November 2021 - 32

Erik Jensen started out as staff analyst
trainee 1, and then joined the reporting analytics
group in strategic initiatives at NYCT, which
he now manages.
Erik Jensen
Staff Analyst and
Acting Manager of
Reporting Analytics
New York City
Transit (NYCT)
In this role, Jensen has analyzed electricity
data from the substations that power the subway's
third rail. Through regression analyses
incorporating train movement and weather
data, he identified that by reducing the air
conditioning setting on trains running on
the 7 Line by three degrees in the summer, it
would be possible to save the equivalent of
300 homes' worth of electricity per day. After
a brief pilot, the change in the air conditioning
settings went into effect with no increase
in the number of customer complaints.
Jensen then developed a new bus speed
metric based on processed AVL data and
led a deep dive to identify the slowest sections
of bus routes. He also used processed
AFC data from buses to develop a list of
the typically longest and slowest trips. The
output of these analyses informed much
of NYCDOT's Bus Forward plan, which laid
out plans for extensive street improvements
along poor performing corridors.
For the past two years, Jensen has primarily
overseen the data pipelines that feed
most of NYCT's daily, weekly and monthly
operations performance reporting. He has
Understanding the intricacies
of the system you work in can
help you identify new projects
and evaluate whether proposals
from others are worth pursuing. "
improved next-day reliability and automated
many of the previously manual steps.
Shortly after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Jensen developed a sampling methodology
to estimate mask usage throughout
the system. He ensured teams from different
departments worked together to process the
data and report it correctly without compromising
the randomness of the sample.
The final results informed policy decisions
and strategies to focus on the distribution of
free masks alongside enforcement efforts.
Outside of the office, Jensen is a member
of the NYC chapter of Young
Professionals in Transportation.
Fast Fact: Jensen was part of NYU Rudin
Center's 2019 class of Emerging Leaders in
Transportation, and participated in NYCT's
six-month Knowledge Sharing and Leadership
Development program.
MassTransitmag.com/21246411
Taylor
Johnson
Transit and Parking
Program Manager
City of Norman
Taylor Johnson, transit and parking
program manager for the city of Norman, has
served central Oklahoma in several transportation
capacities, including as the planner and
grants specialist at Campus Area Rapid Transit
(CART) at the University of Oklahoma, the
multimodal program coordinator at the Association
of Central Oklahoma Governments
and the public transit coordinator at the city
of Norman.
I would most likely not be in a
career in transit if it wasn't for
an internship. I would encourage
agencies to provide paid
internships and for students
to go out and get them. "
When CART decided to cease transit service
and operate campus shuttles only, Johnson
was instrumental in the transition of transit
operations from CART to the city in under
10 months. The city of Norman continued
the transition work into 2020, working
with EMBARK, the local transit provider,
and University of Oklahoma to ensure service
continued. Johnson was the lynchpin
that ensured the relationships between the
city, the university and EMBARK developed
and prospered during this time.
Johnson also played a crucial role in the
passage of the city's Public Transit Sales Tax
ballot initiative in November 2019, just five
months after the city took over the operations
of the service. The ballot initiative passed
with more than 70 percent support and was
the state's first standalone public transit tax
32 | Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | NOVEMBER 2021
ballot initiative to pass. Johnson's additional
accomplishments include successfully soliciting
and leading the development of the Go
Norman Transit Plan, securing and programming
the funds needed to build Norman's
first transit maintenance and operations
facility and aiding in the development of the
first Oklahoma Public Transit Policy Plan.
Johnson serves on the Oklahoma Transit
Association Board(OTA) as the small
urban at-large director, was named a
co-chair of the OTA Urban/Small Urban
Task Force and represents the city of
Norman at regional and state levels.
Fast Fact: Johnson can solve a
Rubik's Cube.
MassTransitmag.com/21246380
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November 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November 2021
