Transcript - Building the Future of LA Transit with Ali Mir, West Regional Planning Lead, Senior Vice President Episode 160

Ali Mir [00:00:00]:

Our communities are well versed in what they need. So how do we allow our communities and how do we empower our communities to be front and center in developing the solutions to the problems that they know that they have. And a huge part of that is workforce development and a pipeline of talent from the very communities that are in need of planning solutions, design solutions, engineering solutions.

 

Salvatrice Cummo [00:00:27]:

Hi, I'm Salvatrice Cummo, Vice President of Economic and Workforce Development at Pasadena City College and host of this podcast. And we are starting the conversation about the Future of work. We'll explore topics like how education can partner with industry, how to be more equitable, and how to attain one of our highest goals, more internships and PCC students in the workforce. We at Pasadena City College want to lead the charge in closing the gap between what our students are learning and what the demands of the workforce will be once they enter. This is a conversation that impacts all of us, you, the employees, employers, the policymakers, the educational institutions, and the community as a whole. This is the Future of work.

 

Salvatrice Cummo [00:01:13]:

Hi. Welcome back to the Future of Work podcast. I am your host, Dr. Salvatrice Cummo. Today's guest is Ali Mir, Senior Vice President and West Regional planning lead at WSP and a board member of Mobility 21 and the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. Ali has spent his career shaping some of the region's most impactful infrastructure and mobility projects, from expanding LA's public transit network to advancing sustainability and equity in transportation. He brings depth expertise in policy, planning and workforce development, connecting communities to opportunities. Today we're discussing how public transit is rebounding post pandemic, the significance of cultural attitudes towards transit and the importance of community driven planning and the connection between goods, movement and workforce development in Southern California's Future.

 

Salvatrice Cummo [00:02:11]:

Ali, welcome to the show.

 

Ali Mir [00:02:13]:

Thank you very much for having me.

 

Salvatrice Cummo [00:02:15]:

You bet, you bet. I would like to. You know, I always like to start our conversations with a little bit of background and kind of what, what brought you to this career in transit? And, and so if we could spend just a little bit of time on your story, how you as a student at USC fight on. By the way.

 

Salvatrice Cummo [00:02:37]:

I had to plug that in.

 

Ali Mir [00:02:38]:

Fair enough.

 

Salvatrice Cummo [00:02:41]:

The real drive into this career of transit, where it all started, how it's shaped you and how you see LA today because of that experience.

 

Ali Mir [00:02:50]:

Sure. I mean, I grew up in Southern California, in Riverside, and so to transition from a suburban context to an urban context at USC, I was really excited. So I came to USC to study architecture and then eventually transitioned into urban and regional planning. One of the courses that I took early after that transition was a public transit class. And a part of the course required a field, an individual field visit to ride every mode that LA Metro at the time had to offer. So bus and rail, and to ride as many east, west and north south lines as possible. And we had to create a log of wait times, you know, number of riders getting on and off the vehicle, and just our experience with it. And as someone that didn't really use transit growing up, you know, it seemed daunting at first and inaccessible.

 

Ali Mir [00:03:48]:

But once I was actually on the system and utilizing it and any preconceived notions that I had about what a typical transit rider looked like or was using the system for evaporated. And so I think that it allowed me to gain a deep appreciation for the cross section of what Los Angeles looks like from a demographic perspective. And then also how transit really serves as a backbone for moving people in the City. And it is people from all walks of life, um, it is people from all different communities. And there's a heavy reliance on transit in a way that I don't know that all Angelenos understand. To me it was mind boggling that there's over a million daily boardings on LA Metro system. And you know, people from other cities that I'm friends with are like, oh, nobody uses transit in Los Angeles. And that couldn't be further from the truth.

 

Ali Mir [00:04:44]:

And so I think that was the first exposure that I had to how transformative public transit can be in general, but in Los Angeles in particular. And that just sort of planted this seed that I was able to nurture and grow into a career in this space.

 

Salvatrice Cummo [00:05:01]:

Thank you. Let's talk a little bit about. You mentioned you gave a really strong number a million daily rides. And that's, from what I understand, that's an 80% comeback before the pandemic.

 

Ali Mir [00:05:13]:

Right.

 

Salvatrice Cummo [00:05:13]:

So what do you think? What does that tell us about that comeback and the role of transit in la? That's a lot. I mean, I didn't know when I read that number, I was like, I was shocked because to your point, it's like you ask our friends and our neighbors and it's not really within our culture just yet, but to read that there's a million rides daily, it's impressive.

