2025 Power Players in Transportation

Betsy is the executive director of Riders Alliance, New York’s grassroots organization of bus and subway riders. She joined the fight for better transit following direct service and advocacy roles in the immigrant rights field. Since Betsy took the helm at Riders Alliance, three weeks before the COVID lockdown in 2020, New York riders have achieved an impressive list of victories to deliver a more frequent, reliable, and affordable transit system.

Is there a transportation improvement or project that you hope to see completed in 2025?
CONGESTION PRICING! Riders and drivers alike can finally breathe easier and we can have better transit, safer streets, and cleaner air.

Frank Reig is co-founder and CEO of Revel, the Brooklyn-based electric mobility company. Since founding the company alongside Paul Suhey in 2018, Frank has grown Revel from shared electric mopeds to the first all-electric rideshare platform and NYC’s largest public EV fast charging network. A native New Yorker, Frank is a graduate of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Prior to Revel, Frank worked as a professional chef for several high-end NYC restaurants.

How can policymakers support the transportation industry?
Congestion pricing actually happening is a great start. Public transit is the foundation of the transportation industry. It’s the foundation of New York’s economy and high quality of life. I’ve also been very impressed by the Green Rides Initiative to fully electrify the rideshare industry by 2030, a policy Revel has helped along by developing public fast charging stations where TLC drivers live and work. Let’s not lose sight of why we started it.

Is there a transportation improvement or project that you hope to see completed in 2025?
I am an avid cyclist, it’s my favorite way to get around the city. There’s been progress on bike lanes, but when you look at other cities, especially our peer cities in Europe, it’s clear there’s a lot more we could be doing. The Open Streets program continues expanding, which is great. I’d like us to go even further and permanently pedestrianize larger swaths of the commercial district.

What is the best advice you have received from a mentor?
Success is not linear. This is especially true for startups, but it carries to every part of life. Downtimes are inevitable, it’s how you evolve through them that defines a trajectory. Revel has been a good example of this. What we started out doing is not where we are today. None of that change was obvious, but looking back it was necessary to not just sustain the business, but grow it further.

Renae Reynolds is the executive director of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign (TSTC), a nonprofit policy advocacy organization dedicated to mobility, accessibility and livability in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. TSTC uses data and policy analysis, and strategic media outreach, to influence decision-making throughout the region. TSTC has championed initiatives to combat harmful highway expansion projects, demand sustainable funding for mass transit, and increase safety for vulnerable road users, in pursuit of an equitable transportation future.

How can policymakers support the transportation industry?
Policymakers can support the transportation industry through equity-centered and climate-centered decision-making. As a leading source of climate emissions it is imperative that all transportation policies aim to reduce our dependence on single occupancy vehicles and promote the reduction of vehicle miles travelled. We must increase our mobility options by prioritizing mass transit, walking, biking, and connectivity between these modes of travel.

Is there a transportation improvement or project that you hope to see completed in 2025?
The New York City Streets Plan, Vision Zero 2025, Congestion Pricing

What is the best advice you have received from a mentor?
Always consider how your work contributes to the community.

Commissioner Rodriguez oversees more than 5,500 employees, an operating budget of $1.4 billion, and a 10-year capital budget of $33 billion. He leads the Adams administration’s efforts to make our streets better and safer for all New Yorkers and to enhance the city’s public realm. A proud immigrant from the Dominican Republic, he’s the first Latino to serve as commissioner. Rodriguez previously served on the city council, chairing the Transportation Committee from 2014 to 2021.

How can policymakers support the transportation industry?
Policymakers have an important responsibility to support transportation that is safe, sustainable, and accessible for all. Earlier this year the state legislature and Governor Hochul passed critical street safety legislation to renew and expand red light cameras and to give New York City authority to lower its speed limits in a smart and targeted way.

Is there a transportation improvement or project that you hope to see completed in 2025?
The creation of a pedestrian-only walkway on the South Outer Roadway of the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, which would also result in expanded space for cyclists on the North Outer Roadway. This will improve the experience for both pedestrians and the growing number of cyclists in our city.

