NED B. EINSTEIN
New York, NY 10004
Facsimile: (212) 766-1122
E-mail: einstein@transalt.com
Directed and supervised all technical and business activities of a broad-based transportation consultancy (Transportation Alternatives) serving municipalities, private contract operators, social service agencies, transit authorities and school districts. Concurrently, created an directed the operations of a transportation service company (PTS Transportation) and the U.S. distributor of a line of European-manufactured buses (TAM-USA). Provided expert witness services on more than 200 lawsuits.
1980 – Present
As its initial project, Transportation Alternatives directed the U.S. Department of Transportation’s first comprehensive study of demand-responsive transportation systems, resulting in USDOT’s publication of TA’s three-volume manual on paratransit planning and system design.
TA subsequently designed several of Southern California’s most unique and sophisticated paratransit systems for elderly and disabled individuals, including the City of Los Angeles’ initial VALTRANS program and multi-operator systems for Santa Monica, Pasadena and several social service agencies. TA also designed a timed-transfer “pulse” transit system for a suburban community (Carson) and, almost a decade later, redesigned it to become the nation’s only transit system directed primarily at the transportation of schoolchildren, integrating it with service to the general public and intersecting 13 municipal bus lines and passenger rail service. TA also prepared five municipal transit plans, conducted a number of coordination and consolidation studies, and engaged in dozens of other planning and design projects for a range of public- and private-sector clients
In 1982, Transportation Alternatives began serving as the technical consultant to a multi-provider paratransit brokerage system and, subsequently, a 70-vehicle paratransit operation and non-emergency medical transportation service (see PTS Transportation below).
Among TA’s consulting efforts in the last decade:
Since 1989, I also served as an expert witness/consultant to attorneys and insurance companies in more than 225 accident- or incident-related law suits involving wrongful death, personal injury and class actions. In these efforts, I assisted attorneys and insurance carriers representing a range of public agencies, transit agencies, private contractors, school districts, labor unions, social service agencies, vehicle manufacturers, dealers, equipment manufacturers, bus drivers, and other individuals -- as well as scores of attorneys filing claims against this same range of parties.
1982 – 1992
In 1982, I formed a transportation service company which was awarded a contract to design, and serve as the initial broker of, a multi-modal paratransit system transporting elderly and disabled residents of Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley. PTS certified and transported 12,000 clients, selected subcontractors and directed their operating activities, designed “skeleton” routes and schedules, and monitored a $2M operating budget.
In 1983, PTS began the operation of its own paratransit system serving physically and developmentally disabled residents of the San Fernando Valley. This 15-vehicle system quickly grew into a 70-vehicle operation employing 125 individuals, providing 2,200 trips daily, and grossing $6M -- including our expansion of service into the Antelope Valley. In 1988, PTS began providing non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) service to hospitals and medical centers throughout Los Angeles County, beginning with seven additional vehicles and utilizing common “spares” from the existing San Fernando Valley fleet. Finally, PTS expanded to provide subcontract service to disabled clients of charter service and limousine companies, and corporate clients, as well as shuttle service to churches and other organizations on both regular and charter bases.
1989 - 1995
TAM-USA
With initial support from Fortune 200 company Combustion Engineering (subsequently acquired by Asea Brown Boveri), Transportation Alternatives created a U.S.-Yugoslav joint venture company, TAM-USA, which (following Slovenia’s independence) became the first U.S.-Slovene Joint Venture Company. Leveraging more than $8M in development capital from two Slovene partners and a loan from the Slovene government, TAM-USA became the North American distributor of all TAM truck and bus products. (Body maker AM-BUS joined the venture in 1990 as the third partner.)
As minority partner, TA served officially as the technical and marketing consultant to TAM-USA. As TAM-USA’s Chairman and Vice President, I formed a User Design Committee including representatives from USDOT, National Safety Council, umbrella organizations representing both school districts and private contractors, four State Directors of Pupil Transportation, several local school district directors, and the nation’s five largest school bus contractors (Laidlaw, Ryder, Mayflower, VANCOM and Durham). Under my direction, the UDC provided comprehensive design input into the transformation of a European motorcoach vehicle envelope into a USDOT-certified school bus. Following Slovenia’s independence, the collapse of our two major West Coast school bus competitors, and other difficult business challenges, we designed and introduced a single-rear-axle motorcoach into the U.S. market, and successfully sold a dozen of them in 1993 -- barely four years after the original joint venture was formed. In the beginning of 1994, we sold another 30 motorcoaches which were never delivered as a result of the liquidation of parent-companies TAM BUS and Avtomontaza by the Slovene government following the nation’s transition to democracy.
