Mass Transit - 33

Joseph Holmes' career
path began across the Atlantic
and within a segment of
transportation - rail - that
goes back centuries. His
career has led him to the U.S.
and to the rapidly developing
autonomous vehicle side
of the business. The bridge
between the two is Holmes'
dedication and focus on
providing access to mobility.
Holmes serves as director
of sales for North America
for EasyMile where he is
responsible for driving sales
activity and increasing the
number of active deployments
in North America. Since joining
EasyMile, he has led the
business to grow by more than
200 percent. His colleagues
explain this feat requires more
than traditional sales skills,
including a way to help the
industry understand driverless
technology's potential within
an existing business model.
Prior to working at EasyMile,
he worked at First Group for
more than 10 years in the UK

Jerome Horne is
described as having an
infectious positive attitude
and passion for transit that
stands out tremendously
in the industry. As ridership
experience specialist at IndyGo,
he has been involved in the
high-profile Red Line Bus Rapid
Transit (BRT) project, where he
has done extensive outreach,
including working with the
public, elected officials and
the media. He also created the
Transit Ambassador Program
with volunteers that go out into
the public rather than having
the public come to the agency.
This proactive outreach
method has proven effective to
engage the public, not just in
terms of the Red Line project,
but also in principles of transit
planning and governance
to help the public better
understand how decisions
are made in a transit system.
In addition to his work on
the Red Line BRT, Horne
is spearheading the brand
and wayfinding program at

"All our clients have different goals and
ambitions for automated technology. The most
challenging (and rewarding) part is bringing
these goals and ambitions to reality."
and United States. He started
at the Reading railroad station
in various customer-facing
roles before being accepted
into First Group's Operations
Management graduate
program and then moving to
the company's Strategy and
Innovation Team. Here, he
aided clients in understanding
AVs and their impacts on
emerging trends, such as
on-demand transportation
and mobile ticketing. In this
role, Holmes worked with
new technology providers,
like Swiftly, Bishop Peak and
EasyMile, to successfully
integrate new technologies
into existing operations. One
of the highlights of his time

working on the innovation
team was working with
Uber and Lyft in Portland
and Boston, respectively, to
help these cities have ADA
compliant wheelchair trips on
their respective platforms.

Joseph
Holmes
Director of Sales
EasyMile Inc.

Holmes is described as a
fierce advocate for "mobility
for all," and has been a leader
in ensuring that EasyMile's
driverless shuttles have become
ADA compliant. Additionally,
once NHTSA required EasyMile
to add seatbelts to its shuttles,
Holmes worked closely
with the engineering team
to find and deploy a costeffective, yet safe solution.

Fact: Holmes once starred on the 'hit' UK show "First Great
Western: The Railway."
MassTransitmag.com/21147605

"Trains and buses are cool! But on a deeper level,
I enjoy being involved with transit because it's
the connective tissue of our communities."

IndyGo, with an emphasis on
providing a customer-centric
experience to wayfinding.
Horne has also represented
IndyGo at multiple conferences
and has provided an
outstanding representation of
IndyGo to public, private and
academic stakeholders. He is
also a member of the APTA
Emerging Leaders Program
Class of 2022 and is involved
in the Transit Cooperative
Research Program.
Additionally, Horne has
volunteered his own time to
serve many causes to benefit

transit. He serves on the
board for Young Professionals
in Transportation (YPT)
International, a networking
and professional development
group focused on developing
the next generation of leaders
in transportation and founded
the Indianapolis Chapter of YPT.

Jerome
Horne
Ridership
Experience
Specialist
Indianapolis Public
Transportation
Corporation
(IndyGo)

His nomination said his
most notable attribute is his
wonderful attitude and every
attempt he makes to promote
transit. Horne is considered
a true "transit evangelist"
whose passion and interest
in transit is unmatched.

Fact: Horne has curated more than 120 real transit signs and
150 model trains and buses he calls the International Micro
Museum of Transit.
MassTransitmag.com/21147601
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33
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