Transdev Forward

Hello, and welcome to Transdev Forward, the mobility podcast — spearheaded by Laure-Anne Warlin, head of Foresight at Transdev. Every day, Transdev moves millions of people across 19 countries. But the world we operate in is shifting and shifting fast. Climate, demographics, technology, what passengers expect from us ... nothing stands still. And our job is to make sure that we're not just reacting — but staying ahead. That we're making the right moves today, so we're prepared for what's coming tomorrow. That's what this podcast is about. In each episode, we sit with someone from inside the Group — not a consultant, not an analyst, but someone on the ground — to find out how we are already making Transdev, as we say here, future-ready. For this second episode, we're looking at a trend no operator can ignore anymore: climate adaptation. Heatwaves, floods, rising sea levels — for a public transport operator, this isn't a topic for a conference panel, it's happening very concretely, today, and it's reshaping how we keep our networks running, and our passengers safe and comfortable. To explore this, I'm joined today by William Paranihi. William is General Manager, Safety & Assurance for Transdev Sydney Ferries, in Australia — a country where adapting to climate change is already part of operators’ daily reality. For years, William has been working to modernize the ferry fleet, build up his team’s skills and improve the passenger experience in the face of this new reality. In this episode, he will share with us the solutions already in place, and the lessons learned from his experience on the ground. William, hello — welcome, and thank you for joining us… WILLIAM PARANIHI: Hello, thanks for having me. William, before we get into specifics, you've spent 35 years in the health and safety and environmental industry, and the last three years as GM Safety and Assurance for Sydney Ferries. Simply put, how does climate change impact your role? WILLIAM PARANIHI: Oh, look, great question. I guess I'll set the scene of our operation before diving into the impacts of climate change. Our operation moves about 15 million journey makers a year with a fleet composition of about 39 vessels. We're known as a tourism landmark, so we don't only experience local commuters, but a large number of tourists. We have the privilege of showing off our iconic Sydney Harbour. My role in particular covers five pillars: safety, health, quality, environment, and security. Climate doesn't necessarily only impact my role; it forces it to evolve. Our operation is heavily exposed to climate events, particularly rising sea levels and extreme weather, which from time to time can change our operational landscape. Our teams are drilled to these conditions almost as “business as usual”. These are things that they experience on a daily basis, whether it be extreme heat or severe thunderstorms. Over the past decade, we've experienced a series of storms and floods just prior to COVID, actually. February 2020 brought Sydney city's heaviest rainfall in 30 years, which caused severe erosion along our coast and river systems. And again, mid-2022 triggered mass evacuations across Western Sydney. Bushfires also impacted Sydney city around 2020, although the fires were outside of the city. The sheer scale of the thick blanket of smoke and ash which settled over Sydney for weeks, the air quality reached extremely dangerous levels, approximately 11 times worse than the typical hazardous threshold. So, you can imagine emergency rooms at that stage were experiencing a high concentration of respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses. Heat waves, in the last three years, has increased, reaching temperatures between 44 to 46 degrees in the shade. So, you can imagine the level of mitigation we've had to apply to the business and to our current protocols. Heat has become one of the main challenges in operating the Sydney Ferry service. For the millions of passengers who rely on this mode of transport, what does that actually look like day to day? WILLIAM PARANIHI: Look, it can look in a couple of different ways. So, we have our vessels, for instance, on very extreme temperature days. Our vessels, previously to the last two years, not all of our vessels were fitted with air conditioning units. So, you can imagine cabin temperatures reaching between 40 to 50 degrees inside the cabin, particularly when we travel up towards Parramatta River to the end of our network, where the air is quite dense. You're not experiencing any sea breeze, so it gets quite dangerous for not only our crew, but our passengers. Parramatta River route, you know, is the hardest hit with the no sea breeze. So, we've had to retrofit air conditioning units into all of our fleet and our assets, to ensure the safety of our passengers, and also to prevent interruption or disruptions with our operations. So, it's very much a safety over business kind of call. WILLIAM PARANIHI: Absolutely. Absolutely. These types of, I guess, mitigations is due to our forward planning, our constant monitoring, particularly around heat waves. We are planning within three to four days prior to those heat waves. We are implementing mitigation measures. We're ensuring we're adequately staffed. We're ensuring we have staff to be able to relieve staff. We're extending meal breaks and crib breaks, as they call it. We're also providing excessive water, but we're also monitoring them, physically monitoring our staff and passengers, particularly the younger passengers and our elderly, our personnel. So, children and the elderly. So, beyond its specificities, how much can we think of Sydney as an early look into what may well soon be a new normal? In other words, as a test bed for conditions that other networks may face down the line. WILLIAM PARANIHI: I think doing what's reasonably practicable but always focusing on the safety component of our crews and our passengers is the key element to driving the initiatives and protocols to run a service. The new normal is it's always going to get hotter, is the reality. Climate change is coming whether or not people like it