Despite TAM-USA’s short lifespan and limited commercial success, I succeeded in getting photographs on the cover of two issues of School Bus Fleet magazine, and an issue of National Bus Trader magazine, along with numerous articles, photographs and advertising in School Bus Fleet, School Transportation News, National Bus Trader and Bus Ride. A lengthy article about the TAM-USA project, focusing on its transition from the school bus to motorcoach market, was published in East European Investment magazine (September, 1993). I directed all TAM-USA advertising and public relations activities, include the design of all advertising copy.
As a result of these activities, TAM-USA began exporting U.S. and Canadian automotive components to TAM BUS for inclusion in vehicles designed and exported for Western European, Eastern European and North African markets. The TAM-USA effort was also responsible for helping to introduce a number of automotive components from a number of major U.S. companies -- including Rockwell and Cummins -- into the bus markets in Russia, Israel, Croatia and Slovenia.
I prepared the summary of the National Survey of the Transportation Handicapped submitted to Congress -- which, years later, formed one of the bases for the transportation sections of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). I conducted a comprehensive survey of the impacts of the Federally-required “half fare provision” for elderly and disabled riders on transit ridership and revenue. And I served as the principal investigator and author of a USDOT-funded study of barriers to the diffusion of innovation in the transit industry.
1976, 1977
PUBLIC
TECHNOLOGY, INC.
I supervised a staff of eight planners, helped coordinate activities for the Urban Consortium of Technology Initiatives (members included U.S. cities with populations over 500,000), and edited technical documents prepared for number of studies funded by the USDOT’s Office of the Secretary and its Urban Mass Transportation Administration (currently the Federal Transit Administration). I also designed, and served as Project Manager and Acting Director for, the USDOT/APTA-sponsored National Conference on Transit Performance (September, 1977).
LINTON & COMPANY
Planning Associate
I helped prepare a Unified Work Program outlining the planning and programming activities conducted by the Illinois Department of Transportation.
EDUCATION
M.U.R.P., George Washington University, Urban and Regional Planning, 1975
B.A., English Literature, Rutgers University, 1969
PUBLICATIONS
“State by State Variation in Crossing Procedures: Part 2: Liability. School Transportation News, August, 2011.
“State by State Variation in Crossing Procedures: Part 1, Introduction.”School Transportation News, July, 2011.
“The Last Minority.” National Bus Trader, July, 2011.
“Beware your Cousins’ Idiosyncrasies.” National Bus Trader, June, 2011.
“Gridlock, Backlash and Impunity.” National Bus Trader, May, 2011.
“Dreams, Illusions and Folly.” National Bus Trader, April, 2011.
“Means and Ends.” National Bus Trader, March, 2011..
“Snake Eyes and Slivers.” National Bus Trader, July, 2010
"Humps and Bumps.” National Bus Trader, February, 2011.
“Jayne Mansfield and Mythology.” National Bus Trader, January, 2011.
“Running and Cycle Time, Redux.” National Bus Trader, December, 2010.
“New Thinking about Crossing Safety.” School Transportation News, December, 2010.
“Crossing and Double-Crossing.” National Bus Trader, November, 2010.
“When Enough is Enough.” National Bus Trader, October, 2010.
“When Enough is Enough.” National Bus Trader, October, 2010.
“One Strike You’re Out.” National Bus Trader, September, 2010.
“Courting Liability Leviathans.” National Bus Trader, August, 2010.
“Snake Eyes and Slivers.” National Bus Trader, July, 2010
“Directing the Students Across.” School Transportation News, July, 2010.
“The Importance of Analysis.” National Bus Trader, June, 2010.
“Negligent Retention and Driver Impunity.” National Bus Trader, May, 2010.
“Holes in HOS Regulations and Why We Need to Plug Them.” National Bus
“Holes in HOS Regulations and Why We Need to Plug Them.” National Bus
“Flashers, Signals and Recognition: Part 4:” School Transportation News, April, 2010.
“Flashers, Signals and Recognition: Part 3: School Transportation News, March, 2010
“Stairways, Escalators and Expectations.” National Bus Trader, March, 2010.
“Flashers, Signals and Recognition: Part 2: School Transportation News, February, 2010
“Isolation, Perspective and Misplaced Pride.” National Bus Trader, February, 2010.
