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Miguel Velazquez
Miguel Velazquez
Miguel Velazquez
Miguel Velazquez
Listen to this articleCEO, RTS
Years in current role: 2
What was the most significant challenge your organization faced in 2024, and how did you address it?
Our most significant challenge was, and continues to be, capacity-building. We experienced an increase in demand from new and existing businesses for access to reliable transportation for their employees, while at the same time addressing our community’s need for more frequent and convenient transportation. With a minimum lead time of 18 months to acquire new vehicles and the continued staffing challenges, we had to be creative in streamlining operations and making tradeoffs in order to deliver on both fronts.
What trends or innovations in your industry do you anticipate having the biggest impact in 2025?
Similar to many other businesses, we see a lot of potential and opportunities with Artificial Intelligence. This technology could be critical in helping us overcome some of our challenges and be more efficient in delivering quality service. Specifically, we are seeing advances in how AI develops schedules, dynamically re-routes buses and alerts customers based on real-time traffic information, for example, when car accidents occur.
What role do you see Rochester playing in your organization’s growth over the next few years?
I’m very excited for what the future holds. Stakeholders across our area are increasingly understanding the value of public transit, especially those who don’t rely on it. This trend, combined with the exciting new energy behind the resurgence of downtown with new businesses, residents and attractions, as well as initiatives to eradicate poverty, will be a tremendous force in the growth and presence of RTS in our community.
What community initiatives or partnerships are you most excited about engaging with this year?
There are several partnership-driven initiatives to look forward to in 2025. From working with the city of Rochester on their Roc Vision-Zero and Inner Loop North projects to partnering with different organizations on our U-Pass (Universal Pass) program to allow employees, clients and students full access to public transportation.
How do you balance fostering innovation while managing day-to-day business operations?
We do this through our annual strategic planning process. We look at our performance, our challenges (current and upcoming) and decide the critical areas we must address and where we want to be in the future.
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This profile is part of our Power 100 list for 2025. Information used in this profile was sourced from the honoree. View the full list at rbj.net. |