or not. It's coming, and we're going to have to monitor it and then mitigate as things progress. You really have to move with the changes but also be prepared of those changes. Start pre-planning now, looking, forecasting what could happen, looking at our assets, looking at our processes, looking at our protocols. It all contributes to what you call the specificities on how to early look at what will become the new norm. For us, because we’re here in Sydney, we've been subjected to these types of conditions for the last decade. You've called this business as usual, I think, before… WILLIAM PARANIHI: Yes, absolutely. For us, it's now become the new norm, and we're preparing for the next phase of what could be. And again, by doing that, we have to look at the whole planning phase, the 100-year overview of what could potentially happen. How high are the sea levels going to rise? We start getting into that planning phase now rather than later, but again, we adjust and we move with the changes. So how do you ensure continuity of essential services in the face of increasingly frequent and increasingly intense climate events? WILLIAM PARANIHI: I think this requires a multifaceted approach to resilience. I guess that's how we've been able to manage it and handle it, because extreme weather becomes more frequent. We have to ensure safety while minimizing operational disruption, and that's always been our focus, safety. While relying on dynamic risk assessments, we have to be prepared to make those last-minute calls and adjust to the risk. Tomorrow's weather forecast could be 46 degrees, however, that may not necessarily be the temperature. It could rise to 48, 49 degrees, and our existing controls may not be adequate to manage them. So, it's really important for us to monitor it continuously before, during, and after each event. Are there other investments, visible or less visible investments? WILLIAM PARANIHI: We're currently through the design phase of our first electric ferries, hopefully introduced by the end of next year, which would be fantastic to see. We have seen, although Australia may be behind in technology, other countries are already running electric ferries. So, we're totally excited to see what this could bring and how it can change and improve our visible investments. Some of the non-visible investments would probably be the infrastructure upgrades, wharfs, dealing with rising sea levels. Those are the types of non-visible investments that will happen in the background. For our contract in particular, the assets are actually owned by our client. Encouraging our client to prepare for climate change is something that we've been involved in for the last couple of years. Our client has brought us into the forums as the subject matter experts who are operating not only the assets, but also managing the wharf assets, so the infrastructure. And so, they've been able to bring us into those forums for us to provide our input, our improvement input, and any initiatives that we've been able to propose. Beyond heat, what other climate-related risks does your team plan for, and then how do you keep the network running when something does go wrong? WILLIAM PARANIHI: Another good question. High swells, heavy rainfall causes floods. Then you experience floating debris through our river systems, which obviously become navigational hazards. So those are the sorts of things that we almost experience on a weekly basis. We mitigate those through communication with stakeholders to mitigate the hazards that become apparent during our operation, on a daily basis. That's something that we all collaborate together to ensure that our network is free of debris, our swells are managed, our vessels are surveyed to run at certain swell heights. So depending on the swell, we may cancel trips for the safety of, or to work within the requirements of our vessels. But the heavy rainfall and the swells, rising sea levels all contribute to the impact of our ferry service. If you had to name a few concrete examples, which initiatives best show how Transdev is preparing to meet the climate-related mobility challenges ahead? WILLIAM PARANIHI: I think there are two major projects that Transdev are heavily involved in, and that's the new electric vessels, which are currently in the design phase, and also the infrastructure upgrades, which are in the planning phase along with, in collaboration with the client. Which again, both would require significant investment from the client to complete. Our teams have been heavily involved with those, from traveling globally to do research on not only infrastructure, but also the new electric vessels. As far as your teams are concerned, how do you ensure training? How do you ensure awareness vis-à-vis those climate-related changes? WILLIAM PARANIHI: So, we've recently introduced an onboarding mechanism to ensure all new employees are well-equipped with the knowledge and training required regarding climate change adaptation. Through the induction, we present slides regarding climate change and how it affects not only our country, our city, but how it will impact our operation. I think for a lot of our staff onboarding, this would be their first experience in regards to being educated in climate change. I believe what we're educating them at the moment, it's almost... the feedback is coming back as they're quite surprised at what's actually going to occur within the next 100 years. So, a lot of them are coming back with surprised looks on their face, going, “Wow, we've never learnt this before.” So, I think it's been beneficial for not only for the business, but it's something for them. But again, they're quite surprised about what could potentially happen within the next 100 years life cycle with climate. And last question for you, William. Looking back on your 35 years of experience, when you look at everything that Transdev has put in place to adapt to climate change, what makes you proudest? WILLIAM PARANIHI: What makes me proud is that we're actually being part of the conversation. We are planning now, years away from the actual major changes, but we're experiencing