“Flashers, Signals and Recognition: Part 1: School Transportation News, January, 2010
“The Creep of Common Carrier Status.” National Bus Trader, January, 2010.
“Operators, Lawyers and Underwriters.” National Bus Trader, December, 2010.
“Ten Stunning Accomplishments in Buses and Motorcoaches and their Operations.” National Bus Trader. November, 2009.
“Top Ten most Stupid Things about Buses, Motorcoaches and their Operations.” National Bus Trader, October, 2009.
“Blocking the Windshield, Compromising the View.” School Transportation News, September, 2009.
“Holes in Hours of Service and Why We Must Plug Them.” National Bus Trader, September, 2009.
“Experience and Memory.” National Bus Trader, August, 2009.
“Recession and Opportunity.” National Bus Trader, July, 2009.
“Bus Stops and Land Mines.” National Bus Trader, June, 2009.
“Blocking the Windshield, Compromising the View.” School Transportation News, May, 2009.
“Competitive Contracting, Exploitation and Impunity.” National Bus Trader May, 2009.
“Uncommon Carriers.” National Bus Trader, April, 2009.
“The Runaway Bus.” National Bus Trader, March, 2009.
“Negligent Retention.” National Bus Trader, February, 2009.
“Some Things you should Know about Seat Belts.” National Bus Trader, January, 2009.
“Double the Passengers, Double the Responsibility: Part 2.” National Bus Trader,
December, 2008.
“Flashers, Signals & Recognition.” School Transportation News, November, 2008.
“Double the Passengers, Double the Responsibility: Part 1.” National Bus Trader, November, 2008.
“Bus Positioning and Alignment.” School Transportation News, October, 2008.
“Zeal and Disparity.” National Bus Trader, October, 2008.
“Tiny Buttons and Fat Wallets.” National Bus Trader, September, 2008
“Sharing the Stop, Sharing the Blame.” School Transportation News, September, 2008.
“Repositioning and Regret.” National Bus Trader, August, 2008
“Who Needs to be on the School Bus.” School Transportation News, July, 2008
“A Mile in Their Wheelchairs.” School Bus Fleet, July, 2008.
“Controlling the Gray Zone.” National Bus Trader, July, 2008.
“Second Doors and Second Chances.” National Bus Trader, June, 2008
“The Steel Wave.” School Transportation News, May, 2008.
“Footsie and Patsy.” National Bus Trader, May, 2008.
“Compromising Safety to Reduce Liability Exposure.” School Transportation News, April, 2008.
“Buses and Bikes – Mass, Visibility and Unfair Fights.” National Bus Trader, April, 2008.
“The Enigma of the Non-Yellow Schoolbus.” School Transportation News, March, 2008.
“Precision and Virtuosity.” National Bus Trader, March, 2008.
“Just Being There.” National Bus Trader, February, 2008.
“Bad Evidence, Bad Faith.” National Bus Trader, January, 2008.
“Civil Rights and Common Sense.” National Bus Trader, December, 2007.
“Stop Positioning and Crossing Orientation.” School Transportation News, November, 2007.
“Causation and Blame.” National Bus Trader, November, 2007
Retrograde and Retrofits.” School Transportation News, October, 2007.
“Alcohol and Public Policy.” National Bus Trader, October, 2007.
“Crossing to the Stop and Along the Path.” School Transportation News, September, 2007.
““Previews and Precursors.” National Bus Trader, September, 2007.
“Fatality Case Depicts Relationship of School Bus Stops to Student Security: Part
2.” School Transportation News, August, 2007.
“Responsibility and Control.” National Bus Trader, August, 2007.
“Safety and Security: Part 1.” School Transportation News, July, 2007
“Structure and Communications.” National Bus Trader, July, 2007.
“Distinguishing between the Bus Stop and Waiting Area.” School Transportation News, June, 2007.
“For Want of a Door.” National Bus Trader, June, 2007.
“Evaluating Bus Stops.” School Transportation News, May, 2007.
“Getting Off the Bus.” National Bus Trader, May, 2007.
“The Case for Forward-Facing Seats.” National Bus Trader, April, 2007.
“Serendipity and Survival.” National Bus Trader, March, 2007.
“Passenger Versus System Choice.” National Bus Trader, February, 2007.
““Who Picks the Stops.” School Transportation News, February, 2007.
“Minding the Store.” National Bus Trader, January, 2007.
