got, got 10,000, at

Dave Kleis:

least that's our license plate.

Dave Kleis:

Say we 10,000 lakes, probably about 15,000 lakes.

Dave Kleis:

But it's a, it's a nice state and a wonderful little community.

Paul Comfort:

Well, that's good.

Paul Comfort:

That gives U.S. a good setup.

Paul Comfort:

Brian, now tell U.S. about your transit

Ryan Daniel:

system.

Ryan Daniel:

Perfect.

Ryan Daniel:

Well, we have an award-winning transit system.

Ryan Daniel:

We are recognized as transit urban system of the

ZOOM0003_Tr2 00:04:24

air

Ryan Daniel:

by CTAA back in 2015.

Ryan Daniel:

So happy, happy to toot that.

Ryan Daniel:

Uh, we have a wonderful, staff at Metro Bus.

Ryan Daniel:

Well, we provide commuter bus.

Ryan Daniel:

Fixed route and

ZOOM0003_Tr2 00:04:34

power transit

Ryan Daniel:

services in three counties.

Ryan Daniel:

Sherburn County, Stearns County, and Benton County.

Ryan Daniel:

And we operate in four cities, so St. Cloud Way, park Tel, Salt Rapids.

Ryan Daniel:

We average about just under a million rides per year.

Ryan Daniel:

We have under a hundred buses and over about 175 employees.

Ryan Daniel:

Budget is about 25 million.

Ryan Daniel:

We operate seven days a week, 359 days a year.

Paul Comfort:

How do you do that?

Ryan Daniel:

Just don't operate on holidays.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

The six major holidays, holidays.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

That's good man.

Paul Comfort:

Wow.

Paul Comfort:

And how long have you been there?

Ryan Daniel:

I've been CEO now for 12 years.

Paul Comfort:

My system in Queen Dance County won that award in 1991,

Paul Comfort:

CTA, I

Paul Comfort:

tells you how old I

Paul Comfort:

am.

Paul Comfort:

We won that community system of the year, the county ride system.

Paul Comfort:

So, uh, gimme a little of your background.

Paul Comfort:

How'd you get into all

Ryan Daniel:

this?

Ryan Daniel:

Well, I started about 26 years ago.

Ryan Daniel:

I, when to date myself here.

Ryan Daniel:

Started out as a bus operator.

Ryan Daniel:

Started 30, right?

Ryan Daniel:

Yeah, 19.

Ryan Daniel:

Right.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Ryan Daniel:

Started out as a bus operator for New York City Transit.

Ryan Daniel:

So I'm originally from Brooklyn, New York.

Paul Comfort:

Oh,

Ryan Daniel:

Oh.

Ryan Daniel:

So

Ryan Daniel:

I'm

Ryan Daniel:

a city boy.

Ryan Daniel:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

My dad's from there.

Paul Comfort:

Brooklyn's born in Brooklyn, New York.

Ryan Daniel:

was I, Brooklyn, New York?

Ryan Daniel:

Yep.

Ryan Daniel:

Prince Live in Brooklyn.

Ryan Daniel:

So, started out 1998, working for New York City Transit as a bus operator.

Ryan Daniel:

While going to college.

Ryan Daniel:

So I did my undergrad in grad school.

Ryan Daniel:

Once I graduated, I left, decided to take the show on the road,

Ryan Daniel:

got

Ryan Daniel:

on the

Ryan Daniel:

bus, went to Ohio, and I took a job at Coda.

Ryan Daniel:

Landed a job at Coda.

Paul Comfort:

Columbus in

Ryan Daniel:

Columbus, Ohio.

Ryan Daniel:

Landed the job there as training manager.

Ryan Daniel:

So I stayed there for about two years an opportunity in

Ryan Daniel:

Washington DC open up at WMATA.

Ryan Daniel:

So I was fortunate enough to be selected to be the manager of bus

Ryan Daniel:

operations for WMATA back in 2009, and then I stayed there until 2013.

Ryan Daniel:

Then position opened up in St. Cloud Metro Bus to be the CEO,

Ryan Daniel:

and I threw my name in a hat.

Ryan Daniel:

About a hundred people apply, and I went through the process.

Ryan Daniel:

Wow.

Ryan Daniel:

and here I am 12 years later.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

We may crossed paths.

Paul Comfort:

When I worked at WA Mata, I was with the MV running the paratransit system.

Ryan Daniel:

Oh, okay.

Ryan Daniel:

envy.

Ryan Daniel:

you, um, outta Hyattsville?

Ryan Daniel:

Yep.

Ryan Daniel:

Outta Hyattsville.

Ryan Daniel:

So I worked outta Landover.

Ryan Daniel:

Oh, okay.