small... At the moment, we're experiencing slight changes, over the past decade to now. We're experiencing those changes, so we've been able to react to what changes we've experienced just in the last decade. But what makes me proud is that we are being involved, and we're taking climate change seriously. It's an important thing that everyone, unfortunately, is going to experience at some point in time, whether we're here on the planet to experience it ourselves or whether we're not. But I think it's good for us to start planning for the future. I think I'm proud of Transdev now having a recognized voice in stakeholder forums, shaping the infrastructure upgrade agenda. We're now planning for the future rather than just talking about it. So, I feel proud that our team gets to participate, and provide that input within those forums. Thank you very much, William. That's all we have time for. Thank you for sharing your experience, your point of view, and the lessons that Sydney has for all of us. WILLIAM PARANIHI: Thank you. It's been a pleasure. Listening to you, William, there's one thing that stays with me: climate adaption is a matter of resilience. It’s a long-term strategic issue that has to go well beyond the emergency plans that we roll out when a crisis hits. What you’ve also made very clear, William, is that climate adaption has to be a collective effort - coordination is key. Coordination between operators, authorities and local stakeholders. They all have to work hand in hand. And finally, above all, what Sydney’s case shows us, is that climate adaption isn’t just a weather issue - no, its first and foremost a human issue. At Transdev, our absolute priority is of course the safety of our passengers and our people - whatever the conditions. Training and awareness are also key to getting ready for what’s ahead. Thank you for listening to this second episode of Transdev Forward. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did — don't forget to subscribe on your favorite platform so you never miss an episode, and feel free to share it! See you next time.

Hi, I’m Laure-Anne Warlin, I lead Foresight at Transdev, and this is Transdev Forward. Every day, Transdev moves millions of people across 19 countries. But the world we operate in is shifting — and fast. Climate, demographics, technology, what passengers expect from us … nothing stands still. And my job is to make sure that we’re not just reacting, but we’re staying ahead. That we’re making the right moves today, so that we’re prepared for what’s coming tomorrow. And that’s what this podcast is all about. In each episode, I sit down with someone from inside the Group — not a consultant, not an analyst, but someone on the ground — to find out how we are already making Transdev, as we say here, future-ready. For this very first episode, I wanted to start with something that’s going to reshape everything in our industry — an issue that’s long been overlooked but is now front and center: demographics. According to the World Health Organization, the number of people over 80 will triple between 2020 and 2050, reaching 426 million worldwide. People are living longer, having fewer children … and for a public transport operator, that changes the whole equation. Who will our passengers be tomorrow? And just as importantly: how do we recruit, retain, and adapt our workforce? To explore these questions, I’m joined by Jessica Knechtel, who has invaluable experience. Jessica runs Transdev’s student transportation division in Canada’s Greater Toronto, and she’s already confronting many of these demographic challenges head on, every single day. And she has some very telling stories to share. Jessica, welcome… Jessica, you run the student transportation division for Transdev in the Greater Toronto Area — that’s school buses across a huge region. Can you help us picture what your day-to-day looks like and what your role actually is? JESSICA KNECHTEL: Well, it’s definitely an adventure, that’s for sure, every single day. I am the general manager for our student transportation division for Transdev. We’re moving students all across the Greater Toronto Area every day, primarily in special needs transportation. These are services designed for students who can’t use standard busing safely or independently, and therefore need a little extra support, supervision, or accessible vehicles. For us, we transport just under 900 special needs students daily, Monday through Friday, to and from school. At the core, it’s really about giving students access to mobility and independence. So this expertise that you’re building with special needs students today — how does that translate to serving an ageing population tomorrow? JESSICA KNECHTEL: OK, what comes to mind is care. Both special needs students and an ageing population need personalized support, patience and respect. Our staff strive to meet people where they are. They build trust, compassionate care, and those skills are going to be just as important in serving our ageing population tomorrow. When you look at your driver workforce today and imagine it five years from now, what is changing from a demographic point of view? And what worries you? JESSICA KNECHTEL: Canada is multicultural by nature, with the exception of our Indigenous and First Nations people. Almost everyone here is an immigrant or a descendant of an immigrant, including myself. That reality shows up most visibly in fast-growing places like our Greater Toronto Area, where communities, workplaces and public services, including transportation, have evolved to reflect a constantly changing mix of languages, cultures and needs. At the same time, the overall population continues to age. For employers, that combination is reshaping our available talent pool. And it means the workforce of the future will be even more diverse, more multilingual, and often newer to the country. So that for us, recruiting and retention will depend even more on flexibility, on-the-job support, and practical training that meets people where they are. When you look at Ontario, the average age of our 1,000 school bus drivers is around 54 years old, the