 

Ali Mir [00:05:35]:

Yeah. And I mean, I think that we focus on what we call transit dependent riders. So people that come from zero car households that rely on public transit for their day to day mobility needs. But I think that there's also a growing trend in choice ridership which is people that have the opportunity to either use their own private vehicle or to use Uber or another TNC and they decide and they make the choice to use transit. I think that there's a generational shift, I think, where there's a greater openness to relying on public transit. My children are in LAUSD and every LAUSD student gets a Metro TAP card intrinsically. So K through 12 public school students get access to a TAP card and that gives them at a very young age an opportunity to understand the importance of transit, the benefits of transit and making it accessible to them. Right.

 

Ali Mir [00:06:32]:

So eliminating as many barriers as possible to encourage transit ridership, I think has seen a seismic shift. Traffic continues to get worse, and I haven't met a single person that enjoys sitting in traffic. And so I think finding alternatives to traffic is driving ridership as well. And you know, TNCs are subject to that same traffic. So even if someone else is driving or if an autonomous vehicle is driving, you're still subjected to transit traffic conditions that are beyond your control, whereas using light rail or using a Metro rapid bus allows you to bypass that. And so I think as more, as the system matures and as more bus and rail lines open and connect to more parts of the City, it's inducing a ridership trend that allows people to find transit much more accessible than they might have in the past.

 

Salvatrice Cummo [00:07:26]:

And we think about like, who is riding? When I hear a million rides daily, I'm assuming that it's all workers. Blue collar, white collar, it doesn't matter. Right, all workers. But it seems as though there might be a significant difference. Maybe. I don't know. When I think about New York or dc, it's really normal for all workers, specifically white collar workers, to take transit every day. It's not as common in la.

 

Salvatrice Cummo [00:08:00]:

What do you think needs to change for public transit to become the go to choice for everyone?

 

Ali Mir [00:08:06]:

I think that's a fair assessment. I do think that there's cultural differences in who finds it normative to use public transit in other metropolitan areas throughout the United States and throughout the world. But as an advocate for transit in Los Angeles, I would say that our transit system in its current manifestation is relatively young. So we're talking about 1990s to present with the Blue Line originally opening with a connection to Long Beach. And I think it's an unfair comparison to New York or Boston or Chicago, who have had the legacy of multiple generations of transit ridership and development trends in those cities built around the existing backbone of public transit. Whether it's rail or bus. And so I think it's remarkable the growth that we've seen in transit ridership for a relatively young system in a traditionally car centric geography and culture. And I think that there is only the opportunity for increased growth and transit ridership.

 

Ali Mir [00:09:11]:

And so I think that we need the system to mature, and I think that we need choice riders to really understand what opportunities are available to them as transit riders in a way that is much more obvious in some of those other metropolitan areas because the systems have been functional for multiple generations. We're one generation in here. In the current iteration, I understand that the streetcar system that was dismantled in the past, you know, there was a transit culture in Los Angeles that was deep and historic. And we're trying to build on that legacy now with this latest iteration of the system. And we just need to build more momentum around it. I think that there are legitimate concerns around safety and security, but I think that the best way to enhance and to induce safety and security is to increase ridership and to increase ridership across all socioeconomic strata so that it's not concentrated on one type of person or on one type of, whether it's white collar or blue collar, but a diverse cross section that truly is representative of the city itself and how deeply diverse the city is from an ethnic or socioeconomic perspective. And so I think that the obligation is not exclusively on the agencies themselves. It's also on the people that live in the city really trying to understand how to enhance the fabric of the city through mobility and the choices that we make as individuals to allow for the city to curb congestion, you know, curb emissions associated with private vehicles by opting into using transit.

 

Ali Mir [00:10:50]:

And I think that that is as much as an individual choice as it is then ultimately becoming a collective choice.

 

Salvatrice Cummo [00:10:57]:

And speaking of like collective choice and a project that is getting us closer to that or continues to underscore the need for greater ridership. And to your using your words, like the fabric of mobility. Right. In transit. One of the projects that I've learned a little bit about and I would love to hear more of is the airport Metro connector to LAX. Right. And is that a project? Is that a good example of what it can look like at scale if we continue to do more of. And what does that mean really for LA's future with a project like this that is a beautiful model for mobility?