What is the best advice you have received from a mentor?
The best advice I’ve received is to always focus on results, not on personalities. The results are most important.

John Samuelsen is the international president of The Transport Workers Union of America, with more than 155,000 members across the airline, railroad, transit, universities, utilities, and service industries. The TWU has 11 locals based in New York, including Local 100, representing NYC bus and subway workers. Hired as a NYC Transit Authority track worker in 1993, Samuelsen, a lifelong Brooklyn resident, quickly and effectively challenged management on serious safety lapses and steadily advanced through the union’s ranks

How can policy support the transportation industry?
Policymakers and legislators must ensure adequate funding exists to keep the MTA system maintained in a day-to-day state of good repair. With the introduction of congestion pricing, the MTA will be flush with capital construction money. However, this does not provide operating budget money for the subway, bus, and commuter rail systems. The day-to-day state of good repair, solely funded through the operating budget, must be emphasized. All stakeholders must not forget the painful lessons of the past. 

Is there a transportation improvement or project you hope to see completed in 2025?
A dramatic increase in transit service for New Yorkers in the outer boroughs. This is an achievable initiative that would have a profoundly positive impact. The MTA should augment existing express bus service by extending hours on existing routes, running buses more frequently, and creating sorely needed, brand-new express routes to serve NYC’s transit deserts. This should have occurred concurrently with congestion pricing’s rollout, but it’s not too late.

What is the best advice you received from a mentor?
Safe, reliable, and expansive mass transit, along with quality healthcare and public education, all working synergistically with a robust trade union movement, are the building blocks that pave the way to economic security for inner-city America. Mentors imparted this wisdom to me. This should be society’s goal.

Mark Schienberg, GNYADA president since 1986, has transformed it into a leading trade organization representing over 400 dealerships. He revitalized the New York International Auto Show, generating enormous economic impact annually for NYC, and founded the $30 million Center for Automotive Education & Training. Schienberg also launched the National Automotive Technology Competition and pioneered key consumer advocacy initiatives. A Queens native, he remains a driving force in the automotive industry and education.

How can policymakers support the transportation industry?
Policymakers can support the automobile industry by ensuring regulatory certainty, especially around electrification. Auto dealers are investing significantly in retraining staff and upgrading facilities to support EVs, benefiting local economies and preparing for future mobility. Regulatory uncertainty is particularly harmful to small businesses. Policymakers must engage the business community to avoid making decisions in a vacuum. The best policies are developed collaboratively, ensuring all stakeholders have a voice in shaping the future.

Is there a transportation improvement or project that you hope to see completed in 2025?
In 2025, we hope to see enhanced EV infrastructure across New York, including expanded charging networks to meet growing consumer demand. A robust and accessible charging network will be key to accelerating EV adoption and supporting the investments made by local dealers. This will not only address range anxiety but also demonstrate New York’s leadership in clean transportation, aligning with consumer expectations and supporting the state’s sustainability goals.

What is the best advice you have received from a mentor?
Marvin Suskin, who hired me in 1985, taught me the value of activism, passion, persistence, and humility. He was a true believer in the importance of getting involved and never once sat on the sidelines of any issue important to dealers. He believed passionately that everyone has the power to change things as long as they stand up and be counted, and that’s exactly what he did and what I try to do myself.

Mark J.F. Schroeder has served as the commissioner of DMV since 2019, helping guide the agency through COVID and other challenges, while embracing the technology that is changing the way New Yorkers interact with their government. Schroeder previously served as the elected comptroller of the City of Buffalo, a member of the New York State Assembly, and an Erie County legislator. Schroeder is a lifelong Buffalo resident.

How can policymakers support the transportation industry?
Policymakers have an opportunity to help find balance in the complicated ecosystem that is our transportation industry. Through thoughtful and effective policies, we can support the continued evolution of the industry while protecting consumers and saving lives, which is ultimately our highest priority at the DMV and the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee.

Is there a transportation improvement or project that you hope to see completed in 2025?
Although it won’t be completed in 2025, the new year will bring exciting progress toward the DMV’s multi-year system modernization project that will overhaul the technology we use to support more than 15 million New Yorkers and countless other stakeholders. I look forward to having a state-of-the-art system that will help us deliver best-in-class customer service.