Ryan Daniel:

I was right down the street.

Ryan Daniel:

Yeah.

Ryan Daniel:

That's great,

Paul Comfort:

man.

Paul Comfort:

funny.

Paul Comfort:

Wow.

Paul Comfort:

So Mayor, were you involved hiring him?

Paul Comfort:

I

Dave Kleis:

Uh, I was uh, chaired, uh, the committee that, uh, that did, we did

Dave Kleis:

a national search uh, fortunately we, uh, were able to, to get Ryan to come up to,

Dave Kleis:

uh, Minnesota, leave, uh, leave DC time.

Dave Kleis:

So, uh, yeah, he's, it's been great.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, CEO, great partnership.

Dave Kleis:

uh, so it's, uh, it, it, uh, continues to grow to won some

Dave Kleis:

national awards over that period of time and, International Awards too.

Dave Kleis:

Actually, a collaborative effort uh, uh, UN has a, an entity called,

Dave Kleis:

uh, livable Cities in the World.

Paul Comfort:

I've heard of that.

Dave Kleis:

And, uh, we, uh, we won, uh, the most livable

Dave Kleis:

city in the world twice, both

Dave Kleis:

2007,

Dave Kleis:

2019.

Dave Kleis:

a lot of that was because of collaborations, partnership,

Dave Kleis:

um, you know, sustainability.

Dave Kleis:

we, yeah.

Dave Kleis:

We went, uh, we were the first transit system Minnesota to go compress

Dave Kleis:

natural grass, so clean energy.

Dave Kleis:

And, uh, we will be, uh, the city of St. Cloud is

Dave Kleis:

the first municipal,

Dave Kleis:

. Wastewater treatment facility to actually produce, , energy.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, we as a city produce more energy than we use have now since, uh, 2014.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, actually, so we actually produce, uh, well over close 300%.

Dave Kleis:

So we sell that back to the grid, but we will be the first city that

Dave Kleis:

actually will produce green hydrogen.

Dave Kleis:

so we're working Yeah.

Dave Kleis:

So we're working with Metro Bus, of course now I'm no longer mayor.

Dave Kleis:

I'm the Chair of the Metro bus.

Dave Kleis:

So, uh, we, I, back a few years ago, we set up, , com partnership with MetroBus

Dave Kleis:

to actually utilize that, that, hydrogen and then new flyer, which is also, uh,

Dave Kleis:

Uh, does manufacturing in St. Cloud and

Dave Kleis:

course

Dave Kleis:

the

Paul Comfort:

Oh,

Paul Comfort:

that's right.

Paul Comfort:

That's your big plant

Dave Kleis:

Yeah.

Dave Kleis:

So they've agreed to actually look at moving one of their operations,

Dave Kleis:

which is actually not in Minnesota.

Dave Kleis:

That makes, uh, uh, hydrogen buses.

Dave Kleis:

They, of course, make, uh, electric buses St. Cloud.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, but they're looking at actually, uh, moving some of their operation,

Dave Kleis:

build the hydrogen because of our ability to produce hydrogen.

Dave Kleis:

And then of course, metro Bus's ability to actually utilize those buses.

Dave Kleis:

So, uh.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, we're working with the University of Munster

Dave Kleis:

in Germany and the University of Minnesota,

Dave Kleis:

uh, on the technology.

Dave Kleis:

In fact, um, we will be producing, uh,

Dave Kleis:

the city

Dave Kleis:

of St. Cloud will be producing hydrogen at our wastewater

Dave Kleis:

treatment facility next year.

Dave Kleis:

For marketable purposes.

Dave Kleis:

And it's green hydrogen?

Dave Kleis:

Yes, we, we, make it with solar and, uh, biomass, so

Dave Kleis:

it's

Paul Comfort:

Wow.

Paul Comfort:

green.

Paul Comfort:

And, uh,

ZOOM0003_Tr2 00:08:52

uh,

Paul Comfort:

you

Paul Comfort:

information about that on the web anywhere?

Dave Kleis:

Uh, we do on city's website.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, we, if you go there and, uh, we've actually, we've won some national awards.

Dave Kleis:

Actually U.S. conference of mayor, uh, last year, uh, gave st called an award

Dave Kleis:

because, uh, you know, every city in the world has, has to get rid of their waste.

Dave Kleis:

And of course, so they have, uh, wastewater treatment facilities.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, so it's a great place to get dispose of water, and why not?

Dave Kleis:

If you're gonna dispose of water, take the water.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, use the, uh, separate the oxygen the hydrogen, use the hydrogen from energy.

Dave Kleis:

'cause you need the oxygen to break down the way.

Dave Kleis:

So, uh, it's really simple, but it is a very high energy, uh, utilizer.

