Q&A with the City of Philadelphia
This October, NABSA will convene its annual conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The NABSA Annual Conference is the leading global venue for shared micromobility and transportation leaders, practitioners, operators, and equipment and service providers to tackle important issues facing the industry.
We caught up with Waffiyyah Murray, Indego Program Manager at the City of Philadelphia, to talk about the conference, shared micromobility, and more! Here are some of her thoughts:
Q: What is the significance of the conference being hosted in Philadelphia?
A: The theme of this year’s NABSA conference is building community through shared micromobility. This rings true here in Philadelphia because our bikeshare system was built on the values of trust and relationship-building throughout communities. Bikeshare is more than just transportation; it is a tool for access.
Q: What does hosting the conference mean for the City of Philadelphia, and why did you want to host?
A: Bikeshare in Philadelphia is thriving! Our Indego bikeshare program is expanding to reach more communities throughout the city and ridership is at an all-time high. We also have a great public-private partnership with our system operator Bicycle Transit Systems. As the birthplace of the Better Bike Share Partnership (BBSP), we are proud of our work to advance equity and access in shared micromobility and look forward to having our NASBA family here to experience our work firsthand.
Q: What’s your favorite experience from a past conference?
A: “The work that we do is not just about getting people on bikes, but about building community,” this quote is from Keith Benjamin’s keynote at the joint NABSA/BBSP conference held in Portland in 2018. Keith’s keynote address has continued to inspire my work and many others in this industry to this day.
Q: What are you most excited about for the 2024 conference?
A: We are excited to connect with our fellow shared micromobility colleagues and share our growing bikeshare system, bike infrastructure, and amazing community partnerships.
Q: What do you want people to experience in the mobile workshops?
A: Philadelphia is a city rich in history, culture, and art. Our mobile tours have been designed to give attendees a true feel of that. Folks will have a chance to visit the Indego warehouse, travel along our growing bike network, visit historic sites, view beautiful murals, and meet some of the community partners that have helped make our bikeshare system a success.
Q: If there’s one place people should see while they’re in Philly, where should they go?
A: There’s so much to see and do here in Philadelphia, that it’s hard to pick just one thing but I would recommend visiting the Schuylkill River Trail and Schuylkill Banks Boardwalk. These trails provide a breathtaking view of the Philadelphia skyline and waterfront.
Q: What’s a recently completed project that you’re excited to share with conference attendees?
A: Indego is more than halfway through our large-scale bikeshare system expansion allowing us to reach new users and communities throughout the city like never before. We also launched our first Indego Community Advisory Council comprised of long-standing Indego community partners that help advise the Indego team on new initiatives and goals outlined in our 5-Year Equity Plan.
Q: Why do you value your NABSA membership?
A: Our NABSA membership allows us the opportunity to connect with experts in the shared micromobility industry to learn from each other and exchange ideas. NABSA is the #1 source for all things shared micromobility through webinars, toolkits, member spotlights, annual conferences, and more.
For more information and to register for the conference, go to nabsa.net/2024conference.