Axel Hellman
Co-Founder and Special Vice President of Lines at Rally OurBus
A co-founder and I started OurBus, one of the leading brands for intercity bus service in the Northeast. We are a tech and marketing platform and do not actually own any buses—they are contracted out. We recently merged with Rally, another tech platform for bus trips, to become Rally OurBus. I went to college in California (USC) but have been in the NYC area since. If you need a ticket to Boston, Washington, or anywhere else in the region let me know!
1. What is your favorite YPT-NYC memory?
I’ve enjoyed the happy hours in 2021 more than before. After the first couple of lockdowns, this type of human contact was really something I appreciated!
2. If you could snap your fingers and make one change to regional transportation, what would it be?
I’ve become so jaded at the slow pace of progress that it’s hard to think about this! This answer is self-interested, but I would restore the Decamp commuter bus to Port Authority that used to stop on my corner. It has been suspended for 2 years now. I live in the suburbs but before COVID, in the right conditions, I could take that bus and get home in 40 minutes.
3. What sparked your passion to work in the transportation industry?
I was always interested in transportation, but what opened my eyes was doing a summer internship at NJ Transit in the Bus Service Planning department. It taught me a lot that I still use on a day-to-day basis at Rally OurBus.
4. What are you working on that you’re most excited by?
We have a microtransit pilot in-house called OurBus Door to Door.
5. What career advice would you give to other YPT’ers interested in your career path?
Choose a very specific, niche thing that no one else is recognized as an expert in. If you focus on it, it is very easy to become the world’s greatest expert in that one tiny area
6. What famous celebrity do you think should be given the opportunity to voice a NYCT Subway Announcement?
Bernie Sanders. His classic Brooklyn accent would be perfect for this.
YPT-NYC 