Dave Kleis:

But

Dave Kleis:

if you're

ZOOM0003_LR 00:09:30

using the

Dave Kleis:

energy and you're producing the edge green, you do it.

Dave Kleis:

why, uh, it, it will, there's no doubt it'll be, uh, we will, secured state

Dave Kleis:

and federal grants because of it.

Dave Kleis:

And, uh, won an international award because of it.

Dave Kleis:

So, uh, yeah, so some great things and it's a great collaboration with transit.

Paul Comfort:

I'm gonna come back to you in few minutes, mayor, and you

Paul Comfort:

about, so maybe you can think back.

Paul Comfort:

What about Ryan made you wanna hire him as the CEO?

Paul Comfort:

Because we have a lot of people that listen to the show that

Paul Comfort:

are mid-level management.

Paul Comfort:

That wanna move into those CEO jobs.

Paul Comfort:

They're in positions like you had ada, you know, of bus operations, and they think,

Paul Comfort:

uh, you know, they aspire to to things.

Paul Comfort:

And so I don't think a lot 'em never had a chance to hear from somebody

Paul Comfort:

who chairs the selection committee.

Paul Comfort:

think about that for a minute while I Ryan.

Paul Comfort:

Ryan, uh, prior to this, uh, you were telling me you've got

Paul Comfort:

a lot of big projects going on.

Paul Comfort:

Walk me through some the big projects you got happening.

Ryan Daniel:

Yeah, sure.

Ryan Daniel:

So we have a metro bus forward plan where we are looking at

Ryan Daniel:

a bus, a total bus redesign.

Ryan Daniel:

So as a result of COVID, a lot of things happen.

Ryan Daniel:

The world shut down.

Ryan Daniel:

So now COVID is over.

Ryan Daniel:

Ridership patterns change, people's lifestyle change.

Ryan Daniel:

Everything's 50% virtual, 50% in the office.

Ryan Daniel:

So how do we capture that change in sync cloud community?

Ryan Daniel:

So we decided right on the onset of right on the offset of COVID, we decided

Ryan Daniel:

to do a metro bus forward plan where we just do everything on the mall.

Ryan Daniel:

Hey, let's just tear this apart.

Ryan Daniel:

How can we best meet the needs of the community moving forward?

Ryan Daniel:

How best can we serve our community?

Ryan Daniel:

Because we all know where transportation goes.

Ryan Daniel:

The community grows.

Ryan Daniel:

So we wanna grow the community coming outta COVID.

Ryan Daniel:

Let's meet the needs and let's say, Hey, how can we best do this?

Ryan Daniel:

So we did a 18 month study.

Ryan Daniel:

We hired some consultants, we did a whole stakeholder engagement.

Ryan Daniel:

We got the community involved.

Ryan Daniel:

'cause once again, it's about the community.

Ryan Daniel:

They're the ones utilizing our services businesses.

Ryan Daniel:

They hire staff, they hire people.

Ryan Daniel:

People, take transportation.

Ryan Daniel:

So we want to capture everybody.

Ryan Daniel:

So we had stakeholder forums, we had public hearings, we had open house,

Ryan Daniel:

and each one of those sessions, Paul, we had about maybe 50 to a

Ryan Daniel:

hundred people in those sessions.

Ryan Daniel:

We're so excited to see that we even had our own bus operators come in and telling

Ryan Daniel:

U.S. Hey.

Ryan Daniel:

Not this street, this street, not this.

Ryan Daniel:

Stop that stop.

Ryan Daniel:

And people say, Hey, can you open?

Ryan Daniel:

Can you open early?

Ryan Daniel:

Can you run later?

Ryan Daniel:

So we took all of that feedback and then worked with the consultants and

Ryan Daniel:

we put together a nice master plan, and it was just approved by the board

Ryan Daniel:

here about maybe four months ago.

Ryan Daniel:

So, so that's one thing that's gonna be coming in the hopper

Ryan Daniel:

here, second quarter of 2026.

Ryan Daniel:

In addition to that.

Ryan Daniel:

We purchased some property in a city called Way Park, one of

Ryan Daniel:

our cities that we operate in.

Ryan Daniel:

Where?

Ryan Daniel:

On that side of town, the western side of St. Cloud.

Ryan Daniel:

On, on that side.

Ryan Daniel:

We have a lot of growth that's going on over there.

Ryan Daniel:

So we wanna capture that growth.

Ryan Daniel:

There's an amphitheater over there.

Ryan Daniel:

There are hotels, there are shopping malls, there's a lot

Ryan Daniel:

of residential housing going up.

Ryan Daniel:

So we have a transit center.

Ryan Daniel:

We bought a parcel of land, right?