 

Ali Mir [00:11:39]:

Absolutely. I mean, I had the honor and privilege to serve as the planning Lee on that project as a consultant. And so I was able to see it sort of evolve over time. And it is, I take immense pleasure in seeing it operational and up and running because some of these large megaprojects, they take a lot of time to get built. There's a lot of processes that need to be followed and construction takes time in the city. And so to see it actually come to fruition and be operational has been really inspiring for me. I think that it is an example of what's possible when multiple jurisdictions get together to look for a shared solution. So LAX is a global airport and we are a global city that is going to be hosting many global events.

 

Ali Mir [00:12:26]:

So whether it's the World cup or the Olympics or Super bowl or the NBA All Star Game, you know, we are a global hub. And the Airport Metro Connector is an opportunity to be at a global stature in terms of what LAX is and what the city is. And it allows for a multimodal connection to the airport. So whether it's pickup and drop off of private vehicles, TNCs, multiple bus lines from multiple operators, not just LA Metro, but big Blue bus in Santa Monica or the Culver City Green bus, as well as rail connections to Metro system. And then eventually the automated people mover that will connect from the Airport Metro Connector station to LAX would allow a easy transfer for people that are trying to get to the airport or to get out of the airport. The other thing that is directly across the street is a consolidated, it will be a consolidated rental car facility. So instead of having diverse dispersed rental car facilities in and around the LAX area, a person can get on the automated people mover, go straight to the airport Metro Connector, walk across the street and rent a car. So it's not just one solution that it is providing.

 

Ali Mir [00:13:40]:

It is a multi pronged solution for mobility of all kinds. And it's also intended to reduce congestion off campus from LAX and then also on campus at LAX so that people aren't circling until the end of time in that famous horseshoe. So I think that this was a collaborative effort across multiple jurisdictions, across multiple agencies to really envision a solution that a multi pronged solution for more than one problem. And I think that that is, it is fantastic that it is up and running at least a year before we host FIFA World cup games. And I think it'll be transformative for visitors to our city to understand how to access our city through a new form of mobility that hadn't existed previously.

 

Salvatrice Cummo [00:14:23]:

Thank you. Design obviously plays a critical role right in all of this. And just by you sharing that there's a multi pronged solution to it's solving multi issues like one project is solving multiple issues. Wondering about communities and how future transit projects. You emphasize a lot about design being intentional based on the communities that they serve and those that rely on them. And so when we as practitioners are trying to spark interest, have our students spark interest in careers like planning and engineering early, how do we do that? How do we ensure that our students see themselves in this work? Is it solely about design? What is it about these careers or a career in transit that allows our students to see themselves in it?

 

Ali Mir [00:15:15]:

I think this is probably. I'm most passionate about this than any other aspect of the work that I do. I don't think that equity should be a consideration. I think equity is the lens through which we approach our work. It is the way that we deploy solutions, and it is also the output of our work. So it is not a consideration or a variable. It's a through line in everything that we do. And the way that I approach that or I look at that is that our communities are well versed in what they need.

 

Ali Mir [00:15:49]:

So how do we allow our communities and how do we empower our communities to. To be front and center in developing the solutions to the problems that they know that they have. And a huge part of that is workforce development and pipeline of talent from the very communities that are in need of planning solutions, design solutions, engineering solutions. And so I think community engagement and outreach are critical, and I don't think that they should be diminished in any way, shape or form. But I think that the planning leadership, the architectural leadership, and the engineering leadership needs to reflect the lived experience of the communities that we're serving. That experience cannot be understood in a book. It cannot be understood exclusively at one or two public meetings. It has to be based on a multi generational understanding of the communities that we're in and that we're serving.

 

Ali Mir [00:16:46]:

And so I think explaining planning as an abstract concept or a career path to a high school student is sometimes difficult. But I think that if you even start younger than that, you know, starting at junior high or I was able to do a module at my children's elementary school on planning concepts. And, you know, where should a park go? How can you get there? Should there be a parking lot or should you take a train or a bus? These are all tactile ways of understanding the lived experience in our communities that then sparks a curiosity and an interest in not just focusing on the problems, but coming up with a menu of solutions. And so I would strongly encourage anyone that is passionate about their community, is passionate about the block that they live on or their neighbors, and how things could be improved. To consider a career in planning in particular, because you're leading not just for changes now, but for generations to come. And that is a transformative position to be in that allows you to see the fruits of your labor in the short, medium and long term.

 

Salvatrice Cummo [00:17:56]:

Thank you for that. Shifting gears just a little bit on your advocacy work. You've spent some time in Washington advocating for transportation infrastructure. From your perspective, how is the future of goods movement in Southern California going to shape the jobs here in LA?