“Who We Are and What We Do.” School Transportation News, January, 2007.
“Crossing: Things to Come.” School Transportation News, December, 2006.
“Negligent Filing.” National Bus Trader, December, 2006.
“Buying Tomorrow’s Buses Today: Part 9: Accessibility and Securement.”
National Bus Trader, November, 2006
“Buying Tomorrow’s Buses Today: Part 8: Enhanced Visibility.” National Bus Trader, October, 2006
“Buying Tomorrow’s Buses Today: Part 7: Illumination and Visibility.” National Bus Trader, September, 2006
“Buying Tomorrow’s Buses Today: Part 6: Crash Avoidance and Protection.”
National Bus Trader, July, 2006
“Buying Tomorrow’s Buses Today: Part 5: Seating.” National Bus Trader, July, 2006
“Buying Tomorrow’s Buses Today: Part 4: Stepwells.” National Bus Trader, June, 2006
“Buying Tomorrow’s Buses Today: Part 3: Doors.” National Bus Trader, May, 2006.
“Buying Tomorrow’s Buses Today: Part 2: Structures and Suspension Systems”
“Clearing the Mirrors.” National Bus Trader, March, 2006
“Buying Tomorrow’s Buses Today: Part 1: Introduction.” National Bus Trader, February, 2006
“The Old Heave-Ho.” National Bus Trader, January, 2006.
“Availability and Usage.” National Bus Trader, December, 2005
“Knowing Your Passengers.” School Transportation News, November, 2005.
“Plans, Preparation and the S-Word.” National Bus Trader, November, 2005
“Competitive Bidding and Competitive Safety.”
National Bus Trader, October,
2005.
“Sights and Sounds.” National Bus Trader,
September, 2005.
“Instinct and Indignation.” National Bus
Trader, August, 2005.
“Pretense and Indifference.” National Bus
Trader, July, 2005.
“The Seven Deadliest Sins.” National Bus
Trader, June, 2005.
“Smiting the Passengers.” National Bus
Trader, May, 2005.
“Latitude and Longitude.” National Bus
Trader, April, 2005.
“Safety and Liability.” National Bus
Trader, March, 2005.
“GVWR in the Fast Food Nation.” National
Bus Trader, February, 2005.
“Frivolity and Frustration.” National Bus
Trader, January, 2005.
“Seating and Securement.” National Bus
Trader, December, 2004.
“Blocking the Windshield, Missing the Point.”
National Bus Trader, November, 2004.
“Running Time and Cycle Time.” National
Bus Trader, October, 2004.
“Training the Trainers.” National Bus
Trader, September, 2004.
“The Documentation Dilemma.” National Bus
Trader, August, 2004.
“Defensive Non-Driving.” National Bus
Trader, July, 2004.
“Common Carriers and Common Passengers.” National
Bus Trader, June, 2004.
“Optimizing the Mix of Dedicated and
Non-Dedicated Paratransit Services.” In Proceedings of the Bus and
Paratransit Conference.
American Public Transportation Association
(May, 2004).
“Cheap
and Portable Evidence.” National Bus Trader, May, 2004.
“Doing the
“Common Signage and Common Sense.” National
Bus Trader, March, 2004.
“Limits of Liability in Time and Space.” National
Bus Trader, February, 2004.
“Evidence and Effort.” National Bus Trader,
January, 2004.
“Life Cycle Costing.” National Bus Trader,
December, 2004.
“Blackouts and Black Eyes: The Eastern
Blackout of August 14.” National Bus Trader, November, 2003).
“Raising the Bar on Small Vehicle Safety.” National
Bus Trader (October, 2003).
“Pulling to the Curb.” National Bus Trader
(September, 2003)
“Pi R Squared.” National Bus Trader
(August, 2003)
“Hours of Service Changes for the Trucking
Industry: An Overview.” National Bus Trader (July, 2003)
“Parking on the
“The Case for Forward-Facing Seats” (with Dr.
Anil Khadilkar). In Proceedings of the Bus and Paratransit Conference.
American Public Transportation Association
(May, 2003). Re-printed in National Bus Trader, April, 2007.
“Doors and Stepwells.” National Bus Trader
(May, 2003)
“The Death Raft.” National Bus Trader
(April, 2003)
“Accidents Motorcoaches Do NOT Have.” National
Bus Trader (March, 2003)
“The Multipurpose Bus.” National Bus
Trader (February, 2003)
“The Wages of Negligence.” National Bus
Trader (January, 2003).