Ryan Daniel:

Dead smack in the middle of that residential neighborhood.

Ryan Daniel:

'cause we wanna capture that growth.

Ryan Daniel:

We want people just to utilize transportation and we wanna make it as

Ryan Daniel:

accessible as possible as we possibly can.

Ryan Daniel:

Wow.

Ryan Daniel:

So that.

Ryan Daniel:

We purchased the land, we gonna do construction here.

Ryan Daniel:

We just issued a RFP here recently.

Ryan Daniel:

And we're gonna tie the opening of that transit station together

Ryan Daniel:

with our long range plan changes.

Ryan Daniel:

And we're looking at doing everything in 2026.

Ryan Daniel:

Awesome.

Ryan Daniel:

So a lot of moving parts now.

Ryan Daniel:

All hands on deck.

Ryan Daniel:

Everybody's excited.

Ryan Daniel:

It's a team effort from marketing to maintenance, to

Ryan Daniel:

operations, to planning everybody.

Ryan Daniel:

And with the of our board and our board chair, uh, former

Ryan Daniel:

mayor of St. Cloud, mayor Price.

Ryan Daniel:

We're just gonna make happen because all have that passion for

Ryan Daniel:

transportation and we wanna grow

Ryan Daniel:

communities one person at a time.

Paul Comfort:

When

Paul Comfort:

we come back after this quick break, we're gonna talk to the Mayor Dave Kleis and

Paul Comfort:

ask him, what did he look for in a CEO when he hired you, Ryan, after this word.

Paul Comfort:

Hey friends, it's Paul Comfort host of Transit Unplugged, and I've

Paul Comfort:

got some exciting news to share.

Paul Comfort:

Did you know that Transit Unplugged is now a hybrid podcast experience?

Paul Comfort:

That's right.

Paul Comfort:

We're not just in your ears anymore.

Paul Comfort:

We're on your screens too.

Paul Comfort:

Each week on YouTube now you'll find a brand new version of our show

Paul Comfort:

featuring a video intro from me, plus behind the scenes photos and

Paul Comfort:

visuals of our guests when we record interviews on location in person.

Paul Comfort:

From transit centers to waterfronts and boardrooms,

Paul Comfort:

we're taking you there visually.

Paul Comfort:

Adding a whole new layer to the storytelling and the response

Paul Comfort:

so far has been amazing.

Paul Comfort:

Thousands of people are already watching and listening on YouTube and most

Paul Comfort:

get this are watching on their TVs.

Paul Comfort:

So if you haven't yet, take a moment to check U.S. out on YouTube.

Paul Comfort:

Just search Transit Unplug podcast on YouTube.

Paul Comfort:

Then hit subscribe and experience the show each week in a whole new way.

Paul Comfort:

We're making transit media more dynamic, more accessible, and more fun than ever.

Paul Comfort:

And I'd love to have you along for the ride.

Paul Comfort:

Now let's get back to the conversation.

Paul Comfort:

And we're back with, um, my good friend Ryan Daniel, who is CEO of St.

Paul Comfort:

Cloud, Metro Bus, and, uh, Dave Kleis the board chair of Metro Bus, and also the

Paul Comfort:

former mayor of the City of St. Cloud.

Paul Comfort:

Thank you again, gentlemen, for being on the show.

Paul Comfort:

This is.

Paul Comfort:

Very insightful stuff.

Paul Comfort:

And so speaking of that, Dave, I was thinking, you know, so I've been

Paul Comfort:

a CEO of a transit system, right?

Paul Comfort:

And I've been county administrator hired county commissioners, and you

Paul Comfort:

go through this selection process and you get interviewed by a board, and

Paul Comfort:

I know a lot of our listeners are.

Paul Comfort:

You know, upwardly mobile, they're people that have, that wanna make a difference

Paul Comfort:

in this world, uh, in the, they've chosen transportation as their field,

Paul Comfort:

like you and I have Ryan to make that happen, and they want to become CEOs

Paul Comfort:

or directors, whatever the title is.

Paul Comfort:

Dave, what, what is a group like, you were the mayor and you were

Paul Comfort:

chair of the selection committee.

Paul Comfort:

What does a group look for, or what did you look for?

Paul Comfort:

Let's just say that when you look for a CEO of your system, when you hired Brian,

Dave Kleis:

Well first you look for, you know, the, the obvious piece

Dave Kleis:

is the experience, uh, supervision.

Dave Kleis:

Obviously you're gonna be, uh, supervising and hiring, uh, employees.

Dave Kleis:

So you understand that that's at a basic.

Dave Kleis:

But I always looked for, uh, drive and compassion.

