Building a Resilient Transit System: How to Keep the System Running when Disasters Strike

With a near total dependence on electric power for computers, smart phones, and communications, and the growing role of electricity to run our cars, buses, and trains, the impacts of a large-scale blackout are even more threatening today than they were in the past. In this scenario, how could public transit agencies communicate to provide news and information? How would we coordinate emergency services and responses? How would we move when the cell towers are down? Our team of experts will discuss experiences gleaned from recent hurricanes and other disasters, the steps major cities and agencies are taking to prepare for such inevitable events, and whether it might be time to create a new tabletop exercise to start us preparing in case.

Moderator:

•  Elizabeth Lovinggood, Program Manager, Sustainability & Planning, APTA

Speakers:

• “Developing a Climate Resilience Plan: Key Questions to Move Infrastructure & Transit Agencies Forward”
  Thomas A. Wall, Sr. Infrastructure & Preparedness Analyst, Argonne National Laboratory

•  ​”Houston Metro: Resilience in Critical Transportation Systems”
    Timothy Kelly, Executive Vice President, Operations, Public Safety & Customer Service, Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County ​

• “MARTA’s Systems Approach to Power System Resiliency” ​
    Carlos Ortega, Director of Systems Engineering, MARTA