Mobility Innovators Podcast

Hosted by Mobility Innovators

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Sep 2026

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About the show

Mobility Innovators Podcast, a part of Mobility Innovation Lab, is dedicated to fostering innovation in the transportation and logistics sector, covering the latest developments in transit tech, cleantech, smart cities, and mobility tech space. The host (Jaspal Singh) will invite innovation managers, industry leaders, startup founders, technology experts, investors, consultants, and thought leaders. Mobility Innovation Lab (MIL) is focusing on bridging the gap between the city’s authorities, operators, and industry organizations with new-age technology firms and ideas.

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October 24, 20261 hr 11 min

AI, Autonomous Vehicles and Europe’s Mobility Future | Julian Glaab

Artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles and new business models are reshaping the future of mobility. Europe’s autonomous mobility race is moving from prototypes to deployment. Europe is following different approach compared to other regions for the testing and deployment of autonomous vehicles. One of the key factor will be the integration with public transport. However, Bliq is targeting privately and commercially owned vehicles instead of beginning with a robotaxi fleet. This episode explores what that shift means for operators, policymakers and founders. Further, it will examine entrepreneurship, funding, team building and how autonomous mobility could transform cities. Julian Glaab is co-founder and CEO of Bliq, a European autonomous mobility company working to make driverless technology practical in the real world. With a background in engineering and mobility, Julian has led Bliq from its early ride-hailing roots into a company focused on autonomous vehicles, remote supervision, and the future of urban transport.

September 27, 202651 min

How to Do AI Right in Public Transport | Renée Touzin

Can artificial intelligence help public transport agencies deliver better service while balancing tight budgets, driver shortages, and the transition to electric buses? In this episode of the Mobility Innovators Podcast, Jaspal Singh speaks with Renée Touzin, President and CEO of GIRO, about the operational decisions shaping public transport—and where artificial intelligence can make a practical difference. Renée Touzin is President and CEO of GIRO, a technology company based in Montreal. She has spent more than 24 years at GIRO and became the President and CEO of the company in January 2024. She joined after earning a master’s degree in computer science and operations research from Université de Montréal. Her path includes roles as business analyst, project manager, executive, and now CEO. Our discussion will be focus on three big mobility themes – Operational complexity, Energy transition and Human-centered optimization.

July 30, 20261 hr 28 min

How Oslo Is Redefining Urban Mobility for the AI Era? | Bernt Reitan Jenssen

Public transport is entering a new era where success is no longer measured simply by how many buses or trains are operating, but by how seamlessly people can move throughout a city. Ruter is reimagining urban mobility through digital innovation, autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, integrated mobility services, and ambitious sustainability goals. The conversation explores leadership, organizational transformation, and what public transport agencies around the world can learn from Oslo's experience. In this episode of the Mobility Innovators Podcast , Jaspal Singh speaks with Bernt Reitan Jenssen , CEO of Ruter , the public transport authority for Oslo, Norway. They also discuss: • AI agents in public transport • Customer-centric innovation • Autonomous buses and shared mobility • Quantum computing in transit planning • Cybersecurity risks in connected vehicles • Leadership during technological disruption • Building innovative teams • The future of urban mobility Bernt Reitan Jenssen is the Chief Executive Officer of Ruter AS. Jenssen has led Ruter since its inception in 2008, when it was established as a joint administrative company for public transport in Oslo and Akershus. Prior to this, he served for eight years as Executive Vice President at Posten Norge and has also held CEO positions at the logistics companies TNT Norge AS and IL-X Budservice AS. #Mobility #ArtificialIntelligence #AutonomousVehicles #SmartCities #PublicTransport #Innovation #UrbanMobility #Transportation #FutureOfMobility #Leadership