youngest being is 22 and the oldest being is 83 years old. So, demographics make things harder to plan and manage, because demand and supply don’t shift at the same speed, right? Some communities are growing fast, others are ageing, and more newcomers are entering the workforce. And speaking of challenges, as populations age and the labor pool shrinks, operators are scrambling to recruit. Demographics are reshaping everything. So, what methods or approaches have you already put in place to face that challenge? And how do they work? JESSICA KNECHTEL: So, if I go back, let’s say, ten years ago, recruitment was much more about volume — trying to plug, you know, a driver shortage, using that kind of industrial, traditional tool like big branches rely on. We’d do flyer drops; we’d run ads in local newspapers and cast a wide net to get as many applications as we could. At the time, it worked, but it wasn’t very personal, and it was much more about big company recruiting than relation-based hiring. So, if you ask me right now what our big selling point is, it’s not just about a campaign or a brochure. It’s our drivers, and they’re the ones that drive our real campaign. The interesting part is that people are watching long before we even meet them. I had a driver — actually, she’s currently one of our drivers, for about four years now. And before she even applied to us, she went to her kid’s school. She saw school bus drivers from different companies and started asking questions. And it was her asking questions with the other companies and drivers that led her to us. And she’s still an employee now. So, overall, for our student transportation division in Ontario, in 2025, we hired 82% of the referrals received. In student transportation in Toronto, it was about 96%. That’s a huge HR weapon for us. In a word, the new generations of workers look for stability and flexibility, for a healthy relationship with employers who care about their well-being. For instance, we have the ability to discuss casual work for those that can’t commit to a normal five-day work week. Having the ability to have open conversations for flexibility for the employee., casual drivers are able to tell us their availability. If there’s a shift that might work, or that’s open, we can assign it to them. To meet the demographic challenge ahead, you’ve already diversified your talent pool in a very concrete way: retirees, students, women, newcomers to Canada. Can you tell us how that started and what that looks like on the ground? JESSICA KNECHTEL: So, we have retirees who work in the fall, head somewhere warm in the wintertime and come back in the spring. In Canada, winter can be pretty tough and cold, so we have the snowbirds. It works because it respects their lifestyle while still valuing their experience. A lot of our drivers are in their second, third careers, and they still want to contribute to their communities. They just need that flexibility. So operationally, that’s why we aim for about 10% spare drivers. These are people who can step in, cover routes, and drive multiple vehicle types. That flexibility matters now more than ever and is bound to even more in the future. Then we also target women. 46% of all our 1,000 school bus drivers in Ontario are women, and this is the same percentage in the Toronto region. What makes a real difference is that they can grow within the company. They can start as a school bus driver, but also develop as a transit driver, or even train a driver, depending on where and when they want to grow. Bringing these career development opportunities makes a real difference for our younger demographic. So, you mentioned an average age of 54 for your bus drivers. The population is ageing. So how do you attract younger demographics to take on the challenge? And once they’re in, could you tell us more about how you retain them? JESSICA KNECHTEL: A big part of that is mentorship. And we just don’t hand over the route. We provide exposure, pair new drivers with experienced ones, and check in regularly with our staff. I remember many years ago, when I first started in the industry, there were countless stories of drivers who had just received their professional license, were handed the keys to a bus, and were told to drive a route that same day. Needless to say, those first couple of weeks were often the most pivotal time for our new drivers. Many became overwhelmed because they were not, you know, realistically prepared for the responsibility of having students on board. Having the support of a mentor, senior driver or trainer helps bridge the gap between classroom theory and real-life experience. And I’ve got one last question for you, Jessica. If you had to name one thing Transdev is doing today to respond to the demographic shift that you’re genuinely proud of, what would it be? JESSICA KNECHTEL: As a woman, a minority, a first-generation Canadian, a daughter of immigrants, and a mother of young children, I have a lot of empathy for our employees. The leaders who make the biggest difference are the ones who generally care, who support our people through challenges, invest in their growth, and create a real sense of belonging. That’s why we trust and support matters so much in transportation. Every day, our drivers trust us to have their back, to support them in difficult moments, and to help them feel safe doing a very demanding job. When that trust is there, people don’t just perform better. They stay, they grow, and they believe in what they’re capable of. I’ll never forget a driver telling me that just hearing my voice on the radio made them feel like everything was going to be okay. That really stayed with me, because it showed how much trust matters in this work. Because at the end of the day, we are a people business. We are people serving people, and that’s not going away anytime soon. If anything, it will matter even more as demographics shift. Thank you for listening to our very first episode of Transdev Forward. We hope you liked it as much as we did. Don’t forget to subscribe on your favorite platform so you never miss an episode, and feel free to share it. See you next time!