Dave Kleis:

And, uh, you know, it's interesting 'cause the committee that I chaired,

Dave Kleis:

uh, we had, we had a number of folks, we did a national search

Dave Kleis:

and a lot of folks came forward.

Dave Kleis:

And I remember the discussion around Ryan and I was a big advocate of hiring

ZOOM0003_LR 00:15:12

him because.

ZOOM0003_LR 00:15:13

He came from a system, now he came, you know, originally in New York

ZOOM0003_LR 00:15:16

and then from DC and this is St.

Dave Kleis:

Cloud, Minnesota, a much smaller system.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, so, uh, I had some, uh, you know, trepidation from some of the board members

Dave Kleis:

saying, well, you know, he's, he's only gonna be with U.S. for a little while

Dave Kleis:

and he's gonna probably be upward and mobile and, and, uh, you know, I said,

Dave Kleis:

yeah, that's exactly who I would hire.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, somebody who is upward and mobile because, you know, they're not only

Dave Kleis:

looking at, uh, helping the system that they're gonna be hired to do,

Dave Kleis:

but they're also looking at, uh, you know, and, and if I can hire somebody.

Dave Kleis:

And I've done a lot of hiring at the city and I own, actually, I

Dave Kleis:

own a driver's education business, so I've owned that 34 years.

Dave Kleis:

So I've hired a lot of people and, uh,

Paul Comfort:

by way, a great voice for radio.

Paul Comfort:

a great voice of radio.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah, thank,

Paul Comfort:

deep

Dave Kleis:

thank you.

Dave Kleis:

I've done some radio but, uh, it, you know, it's, uh, it is a,

Dave Kleis:

it is something that I look for as somebody that really, um, is.

Dave Kleis:

Looks at their own, you know, their career and their future, and that's great.

Dave Kleis:

I always say, if you could hire somebody, you know, I remember

Dave Kleis:

talking to one of the, one

Dave Kleis:

of

Dave Kleis:

the committee members who said, yeah, he'll only be here, you know, for.

Dave Kleis:

Five years ago, that'd be a great five years because

Dave Kleis:

that's exactly what you want.

Dave Kleis:

You want someone to come in, get a little external perspective

Dave Kleis:

now, and you know, oftentimes you hire within and that's fine too.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, we had some internal candidates, uh, we had some

Dave Kleis:

folks

Dave Kleis:

that were outside, but Ryan knew his stuff and you know, and I, I, and after

Dave Kleis:

hiring and knowing Ryan, you know, I've known Ryan for the whole time

Dave Kleis:

that he's been here uh, yeah, 12 years.

Dave Kleis:

And, uh, you know, not only, uh.

Dave Kleis:

The CEO, but we're, we're good friends.

Dave Kleis:

But he, he has a passion.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, the guy lives a transit and so, and that was pretty evident too,

Dave Kleis:

because he had that experience.

Dave Kleis:

You know, he came You know, he drove a bus in New York.

Dave Kleis:

I mean, I would want to drive a car and I barely wanna be in transit in

Dave Kleis:

New York, um, with the way traffic and everything is, but he came from that

Dave Kleis:

system and then in, in DC and then coming into a system much smaller.

Dave Kleis:

But, um, you know, giving him an opportunity, , to actually, , to be

Dave Kleis:

the CEO is a whole different thing.

Dave Kleis:

So I, I look at that type of, uh, upward mobility, uh, you know, in hiring.

Dave Kleis:

And it was not in any way a. And no regrets.

Dave Kleis:

In fact, uh, you know, the, the board after we made that

Dave Kleis:

selection, and Brian's done a great job, uh, during that 12 years.

Dave Kleis:

, So , he's, uh, you know, he certainly, has the, and that's most people that

Dave Kleis:

apply for a job have the skill involved, but the passion for what they do, and,

Dave Kleis:

you you should be looking at, uh, I look at upward mobility because then,

Dave Kleis:

you know, you, somebody wants to.

Dave Kleis:

Excel in what they do, not only in the company that they're running and

Dave Kleis:

the in the system they're running, but in their own personal, uh, drive.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, that's got that kind of don't want somebody that's gonna settle and wants

Dave Kleis:

to retire and then, you know, or Or wants to just, you know, this is a job that

Dave Kleis:

makes it easier than I was doing before.

Dave Kleis:

No, you want somebody who is gonna not only challenge the system,

Dave Kleis:

but challenge themselves in upward

Paul Comfort:

That's great.

Paul Comfort:

What a great answer.

Paul Comfort:

And Ryan, how's your experience been?

Paul Comfort:

I mean, have you, everything's been good.

Paul Comfort:

You think?

Paul Comfort:

That's great, man.

Paul Comfort:

That's really good.