What is the best advice you have received from a mentor?
I’ve had some great mentors over the years. One of which was Mr. Hubbard who was my grammar school principal. He said something to me in 6th grade that has stuck with me for 57 years. He said, “Mark Schroeder, did you do your best today?”

Brendan Sexton has spent nearly 20 years building worker power among low-wage workers. He leads the largest gig worker center, as president of the Independent Drivers Guild, a Machinists Union affiliate representing 300,000 rideshare drivers in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Illinois and Florida. IDG won landmark benefits, higher wages and led the largest protest in gig worker history. Previously, Brendan was organizing director and political coordinator at UFCW 1500, New York’s largest grocery union.

How can policymakers support the transportation industry?
Uber and Lyft drivers and their families are struggling with poverty while the billion dollar rideshare companies make record profits. Drivers need fair pay: an increase to minimum driver pay. The city must also limit new FHV driver licenses to protect workers from oversaturation and establish legal parking zones. 80,000 New Yorkers make their living as rideshare drivers. There is no reason why they should not get fair wages and workplace protections.

Is there a transportation improvement or project that you hope to see completed in 2025?
New York City’s Uber and Lyft drivers face countless obstacles in finding safe places to park for restroom breaks, rest, or simply to pick up or drop off passengers. The city needs to establish accessible relief stands and legal parking zones. Until there’s sufficient parking, stop unfairly ticketing FHV drivers for pick-ups and drop-offs. The city also needs more electric charging stations. Hours spent waiting or searching for stations cuts into work hours and driver income.

Stephen Sigmund has spent 30 years in communications and external relations and has advised some of the nation’s most vital transportation organizations. He is currently chief of public outreach for the Gateway Development Commission. In this role, he is responsible for all public communications on the nation’s most urgent infrastructure project, modernizing and repairing the 115-year-old rail tunnel that links New York and New Jersey, and the rest of the Northeast Corridor.

Is there a transportation improvement or project that you hope to see completed in 2025?
The Hudson Tunnel Project is such a large and complex infrastructure project that it’s broken up into ten different construction packages. Ground broke in 2023 on the first of these packages: a roadway bridge in North Bergen, NJ, that will carry Tonnelle Avenue over the future railway tracks and create an access point for launching the Tunnel Boring Machines. GDC is excited to celebrate the completion of this early but critical construction project in 2025.

What is the best advice you have received from a mentor?
Throughout my career, I’ve been fortunate to have mentors who’ve supported me, including giving good advice. I don’t want to rate one piece of advice as “the best,” but one I remember is that the thing at work that seems the hardest and worst today usually doesn’t matter in 24 hours, and almost never matters a week later. The point was to let problems, criticisms and mistakes at work roll off you. Keep moving forward.

Ken Stewart has served as president and CEO of NUAIR since Dec 2020. Prior to joining NUAIR, Ken held several leadership positions at General Electric Ventures including CEO of AiRXOS, where he led innovation, development, and commercialization of Uncrewed Traffic Management services. In addition to his role at NUAIR Ken is the president of the board for the Commercial Drone Alliance and a member of the Advanced Air Mobility Committee with the National Air Transportation Association.

How can policymakers support the transportation industry?
Policymakers can support this industry by addressing regulations and policies individually and thoroughly. Many new regulations are working to enable opportunity rather than be prohibitive, so understanding how each one either enables or prohibits is key to help move the industry forward.

Is there a transportation improvement or project that you hope to see completed in 2025?
The policy I – and the industry as a whole – would like to see move forward in 2025 is the FAA’s Part 108 Rulemaking. In the most recent FAA Re-Authorization, the Part 108 Rulemaking Process (which addresses standards and regulations for Beyond Visual Line of Sight – BVLOS – operations with small uncrewed aircraft) was supposed to have started September 16th of 2024. Unfortunately, this is yet to happen.

What is the best advice you have received from a mentor?
Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. You know that not everything in life is going to go smoothly, so don’t let emotions like anxiety and fear take control of you.