Special Briefing: The Future of Mass Transportation under Trump and the GOP

This Special Briefing will focus on the future of mass transportation under the new Administration and Congress.

Our expert panel will discuss the upsurge in construction funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law as well as solutions to hundreds of billions of dollars in budgetary shortfalls facing transit networks from coast to coast.

Speakers include Leslie Richards, Professor of Practice at the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design and former General Manager & CEO of Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), the fifth-largest U.S. transit system; Polly Trottenberg, who recently served as Deputy Secretary of Transportation under Pete Buttigieg; and David Greising, President and CEO, Better Government Association.

Moderated by William Glasgall, Volcker Alliance Public Finance Adviser and Penn IUR Fellow, and Genie Birch, Co-Director of the Penn Institute for Urban Research and Planning Professor at Penn’s Weitzman School of Design) at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, this briefing is the fifty-eighth in a series of sixty-minute online conversations featuring experts from the national research networks of the Volcker Alliance and Penn IUR, along with other leading academics, economists, and federal, state, and local leaders.

Special Briefings are made possible by funding from The Travelers Institute, the Volcker Alliance, and members of the Penn IUR Advisory Board. Recordings of the entire Special Briefings series are available on the Volcker Alliance or Penn IUR websites.

Be sure to subscribe to the Special Briefing podcast, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, iHeart Radio and more.

Subscribe to the Volcker Alliance newsletter and Penn IUR newsletter for advance notice of new Special Briefings.

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Leslie S. Richards is the CEO and 11th General Manager of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), the sixth largest public transportation agency in the U.S. with a budget of more than $2 billion and a vast network of 9,500 employees that enable the five million residents of the Greater Philadelphia region to connect to each other. SEPTA operates across six transportation modes and has 2,800 vehicles in service, 285 subway and rail stations, 13,000 bus and trolley stops, and 150 routes. Prior to joining SEPTA, Richards was the first woman secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), one of the largest and most innovative transportation agencies in the U.S. Richards left a lasting mark on the department by creating strategic solutions for the long-term success of Pennsylvania’s transportation needs through innovative, collaborative programs such as PennDOT Connects. A staunch advocate for women and diversity in transportation and government, Richards has been recognized for her leadership in the industry and commitment to public service. Prior to her public service, she worked in the private sector as a senior project manager for environmental and civil engineering firms. Richards is a graduate of Brown University, where she concentrated in economics and urban studies. She received a master's of regional planning from the University of Pennsylvania. She lives with her husband in Philadelphia. 

Polly Trottenberg most recently served as the Deputy Secretary at the US Department of Transportation in the Biden Administration.  She served as the 55,000-person agency's Chief Operating Officer and helped lead its implementation of the landmark Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.  In 2023, she also served as the Acting Federal Aviation Administrator.

Trottenberg served as New York City’s Transportation Commissioner in the de Blasio Administration, overseeing the agency responsible for the safe, efficient, and equitable operations of the City’s transportation network. She helped implement the landmark Vision Zero program and led NYCDOT through COVID-19 response and recovery, prioritizing transforming City streets to promote livability, sustainable transportation, and economic recovery.  She also served on the Board of the MTA for five years.

Trottenberg served at USDOT in the Obama Administration as the Assistant Secretary and Under Secretary for Policy. She also served in the Senate for 12 years for Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Majority Leader Charles Schumer, and Senator Barbara Boxer.  

David Greising is the president and chief executive of the Better Government Association, joining the BGA in 2018. For nearly a century, the BGA has fought for honest and effective government through investigative journalism and policy advocacy.