Rural and Intercity Bus Systems: How They Connect Us

Across the nation is a robust and interconnected transit system, but it’s not where you think it is. So many of our bus routes connect the rural places between the large metropolitan cities. These intercity bus connections to rural communities are key to helping riders get around. The Transit Council is pleased to host the 2nd in a series of webinars focused on important topics and industry changes.

This panel features leaders in public transit from San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission (Dave Sorrell, TDM-CP), Vermont Agency of Transportation (Dan Currier), and Caltrans (Henry McKay) who are coordinating, operating, and managing rural and intercity bus systems.

Speakers include

• Dave Sorrell, TDM-CP Senior Planner (Bay Area Region), Planning, Grants, & Programming Department San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission, David Sorrell DSorrell@sjrrc.com.
• Daniel Currier Public Transit Program Coordinator, Public Transit Section Vermont Agency of Transportation, Dan.J.Currier@vermont.gov
• Henry McKay, Caltrans Henry.Mckay@dot.ca.gov

Meet the speakers

Daniel Currier
Dan started his State Government career in 2020 after 15 years of working for a regional planning commission in Vermont where he contributed to land-use policies, stormwater design, and transportation planning. His position with the Vermont Agency of Transportation is twofold including as a Public Transit Program Coordinator and the Go! Vermont Program Manager.  The combination of regional planning, environmental and transportation experience contributed to his passion and understanding of public transit and Transportation Demand Management (TDM), and his favorite mode of mobility is e-scooter.

Henry McKay is the Acting Data Science Branch Chief at the Caltrans Division of Data and Digital Services. He oversees initiatives related to project prioritization, transit performance evaluation, access-to-destination modeling, ridership forecasting, and vehicle miles traveled analysis. Previously, Henry worked on SB-743 implementation and state rail planning efforts. He holds a B.S. in City and Regional Planning with a minor in Statistics from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and is passionate about open-source software, transportation and land use metrics, and advancing performance-based planning methods.