Ryan Daniel:

Very fortunate to have Dave as a boss and as a friend and as

Paul Comfort:

Yeah, it's

Ryan Daniel:

really uplifting for 12

Paul Comfort:

What do you consider, you know, kind of your.

Paul Comfort:

As a CEO, what do you think the key attributes are?

Paul Comfort:

So we'll just keep this kind of conversation going.

Paul Comfort:

So this is what we, this is what, uh, your boss, uh, Dave, as the mayor and

Paul Comfort:

the former board chair was looking for.

Paul Comfort:

What do you think is key for A CEO or someone who wants to move into leadership?

Paul Comfort:

What kind of things would they be working on on themselves?

Ryan Daniel:

Mentorship, number have to find someone who

Ryan Daniel:

mentor.

Ryan Daniel:

gotta have a

Ryan Daniel:

mentor that's very important.

Ryan Daniel:

two, it's technical skills.

Ryan Daniel:

Utilize trainings like APTA,

Ryan Daniel:

Leaders Academy,

Ryan Daniel:

the

Ryan Daniel:

Mid Managed Program.

Ryan Daniel:

Utilize those platforms, utilize those

Ryan Daniel:

training platforms

Ryan Daniel:

not only for the educational for the networking

Ryan Daniel:

component.

Ryan Daniel:

Because everybody in that had drive the passion

Ryan Daniel:

to want to be what

Ryan Daniel:

better

Ryan Daniel:

place similar

Ryan Daniel:

like-minded people like yourself

ZOOM0003_Tr2 00:19:08

to do the same thing?

ZOOM0003_Tr2 00:19:09

So I

Ryan Daniel:

would say

Ryan Daniel:

definitely take advantage those because those very beneficial.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

I mean, that's kind of what we're doing here, right?

Paul Comfort:

CTAA, you were the, you were the system of the year.

Paul Comfort:

What, what, what do you get from CTAA?

Paul Comfort:

What, what are the, what do you enjoy about it?

Ryan Daniel:

Well, not only that, not only that I'm on the board.

Ryan Daniel:

I get to help drive direction

Ryan Daniel:

the

Ryan Daniel:

process, help association,

Ryan Daniel:

but also provide valuable input.

Ryan Daniel:

once again, it's not about it's about the future generation succeeding as well.

Ryan Daniel:

So what does that How we

Ryan Daniel:

train the uh, leaders?

Ryan Daniel:

How can we

Ryan Daniel:

ensure that

Ryan Daniel:

content that are putting out.

Ryan Daniel:

It's gonna

Ryan Daniel:

be valuable worthwhile for

Ryan Daniel:

attendees, so that way they could grow into

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Ryan Daniel:

being to provide strategic

Ryan Daniel:

direction

Ryan Daniel:

and that input is

Ryan Daniel:

valuable.

Ryan Daniel:

And I

Ryan Daniel:

and not only that from a, from a, uh, executive step, from executive

Ryan Daniel:

just looking at having CTAA be that platform, for U.S. on the Hill lobby in.

Ryan Daniel:

Yeah.

Ryan Daniel:

of Yeah.

Ryan Daniel:

Scott Borin, the executive director,

Ryan Daniel:

phenomenal,

Ryan Daniel:

doing an Yeah.

Ryan Daniel:

He's

Ryan Daniel:

CTA

Ryan Daniel:

now for Wello

Ryan Daniel:

over 30 years.

Ryan Daniel:

his for

Ryan Daniel:

unmet.

Ryan Daniel:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

He, he and I kind of started around the same time.

Paul Comfort:

I started in 87.

Paul Comfort:

In Queen Annes County,

Paul Comfort:

Maryland

Paul Comfort:

Mm-hmm.

Paul Comfort:

the county ride system, like I mentioned.

Paul Comfort:

And Scott was editor of their magazine.

Paul Comfort:

Dave Raphael was the head of the association back then.

Paul Comfort:

And, Scott and I both, he stayed in one place.

Paul Comfort:

I went around and worked for a bunch, but we've been buddies ever since.

Paul Comfort:

And he's, he's another transit evangelist, right?

Paul Comfort:

oh, , I wanna ask you about technology.

Paul Comfort:

So, you everybody's, you know, we're here, uh, in June of 2025 and the

Paul Comfort:

hot thing right now is ai, right?

Paul Comfort:

Everybody's talking about ai, but there's lots of other.

Paul Comfort:

Technologies too.

Paul Comfort:

What are you working with right now and what technologies are you

Paul Comfort:

working with that are helping you or your agency serve people better?

Ryan Daniel:

Yeah.

Ryan Daniel:

so right now we are working with, uh, TripSpark.