 

Ali Mir [00:18:16]:

So I think, you know, attending congressional briefings in D.C. on behalf of Southern California and specifically on behalf of transportation infrastructure, some of the things that we highlight are based on our economic output for the rest of the country. So, for example, 2/3 of all consumer goods purchased in the United States come through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach combined. So ensuring enhanced port infrastructure and goods movement is not an exclusively Southern California issue to address, it is a national issue to address. So meeting with members of the House and Senate outside of California, sometimes that is new information that they weren't privy to previously. So I think providing that additional context helps them to understand that it's not just about throughput or vehicle miles traveled or congestion or emissions or greenhouse gases. It's also about how our entire economic structure is functioning nationally based on critical infrastructure that exists in Southern California. And I think framing it in that lens allows for a broader perspective that is bipartisan, it's not political at all, it's just a fact that's quantitative.

 

Ali Mir [00:19:42]:

So I think that has helped quite a bit. I also think that the global events like the World Cup and the Olympics, those are not Los Angeles's Games or California's Games, they're global games. And the United States is the host nation. It is not Los Angeles exclusively hosting this event. And so this is about presenting the best of what the country has to offer. Not just a singular city or a mega region in Southern California. And those two ports are at the center of where these Games are going to be held. And so balancing mobility solutions for spectators with the day-to-day users of the transit system and goods movement is going to be of critical importance.

 

Ali Mir [00:20:29]:

Not one of those three things can or should be sacrificed. And so it's about how to develop an approach that is taking all of those factors into consideration and is providing solutions for all three. And that's going to require support from above and beyond just the local agencies and I. So I think that there's a greater understanding around the importance of Southern California as a region to sort of the national tenor of trends in the United States.

 

Salvatrice Cummo [00:21:00]:

Now, thank you for that. As you said, 2/3 of goods movement falls through their two ports here.

 

Ali Mir [00:21:07]:

So consumer goods.

 

Salvatrice Cummo [00:21:08]:

Consumer goods. Consumer goods. Wow. I didn't know that.

 

Salvatrice Cummo [00:21:14]:

That's. That's wild. That's absolutely wild for the entire nation.

 

Ali Mir [00:21:19]:

And so that. That's why the national supply chain is critically tied to Southern California goods movement. Wow.

 

Salvatrice Cummo [00:21:28]:

Wow. I mean, you're sparking a lot of other questions that are coming up in my mind as it relates to my own daughter's career in logistics and supply chain. And so we may have to circle back.

 

Ali Mir [00:21:43]:

Not a problem.

 

Salvatrice Cummo [00:21:44]:

You know, you mentioned earlier a little bit about, you know, how community colleges or the. Or how we spark that interest when students in these careers. But can you share with me if you feel that there is a bigger role that community colleges should be playing in sparking the interest of transportation infrastructure careers in general. Is there anything larger that we should be focusing on as a system versus an individual College?

 

Ali Mir [00:22:13]:

Yes. So I think that we have an issue of talent pipeline and we need to address it head on. And I think that. And I put trade schools, community colleges, and universities in the same category in that the industry, those of us that are in it, need to do more. We need to do more outreach to make ourselves available, to articulate a path that's viable for people academically and then professionally. So I think that we're not doing a good job explaining what the opportunities are. And so fewer people are taking them up. And so I think we need to do a better job as an industry to ensure that the next generation of planning, talent, and leadership understands a clear path from academia into professional life.

 

Ali Mir [00:22:58]:

And there needs to be a greater nexus between theory and practice so that people can say, how do I take this concept that I learned and apply it in a professional environment? How does that benefit me? How do I grow into a leader with this knowledge base in a professional context? And I think that greater partnerships between community colleges and private sector employers, greater partnerships between community colleges and public sector employers so that students can understand there's more than one path, there's more than one trajectory, and it's broad and they really can make of it what they want, as opposed to having a sense that there's only a narrow path to student success. And so I put less onus on the students and more onus on the rest of us to help articulate for them more than one way to get to where they want to be.

 

Salvatrice Cummo [00:23:51]:

I appreciate you framing it that way, I really do. It is incumbent upon the industry and workforce to demonstrate what is possible to our students and be mentors and open our doors to our own expertise for them. And we all know that, yes, classroom time is very, very important. What's equally important is the continuum of the classroom into those experiences, into whether it's workplace learning experiences such as internships or apprenticeships or shadowing. You know, really anything helps really open the doors and open the eyes for new talent that we're developing. That said, I mean, you kind of mentioned it a little bit. But for any leaders or decision makers that are listening right now, what's one thing that they can do now to link infrastructure investments to real workforce opportunity? What would be that one thing that you would suggest us to do?

