- One word to describe yourself: Determined
- Alma Mater: East Carolina University
- Favorite TV show: “Live PD”
- Favorite movie: “Star Trek” (movie series)
- Favorite hobby(s): Working out, spending time with my dog, Mocha
- Fun fact about yourself: I have a huge love of water, both the lake and the beach, but can’t swim.
- Favorite station or stop that you have ever visited or frequent (and why): Not in our system, but I was very impressed with the Kansas City Streetcar, the stops on their Main Street. It made the whole experience enjoyable and made their downtown very accessible.
- Favorite route you have ever ridden or frequent (and why): Favorite route was most definitely Pirate Express at ECU Transit after a football game. Everyone was excited and in good spirits.
James Keel’s transit career began his freshman year at East Carolina University where he applied to be a fixed route bus operator for the university. He says he struggled to find a career that held his interest but following a successful project where he built a database for the transportation division to track a variety of items, which was later expanded, he was offered a management position and his career has flourished.
What drew Keel to public transit was the evolving nature of transportation and he wanted to be involved in a service that benefited so many members of the public. Keel believes transportation is critical to provide access and freedom of choice of jobs in his community and has seen the direct benefit of expanded, consistent service.
Keel joined Greenlink/Greenville Transit Authority after receiving his graduate degree. As general manager of Public Transportation, Keel oversaw daily transit operations of fixed route, dispatch, trolley and paratransit service. Keel analyzed performance of transportation functions and recommended modifications to improve. He also evaluated trends in passenger trips and would implement action plans to overcome deficiencies. Working with consultants, Keel and his team completely redesigned Greenlink’s route structure with the 2017 Comprehensive Operators and developed a Transit Development Plan identifying changes in hours of service, frequency and new routes. This plan has led to adding four additional hours of service that will tentatively go into effect in October 2019.
Throughout his career, Keel has looked for opportunities to integrate new technology into fleet operations that increase efficiency, lower costs and improve the ridership experience. Keel spearheaded the Greenlink electric bus program and introduced four, 100 percent zero-emission buses into the fleet. Keel also oversaw the implementation of new Transit ITS system, Paratransit Dispatching & Scheduling System and Transit Mobile Ticketing and Smart Card Payment System.
Keel is also credited with guiding his agency through several grant processes and helped Greenlink transit secure two large grants, including a $1.45 million Low-No Program grant to procure two electric buses and an $11 million Bus and Bus Facilities FTA grant to build a new maintenance facility.
“While in college, I struggled to find a career field that interested me. The entire time, I was working for ECU Transit as a bus operator. Near the end of my bachelors degree, I took on the project to build a database for the division to track a variety of items: late employees, supervisor shift summaries, missed runs, wheelchair counts and complaints. The system grew greatly to handling all employee CDL training, tracking of new hires and disciplinary action. Because of my project, I was offered a management position, where I was able to move through the ranks that gave me the opportunity to work as the Charter Services Manager and manage the first motorcoach program at ECU Transit.”
“My coworkers - hands down [are what I enjoy about my job]. They truly make work enjoyable. We are a young staff, but we lift above our weight class when it comes to productivity. Because we have been so cohesive and productive, we have been able to do great things for Greenville, including overhauling the entire transit route network and implementing a variety of new technology.”
“[The most challenging part of the job] comes down to two problems: a lack of dedicated/sustainable funding and finding and retaining bus operators. Greenlink receives the primary share of its local funding from the city of Greenville and Greenville County. Greenville historically has not placed a priority on public transit but with congestion increasing, gentrification becoming common and a fear of lack of parking, it is starting to become more accepted. In doing so, funding has been difficult to come by, but is increasing. When we compare our system to our peers, we are significantly underfunded. Aside from that, with the shortage of bus operators, it is difficult some days to deliver the service we promise our customers. “
“One of our most crowning achievements was winning a grant to relocate and replace our maintenance facility. Our current facility is too small - only two maintenance bays and we are out of both bus and employee parking. Having the opportunity to design an operations and maintenance facility that will shape the future and set the stage for what the possibilities are is exciting.”
“My area of focus at Greenlink, aside from operations and maintenance, has been innovative technology and project management. That said, I am not a Certified Project Manager but what I have been very successful at is setting expectations, goals and deadlines. We have been successful with so many of our projects because we have been transparent, have a good relationship with our vendors, and have the support of our Board. The best advice I have is to manage your relationships - they are more important than most people know.”
“The exciting thing about transit is something is always changing. There is always a new technology, new software, new bus or new research. So many of the concepts have been the same for years, but have been able to build, grow and develop. At this point, there are few things that another agency hasn’t done - being able to build relationships and have camaraderie with so many in the industry is reassuring.”