Ryan Daniel:

We are looking at, uh, for right now, MetroBus high level.

Ryan Daniel:

Fix Route Bus.

Ryan Daniel:

We have the mobile app, we have the

Ryan Daniel:

ticket the and

Ryan Daniel:

things of that nature.

Ryan Daniel:

But then now we look at Paratransit.

Ryan Daniel:

want to make utilize our So right now we're working with TripSpark.

Ryan Daniel:

We are looking at creating a mobile app so that way can book your rides

Paul Comfort:

Oh, I love that

Ryan Daniel:

And that's the one big thing right now that we're

Ryan Daniel:

That's

Ryan Daniel:

we, we,

Ryan Daniel:

we upgraded all of our fear boxes.

Ryan Daniel:

we

Ryan Daniel:

but right now we wanna focus on the paratransit

Ryan Daniel:

customer

Ryan Daniel:

experience piece.

Ryan Daniel:

'cause we always wanna where can enhance the customer enhance that mobile

Ryan Daniel:

app

Ryan Daniel:

will be a game changer just for our

Ryan Daniel:

community.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

Where are you at in the process?

Ryan Daniel:

Oh, we are looking to launch here, uh,

Ryan Daniel:

four 2025 or

Ryan Daniel:

one of 2026.

Paul Comfort:

Anything else you wanna talk about on the show today?

Ryan Daniel:

I'm just to be here.

Ryan Daniel:

I'm happy to share knowledge.

Ryan Daniel:

happy be joined by St.

Ryan Daniel:

Cloud, former St. Cloud Mayor Kleis and board chair, and as we look

Ryan Daniel:

to grow the industry, passionate.

Ryan Daniel:

The one

Ryan Daniel:

thing I would say is, let's remember re transportation goals.

Ryan Daniel:

The

Ryan Daniel:

grows.

Ryan Daniel:

that community might look different around the United States, but we

Ryan Daniel:

all have that same driving passion.

Ryan Daniel:

Let's keep pushing, pushing and

Ryan Daniel:

make sure that transportation is accessible

Ryan Daniel:

for

Paul Comfort:

That's wonderful.

Paul Comfort:

And Mayor, let me give you the final word.

Paul Comfort:

Talk to U.S. about the role of public transportation.

Paul Comfort:

In a city like St. Cloud, what does it do for a city?

Paul Comfort:

You know, uh, it kind of ticks me off that not, you know, five or

Paul Comfort:

10% of the people in America ride trans, a lot of people don't ride,

Paul Comfort:

but it provides great value, right?

Dave Kleis:

Oh, it, it does it.

Dave Kleis:

You know, people have to, uh, get good places and, uh, you know,

Dave Kleis:

there's, uh, uh, one of the things I think that's, uh, often lost

Dave Kleis:

issue of, uh, economic development.

Dave Kleis:

You have to have people, uh.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, to get to work and, uh, you know, you're the first

Dave Kleis:

from a city's perspective.

Dave Kleis:

You, you try to create as much, uh, mobility as can, make the

Dave Kleis:

city walkable, uh, and walkable and, and transit oriented.

Dave Kleis:

And that's what we have.

Dave Kleis:

We're, you know, we're in Minnesota, so, you know, one of the things I've,

Dave Kleis:

I've, you've done a lot of travel.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, one of the things in Minnesota, you know, you.

Dave Kleis:

You can drive an hour and a half to lunch, you know, 'cause people will

Dave Kleis:

go from St. Cloud to Minneapolis.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, you know, and, and you people like to, like to spread out, spread out areas.

Dave Kleis:

So how do you get around, how do you get people around there?

Dave Kleis:

As you do that through transit, if you can make it easy, you can make it simple.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, and our goal is, you know, is not only in the technology

Dave Kleis:

thing, but can you make it clean.

Dave Kleis:

You know, and there's been a lot of

Paul Comfort:

you go

Dave Kleis:

over the years because, you know, you, you know, we're

Dave Kleis:

also a very cold winter state.

Dave Kleis:

I mean, you just think, I think back, uh, the, you know, years ago when I

Dave Kleis:

was first on the board, all the idling that, uh, those big diesel buses

Dave Kleis:

did and how, how terrible it was not only for the, for the drivers and for

Dave Kleis:

the customers and for those places,.

Dave Kleis:

At every intersection.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, now you got, uh, you, you know, we clean that up, uh, with CNG and

Paul Comfort:

Are, are you like all CNG?

Dave Kleis:

Yeah, we are 100% CNG

Paul Comfort:

Wow, awesome, man.

Dave Kleis:

You know, the goal will be a hundred percent hydrogen at some point.

Paul Comfort:

Oh, I love that.

Paul Comfort:

I'm a big hydrogen

Dave Kleis:

yeah.

