- How COVID-19 Response Shapes Transit’s Future
Six ways to build a better future with transit, based on COVID-19 best practices from fifteen urban, rural, and tribal transit providers. - VaxTransit: Connecting Communities to Vaccines
580+ US & Canada transit providers offer free rides and clinics to connect communities to COVID-19 vaccines.
Writing
My writing on transit policy and customer experience is published by Mass Transit, Mobility Lab, New York Daily News, Philadelphia Inquirer, The Architect’s Newspaper, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Network.
- Style, Not Stigma: After Mandates, Make Masks An Easy Choice on Transit
When mask mandates expire, here’s how to support mask-wearing as a welcome option on buses and trains. - VaxTransit: Get Shots in Arms, Beat the Virus, and Build Ridership
Black and Latino people in New York and New Jersey aren’t getting enough vaccines. Free VaxTransit for the next few months can help. - VaxTransit: 450+ Agencies in 41 States Provide Free Rides for Vaccines
Vaccine access helps transit agencies build a bridge to a brighter post-pandemic future. - Getting the COVID-19 Vaccine Shouldn’t Require a Car: The Case for VaxTransit
Driving-reliant vaccine sites further harm communities of color hit hardest by the pandemic. Public transit can fix that. - Imagine How COVID-19 Could Reshape Mobility
Transit’s most vital–and essential–customers help us envision how public transportation can serve their new mobility needs. - Amtrak One: Joe Biden can Accelerate Economic Recovery by Renewing America’s Rails
As president, Biden can make Amtrak One a regular part of his travel, reassuring a pandemic-wary public that transit is safe. - Plan Your Pandemic Recovery Like Caltrain
Facing funding crisis, Caltrain doubled down on racial, social equity, and it worked. - Taxes for Transportation Were Well Received
Voters eager for better public transit approved 15 of 18 ballot-measure tax increases on Nov. 3, 2020. - Pandemic Best Practices For Transit
Best practices for transit providers to protect riders and drivers, reassure the public, and adapt to a pandemic-prepared future. - E-ZPass: Could it Streamline Transit Fare Payment?
Imagine if your transit fare card worked with E-ZPass, just like the transponder in your vehicle? - Building Bright Signals for the Future of Transit
Skilled transit professionals are ready to proceed. Let’s equip them and fund them. Let’s trust them to do the job! - Chicago Transit’s Digital Redesign Offers Blueprint for Transforming Customer Experience
The new transitchicago.com demonstrates a thoughtful approach to customer experience for 1.6 million daily transit customers. - PATH to Penn Station: Restoring an Underground Passage to Streamline NYC Transit
Reopening a dormant underground passage in Manhattan would streamline transit connections for thousands of customers. - Simplify Things for Customers: A Transit Vision for the Tri-State Region
Simple signage, standardized wayfinding, seamless payment, and a streamlined network to get you from Point A to Point B. - Verkehrsverbund: How Germany Standardizes Transit Customer Experience
The Verkehrsverbund, or transport association, works with operators to coordinate a unified transit network. - New PATH to Newark Airport: Train to the Plane Supports Economy, Equity, Resilience
Extending PATH would finally offer a one-seat ride to a major New York-area airport, and strengthen equity for underserved communities.
Stewart Mader works with transit agencies and policy makers to build better transit, and he is a contributor to numerous media outlets on transit policy. Stewart founded and leads the VaxTransit initiative, with more than 580 agencies in the US and Canada providing access to COVID-19 vaccines.
Stewart previously served as the public face of NJ Transit, where he streamlined customer communication with new digital and social media tools, improved customer experience with contactless fare payment and a performance dashboard for 270 million annual passenger trips, and created a video series profiling frontline transit workers. Stewart also helped establish, led, and served as chief spokesperson for PATH Riders Council for the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey’s 80 million annual riders. Read More
Media Appearances
I work, write, and speak on transit, from advocacy to operations, apps to maps, and wayfinding to payment. Need a subject matter expert on transit policy? Get in Touch!
- Canadian Urban Transit Association: Connecting Communities to COVID-19 Vaccines
Stewart Mader joins the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA-ACTU) for a panel on VaxTransit, along with TransLink, Vancouver’s public transit agency. - Transit Unplugged: CTAA Study and Six Recommendations for Transit
Stewart Mader talks with Transit Unplugged about the study he researched and wrote for the Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA). - Transit Unplugged: Can Car Customer Experience Drive Better Transit?
Stewart Mader explains how we can apply car customer experience to make transit more appealing, on Transit Unplugged, the podcast for transit leaders. - TRB’s Transportation Explorers: Stewart Mader on How Transit Gets People to Vaccinations
Stewart Mader of VaxTransit discusses how public transit is helping reopen the economy, rebuild ridership, and ensure equity in vaccine access. - COVID, Mobile, Contactless: The Future of Transit
Talking transit on the TechTables podcast: how digital developments in a pandemic are shaping the future of mobility. - Update on Governors’ Proposal to Cut PATH: Riders’ Council, Public, Lawmakers Respond
PATH Riders Council Vice Chair Stewart Mader spoke to PIX11’s Greg Mocker about the impact of service cuts on frontline workers, and the need for legislative oversight of reforms.
Policy & Customer Experience Projects
- How COVID-19 Response Shapes Transit’s FutureSix ways to build a better future with transit, based on COVID-19 best practices from fifteen urban, rural, and tribal transit providers.
- VaxTransit: Connecting Communities to Vaccines580+ US & Canada transit providers offer free rides and clinics to connect communities to COVID-19 vaccines.
- 40 Ways I Transformed NJ Transit for Customers
See how I’ve enhanced customer experience throughout the 5,300 square miles served by the 3rd-largest US transit agency. - Buy-Tap-Ride: Contactless Fares for Light Rail
I strengthened equity for light rail riders by giving them the same ability as bus and rail riders to buy digital tickets. - Branding New Jersey’s Transit Lines
I expanded NJ Transit’s rail line brands into a design system to streamline customer experience. - Transit Standards: Branding, Design & Graphics
Public transit branding, design and wayfinding knowledge base, with 30+ global transit agency graphics standards manuals. - New York & New Jersey Subway Map
New York Subway Map with New Jersey transit connections that shows how transit bridges city and state boundaries. - Seamless Subway Rides Replace Shuttle Buses, Thanks to Port Authority, MTA Collaboration
I helped streamline transfers to and fare payment on NYC Subway during service outages for PATH’s signal system upgrade.