Shouldn't Transit Managers Actually Ride Transit?

(Updated 09/16/2014) In his recent piece for CityLab, Eric Jaffe profiles Houston resident Christof Spieler, a member of Metro's Board of Directors, who "played an instrumental role in developing Metro's Reimagining plan—a dazzling redesign of the entire bus system that stresses all-day frequency and smart connections. But he couldn't have done it without his experience on Metro as a guide, which makes him Exhibit A for why the people planning America's transit systems, from board members to senior management to project designers, should be riders themselves."

Jaffe writes that non-transit riders are unable to grasp the annoyance of infrequency and the importance of frequent service, as they run on a private timetable by driving cars. More importantly, "[t]he mindset that agencies should only care about customers when they're on a transit vehicle, but not during their walk to the station, is also an artifact of inexperience."

But how can agencies make sure their leadership is utilizing transit? Apparently, all Metro senior manager roles must ride the system at least 40 times a *month, a new policy put in place to make sure the leadership understands the user experience.

*updated from a week to a month.