June 2, 20261 hr 28 min

Why Public Transit Must Reinvent Itself for the AI Era | Mark Seeger

Cities are growing faster than ever, but our transportation systems are struggling to keep up. Advances in AI, autonomy, and digital infrastructure are creating new opportunities to rethink how people move through cities, reduce congestion, and expand access to jobs, education, and social opportunities. The conversation highlights how innovation happens when technology, infrastructure, and human needs are considered together, ultimately creating more sustainable, connected, and opportunity-rich cities. Mark Seeger is CEO and Co-founder of Glydways. Glydways is a form of public transit that can move more people than rail, using less than half of the space, which costs 90% less to build and operate while providing a private and on-demand ride. Prior to founding Glydways, Mark had early careers at NASA and Apple; founded the biodegradable plastics company GreenIdea in Singapore (sold); the electric motorcycle company Mission Motorcycles and Mission Marine; as well built initiatives that focused on low-cost, high-efficiency air-conditioning for third-world countries with his company GeoCool (sold).

May 15, 202657 min

Sentient Ticketing Explained: The AI Revolution in Public Transit | Dheeraj Bhardwaj

What if public transport systems could think, learn, and respond in real time? Artificial intelligence and real-time data are transforming the future of mobility and public transportation. Ticketing is one of the important component of public transport system. Many cities are moving from paper ticket to digital ticket. ticketing is no longer just about payments but is becoming the intelligence layer of modern transit systems. The concept of “sentient ticketing,” where AI-powered systems can dynamically respond to passenger demand, traffic conditions, events, and operational disruptions in real time. In this episode of @mobilityinnovators Podcast, Dr. Dheeraj Bhardwaj shares why ticketing is no longer just about payments — it’s becoming the intelligence layer of future mobility systems. We discuss sentient ticketing, AI-driven transit, on-demand buses, real-time pricing, mobility super apps, and why traditional transit systems must rethink their future. Dr. Dheeraj Bhardwaj is currently the vice-chair of door2door. Earlier, he was the Group CEO of City Group Company. Prior to City Group, he was the co-founder and CEO of Arnab Mobility, running a micro-mobility platform in the Middle east. He has wide experience in academia, corporate, consulting, and startups in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. He has recently incubated “Sentient Cities” an Open-Source platform helping Cities not just be connected but become aware, adaptive and responsive.

April 10, 20261 hr 12 min

How Vancouver is Transforming Public Transportation for the Future of Mobility | Kevin Quinn

Metro Vancouver is a city that has quietly built one of the most advanced and integrated public transport systems in North America—from automated SkyTrain to strong transit-oriented development. TransLink operates this regional transportation network, serving over 400 million passengers annually across buses, SkyTrain, SeaBus, and commuter rail. The region is now looking ahead to the future—rethinking how transit infrastructure supports growth, sustainability, and changing travel patterns. With its Transport 2050 vision, Metro Vancouver aims to shift from a car-influenced city to a transit-first, people-first region, where around 50% of all trips are made by public transit or active modes like walking and cycling. Kevin Quinn is the CEO of TransLink, the statutory authority responsible for the region’s transportation system. In his role, he oversees planning, operations, and delivery across transit services, as well as key infrastructure including cycling networks, bridges, and the Major Road Network. Under his leadership, TransLink has recovered to over 90% of pre-pandemic ridership, delivered its largest bus service expansion in years, and is advancing major investments in future mobility. Prior to joining TransLink, Kevin served as Administrator and CEO of the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA), where he led one of the largest transit systems in the United States.

March 24, 202648 min

The Future of Transit: Automation, Open Payments & Culture Change | Randy Clarke

Public transport systems are the lifeline of any city, connecting people, supporting economic growth, and shaping urban life. WMATA operates service in Washington DC Metropolitan area. Metrorail operates 128 miles of track and manage 98 stations. The agency also running a fleet of 1,500 buses. In this episode of the Mobility Innovators Podcast, we explore the remarkable turnaround of one of North America’s most complex transit systems and what it takes to rebuild trust in public transport after a crisis. Randy Clarke is the General Manager of Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). He took the role when all transit agencies were facing major challenge coming out of the pandemic with record low ridership. WMATA operates service in Washington DC Metropolitan Area. Before joining Metro, Randy served more than four years as President and CEO of Capital Metro in Austin, Texas, where he secured - Project Connect, multi-billion dollar capital program, which is one of the country’s largest voter-approved transit referendums in US history. He also worked with APTA (American Public Transit Association) from 2016 to 2018 and with Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) in Boston in different role.

