| Kristy Tu \\ Senior Transportation Engineer & Outgoing YPT-NYC Chair! |
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| I’m a Senior Engineer at Arup, where I work on all projects re: transportation planning – spanning across data analysis, traffic engineering, transit planning and aviation. I’m currently the outgoing Chair of YPT-NYC and a fan of all things transport-related! |
| What’s your favorite YPT memory?How can I choose just one?! I think I may have attended like, 100 YPT events at this point (not to flex too much – I just love YPT!). Tons of my favorite memories are from running events. Standouts to me are hosting the past 2 transportation trivia nights (I live for the booing crowd), reviving the YPT scavenger hunt this year and making people run around New York answering my silly clues, speed networking, and all of our phenomenal tours! |
| If you could snap your fingers and make one change to regional transportation, what would it be?It’s gotta be taking bus reliability and frequency seriously. Flying through Mexico City on a Metrobus, faster than the Metro itself, really opened my eyes to what is possible when you have a laser focus on running efficient service with proper infrastructure. |
| What’s your favorite way to get around the YPT-NYC region?I love indulging in a nice NYC Ferry ride. Particularly the route to Soundview/Ferry Point Park – it’s the most fabulously priced way to see the city. Also, all of the NYC Ferry boats were named by second graders – adorable!I also like the view from the J train. |
| What sparked your passion to work in the transportation industry?I used to be part of a lot of extracurriculars back in high school, and because I’d always miss my school bus, my parents made me take public transit (1 hr or so) instead of picking me up (~10 mins). I had a lot of time to ponder about transit operations and car dependency while I waited for buses running on 30 min headways during snowy Canadian winters. I was also deeply interested in sustainable urban development. At some point, I realized I could get paid to ponder about transit operations and car dependency, so here I am! |
| What are you working on currently that you’re most excited about?For the past year I’ve been working with a team of airport planners on the Vision Plan for the future of Newark Liberty International Airport. It’s been fascinating being immersed in the world of aviation planning and working on a plan that will reshape such a major transprotation facility. |
| Do you have a favorite transportation book, blog, newsletter, podcast, or YouTube channel?I really enjoyed “The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power” by Deirdre Mask – it’s like travel writing and transportation/geographic history all in one. |
| What career advice would you give to other YPTers interested in your career path?I think that my #1 is to always search for the meaning in your work and remembering why it matters. Transportation projects are long and complicated, and that can be deflating and burn people out and lead people to want to take the path of least resistance. But, I think that to achieve some really great things, there are battles worth picking and status quos worth questioning, even if it’s a harder way out. There are so many huge things to tackle out there – righting historic inequities, decarbonizing transportation, tackling the road safety crisis, delivering transportation improvements of all scales – and the world needs people who care deeply about these things to push them forward. |
| What famous celebrity do you think should be given the opportunity to voice a NYCT Subway announcement?Taylor SWIFT!!! |
| What is your favorite transportation-related fun fact or joke?The airport code for Panama City, Florida is ECP, which stands for “Everyone Can Party”. (Not a joke) |
| What upcoming YPT event are you looking forward to the most in 2023?The holiday party, obvi! |
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YPT-NYC 