 

Ali Mir [00:24:55]:

I think strategic partnerships with institutions of higher learning. Right. So I think that we, whether it's volunteering your time, volunteering your team's time as a leader, you know, delegation is 2/3 of leadership. So I think that making ourselves available is really critical. And you know, I've had the opportunity to serve as a mentor to undergraduate students and even to graduate students. And what seems like 30 minutes of our day or 60 minutes of our day can have a massive impact on a student's confidence, on a student's understanding of what's possible. And it can be transformative. So it doesn't need to be hosting a full conference or, you know, standing up a brand new internship program.

 

Ali Mir [00:25:42]:

Those are important. But I think that it's really one to one connections that make a huge impact. And then those students that are positively impact can influence their peers to either motivate them to seek out mentors or to provide them with guidance that they received from their own mentor. And so I think that, that I know this sounds really grassroots and you know, sort of at a micro level, but I think it's really difficult to change thousands of lives at once. But I do think that impacting one life at a time in a positive way can allow for a lasting impact.

 

Salvatrice Cummo [00:26:21]:

Right. What do you think? Just curious. What do you think gets in the way of us doing that? Because inherently you said, right, like we know this, right? And it is very intentional, grassroots, individualized work. What do you think gets in the way? Just curious, from your perspective, schedules.

 

Ali Mir [00:26:36]:

I think a lot of it is just time management and feeling overwhelmed and then having the good intention but not knowing where to plug in logistically. So getting access to a pipeline of mentees like is difficult. So I mean, if I'm at a banquet for like women in transportation seminar and I see interns there that are being highlighted as part of the program, I'll go up to them and say, what do you want to do when you graduate? Are you interested in this field? Or, you know, is this just something that you're doing during undergrad? And so I'm in a. I'm in an office right now with one of those students. And so she's no longer a student, but she was an undergraduate student at usc. I met her at the WTS banquet a couple of years ago and she was like, no, I'm not totally sure what I'm doing. I have an internship right now. And I told her, I was like, well, email me your resume.

 

Ali Mir [00:27:23]:

And she's a rail transit engineer is what she was interested in doing. So she ends up interning with us. And then she's like, well, I want to go to graduate school. I was like, okay, that's fine. Why don't you continue to intern with us part time? She got her graduate degree and then we hired her full time. And she didn't reach out to me. I just ran into her at this point conference and she has a full time job and hopefully she can develop a career out of this. And it took five minutes of talking to her.

 

Ali Mir [00:27:50]:

And to be fair, she did have an entire video presentation that was very compelling and like intriguing. And so that sparked my interest in going to speak to her. But you know, she, she's here now, she's in this office. And so I think that it's those little things that can make a huge difference in a person's life.

 

Salvatrice Cummo [00:28:07]:

Thank you. Does it actually an amazing way to sunset this conversation. It's a beautiful story. Really, really appreciate it. There's so much more to unpack in this arena of infrastructure and transit and mobility and workforce development. There's a lot. There's a lot. Because it's so fluid.

 

Salvatrice Cummo [00:28:25]:

I suspect that we'll be touching base again at some point. But you know, if our listener and our listener spans from students, practitioners, administrators, policymakers, etc. First, for our listener who is listening now, what's the best way that they can connect with you? If they would like to. If they would like to connect, sure.

 

Ali Mir [00:28:44]:

They can send me an email. My email address is pretty simple. It's Ali A L I period M I R at W S P dot com.

 

Salvatrice Cummo [00:28:53]:

Excellent. We'll be sure to enter that into the show notes. And thank you so much for this lovely conversation and taking the time to speak to our listeners and we hope to connect again soon.

 

Ali Mir [00:29:04]:

Absolutely. I appreciate the opportunity. Thank you.

 

Salvatrice Cummo [00:29:06]:

All right, thank you.

 

Salvatrice Cummo [00:29:09]:

Thank you for listening to the Future of Work podcast. Make sure you subscribe on your favorite listening platform so you can easily get new episodes every Tuesday. You can reach out to us by clicking on the website link below in the show notes to collaborate, partner or just chat about all things Future of Work. We'd love to connect with you. All of us here at the Future of Work and Pasadena City College wish you safety and wellness.