“Fatigue Monitoring Reality.” National Bus
Trader (December, 2002).
“Fatigue Monitoring Technology.” National
Bus Trader (November, 2002).
“Harassment.” National Bus Trader
(October, 2002).
“Safety and Fares.” National Bus Trader
(September, 2002).
“Seating and Securement.” National Bus
Trader (August, 2002).
“Classifications of Service.” National Bus
Trader (July, 2002).
“Chameleon Safety and Liability.” National
Bus Trader (June, 2002).
“Reviewing Drivers’ Logs.” National Bus
Trader (May, 2002).
“Progressive Driver Assignment in the
“Man’s Best Friend.” National Bus Trader
(April, 2002).
“Renegades and Risks.” National Bus Trader
(March, 2002).
“Sleep and Mythology.” National Bus Trader
(February, 2002).
“Fatigue and
“The Mysterious Force.” National Bus
Trader (December, 2001).
“The Training Conundrum.” National Bus
Trader (November, 2001).
“Progressive Driver Assignment.” National
Bus Trader (October, 2001)
“Knowledge and Perception.” National Bus
Trader (September, 2001).
“The Price of Digital Madness.” National
Bus Trader (August, 2001)
“Playing Zone Defense.” National Bus
Trader (July, 2001).
“A Time to Surrender.” National Bus Trader
(June, 2001).
“Indirect Accidents – Data Vacuum and
Liability Bonanza.” In Proceedings
of the Bus and Paratransit Conference. American Public Transportation
Association (May, 2001).
“Sequencing Decisions in Paratransit System
Design.” In Proceedings of the Bus and Paratransit Conference. American
Public Transportation Association (May, 2001).
“Liability Flashpoints in Transit and
Paratransit Operations.” In Proceedings of the Bus and Paratransit
Conference. American Public Transportation Association (May, 2001).
“Defending Against Law Suits – A New
Operating Function.” National Bus Trader (May, 2001).
“Accommodating Schoolchildren on Public Transit.” In Proceedings of the Bus and Paratransit Conference. American Public Transportation Association (May, 2000).
“Accident Analysis and Legal Defenses.” In Proceedings of the Bus and Paratransit Conference. American Public Transportation Association (May, 2000).
“Principles of Paratransit System Design.” In Proceedings of the Bus and Paratransit Conference. American Public Transportation Association (May, 2000).
“Crossing in Front of the Bus.” School Transportation News (March, 2000): 29, 30.
“The Hard Truth about Law Suits.” School Transportation News (January, 2000): 15-19.
“Why Seat Belts Should Not be Installed on Large School Buses.” School Transportation News (May, 1999): 18, 19.
"How the School Bus Community Became Involved in the Olympics." School Transportation News (November, 1996): 2,3.
"Getting Started, Getting Help." (Dateline: NCTA, April, 1996)
"Good News About Wheelchairs and Transportation." Exceptional Parent (March, 1996): 57, 58.
Part
I: General Comments and Conclusions; Part II: Specific Conclusions and
Recommendations. (for Pavlovo Bus Factory,
Map
and Schedule for
"Guidelines for Using Transportation Services." Exceptional Parent (September, 1995)
"Transit's Role in Student Transportation: Partnerships in the Transportation of Students" (with Ron Kinney). (Presented to, and adopted by, the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services, 1995)
"Accommodating the Perceptual Limitations of Schoolchildren on Public Mass Transit: The European Model." School Transportation News (November, 1994): 8,9.
City
of
City
of
City
of
City
of
City
of
Mixed Mode Cost Comparison. (Privatization study submitted to the Pomona Valley Joint Powers Authority, Pomona, California, 1983)
Evaluation of the Feasibility of Coordinating or Consolidating Social Service Agency Paratransit Services on Los Angeles County's "West Side." (For the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission, 1983)
Performance
Audit of the
Mixed
Mode Comparison:
Study
of the Consolidation or Coordination of Social Service Agency Paratransit
Services in
Special
Paratransit Service for Elderly and Handicapped Persons: Vol. 1, Case
Studies. Vol. 2, Operational Experiences. Vol. 3, Decision Manual
for System Design.
Barriers
to the Diffusion of Innovation in the Transit Industry.
Alternative
Work Schedules: An Information Bulletin.
Transit
Productivity: An Information Bulletin.
Ed. Proceedings
of the National Conference on Transit Performance.
Ed. Priority
Treatment for High Occupancy Vehicles.