Dave Kleis:

not only will it be, uh, clean, it'll be clean and, uh, and renewable.

Dave Kleis:

So that'll something that, uh, looking forward to doing.

Dave Kleis:

And so, yeah, and you know, if you look at over that period of

Dave Kleis:

time, it's really changed, but.

Dave Kleis:

Uh, you know, there's not an employer in any community that

Dave Kleis:

isn't looking for employees.

Dave Kleis:

It's one of the thing that's happening right now in the, in the U.S. you

Dave Kleis:

have underemployment a lot of areas.

Dave Kleis:

So do you gotta do?

Dave Kleis:

You gotta make it as convenient as employee.

Dave Kleis:

And folks want to, you know, and if you look at the largest, uh,

Dave Kleis:

percentage of the workforce for force in the United States are millennials.

Dave Kleis:

And millennials, uh, you know, more and more millennials are not buying cars.

Dave Kleis:

Um, you know, I know somebody on the other side.

Dave Kleis:

Since I'm on, I'm in the driver's education world, I'm always

Dave Kleis:

amazed that younger and younger people are older and older before

Dave Kleis:

they actually get their license

Paul Comfort:

true, isn't it?

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Dave Kleis:

And so, uh, people are, uh, transit, Oregon.

Dave Kleis:

They wanna live in places where they can walk or they can get on

Dave Kleis:

a bus, they can get on a train.

Dave Kleis:

Um, and so that's an important piece.

Dave Kleis:

And Minnesota's also in some of those rural areas are aging.

Dave Kleis:

So how do you get people there?

Dave Kleis:

You know, the, uh, the dial ride or the, uh, you know, the paratransit is a huge.

Dave Kleis:

Huge part of it.

Dave Kleis:

You just gotta get people not only, uh, to work, but you gotta get 'em to

Dave Kleis:

their medical appointments, to the, to the shopping and to the church.

Dave Kleis:

So, uh, yeah, it's moving around people and doing it in a way that's

Dave Kleis:

convenient and, uh, and, uh, really also, uh, good for the community

Dave Kleis:

and, uh, so the, the green aspect of the technology part of it and

Paul Comfort:

that's wonderful.

Paul Comfort:

Ryan, thank you so much for being our guest today.

Paul Comfort:

Welcome.

Paul Comfort:

Um, I was gonna ask you one more question, just I feel like I want to ask you this.

Paul Comfort:

So what is your vision?

Paul Comfort:

Uh, you know, if you wanna project out where you want this transit system to be

Paul Comfort:

in 10 years, you've been there 12, I'm sure you wanna stay there for a while.

Paul Comfort:

What is your vision?

Paul Comfort:

What are you shooting for

Ryan Daniel:

I'm shooting for?

Ryan Daniel:

a place, a system where everybody will leave their cars at home and

Ryan Daniel:

utilize public transportation.

Ryan Daniel:

If I could

Ryan Daniel:

get

Ryan Daniel:

every single person who has car households, four car car

Ryan Daniel:

at home and get on the bus.

Ryan Daniel:

well done.

Ryan Daniel:

Yeah.

Ryan Daniel:

Yeah.

Ryan Daniel:

That's my vision.

Ryan Daniel:

I want people to utilize bus, uh, transportation services.

Paul Comfort:

Well, I can see why Mayor Dave hired you.

Paul Comfort:

You, you, you have the ability, uh, obviously, you know, you're

Paul Comfort:

very articulate and, but you also have the passion for it.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

And you're a believer in it.

Paul Comfort:

I can tell.

Paul Comfort:

that's wonderful, man.

Paul Comfort:

I appreciate you both being on the show today.

Paul Comfort:

You know, coming off the trade show floor to come over here and chat for a

Paul Comfort:

a

Paul Comfort:

minutes.

Paul Comfort:

I think we've learned a lot and I wish you all the very best in your new facility.

Paul Comfort:

And, uh, and going hydrogen man, clean.

Paul Comfort:

Hydrogen green.

Paul Comfort:

That's awesome.

Paul Comfort:

I love it.

Paul Comfort:

Uh, and hopefully we'll catch back up with you in a year or

Paul Comfort:

two and see how it's going.

Ryan Daniel:

Sounds good.

Ryan Daniel:

Thank Paul.

Ryan Daniel:

Yeah.

Ryan Daniel:

Thank

Paul Comfort:

Thank you.

Paul Comfort:

Thank you.

Paul Comfort:

Thank you, mayor.

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:

programs that promote the great things going on in the transit industry

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:

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Julie Gates:

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

Julie Gates:

evangelist, and we'll catch you next week.

Julie Gates:

Thanks for tuning in.