December 22, 20251 hr 2 min

Autonomous mobility will complement Public Transport | Debra A. Johnson

Public transport is the business of people moving people and is really the great societal equalizer. Mobility ensures that people can access to job and other opportunities. If the customer get a better service, they will come back and bring more people on the job. Thus, customer service plays an important role. Public Transport needs to transform to improve customer experience including adoption of digitalization, open loop payment, on-demand transit and integration with autonomous mobility. RTD Denver is investing heavily to improve the service quality and reliability. Guest : Debra A. Johnson is General Manager and CEO of RTD Denver and has been leading the organization since 2020. Prior to this, she served as Deputy CEO of Long Beach Transit from 2014 to 2019. Prior to that, she held executive positions at the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro), the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). She worked in all corners of the country and has long experience in the sector. In 2019, she was named as one of 10 “Women Who Move the Nation.” RTD is the only multimodal transit agency in the state of Colorado, serving the Denver metropolitan area, which has a population of over 3 million people across 40 municipalities and 8 counties.

November 9, 20251 hr 9 min

Autonomous Mobility is Here and Accelerating | Sascha Meyer

Autonomous mobility is set to transform how we move in the coming years. With rapid advancements in artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicle (AV) technology is accelerating faster than ever. Leading innovators such as Waymo, MOIA, WeRide, Tesla, and Pony.ai are already operating commercial services in cities around the world. Each country is charting its own path — in the United States, private vehicles and ride-hailing companies are driving adoption, while in Europe and Asia, cities and public transport agencies are taking the lead. At the same time, regulatory frameworks are evolving differently across regions, shaping how and where AVs will thrive. In this episode, we explore what the future of autonomous mobility looks like — the opportunities, challenges, and the critical role of AI in redefining urban transportation. Sascha Meyer is the CEO of MOIA GmbH. Prior to his current role, he was instrumental in shaping the company's all-electric ride-pooling service and autonomous driving strategy—first as Head of Product starting in 2017, then as Chief Product Officer from 2019 onward. MOIA is running a fleet of 515 battery-electric vehicles in Hamburg. Before joining MOIA, he spent several years as a management consultant, advising international firms on the digital transformation of transport and logistics.

May 11, 20251 hr 31 min

Transform Public Transit Through Better Service | Nadine Lee

Public Transit is facing modal competition and it is important to leverage all modes to their highest and best use. It is important for public transit agencies to evolve and reinvest the service to compete with other modes of transport. Consumer behaviors are changing, especially post pandemic in the US. It is important to offer point to point service. Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) is the public transit authority in a 700 square mile service area, covering 13 cities in the north Texas. The agency has a mandate to serve more than 2.7 million people in the Dallas regional area. Nadine Lee is the President and CEO of Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART). She aims to improve the rider experience, enhance service reliability, and increase ridership in the car-centric Dallas region. With nearly 30 years of experience in the transit industry, she brings a wealth of expertise in public transportation management and infrastructure projects. Prior to joining DART, she held key leadership positions at Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro), where she worked as Chief of Staff and Deputy Chief Innovation Officer. One of her notable accomplishments at LA Metro was leading the development of the "Vision 2028" strategic plan aimed at improving mobility for Los Angeles County residents. Before her time at LA Metro, she played a crucial role in Denver’s Regional Transportation District (RTD), where she managed projects like the Flatiron Flyer Bus Rapid Transit, which significantly boosted ridership.