SPEAKING
Let’s be honest: most people arrive at conference sessions with low expectations. I enjoy proving them wrong.
I speak at conferences, leadership awaydays and board sessions across the transport world, from Oslo to Paris to Vienna, and I have taught on the LSE Cities Executive MSc. What audiences get is stories from inside the system, told by someone who believes the sector’s problems are fixable and can show where to start.
Three talks, ready to go
What is transport integration, and why is it so hard?
Everyone says they want integrated transport. Switzerland has actually built it, and I’ve spent years studying how — including originating Mini Switzerland, the funded national demonstrator bringing Swiss-style integration to the Hope Valley. This talk explains what integration really means, why so many places find it so difficult, and what it takes to deliver it. The audience leaves knowing what to do first.
The characteristics of an innovative organisation
Being an innovative organisation has very little to do with having an accelerator. Drawing on my time leading innovation at TfL, building Sn-ap and benchmarking across both the transport and tech sectors, this talk sets out what genuinely innovative organisations do differently — in their everyday decisions, not their org charts — and provides tools and behaviours you can start using on Monday.
The opportunities and threats of AI in transport
AI will change how transport is planned, operated and experienced, whether the sector is ready or not. This talk cuts through both the hype and the fear: what is actually coming, what it means for transport organisations and their people, and the choices leaders need to make now. It’s the talk that generates the most arguments afterwards, which I consider a feature.
Or something built for you
Most of my bookings are bespoke. Give me your theme, your audience and your problem, and I’ll build a session around it, drawing on a career across rail, coach, urban transport and startups, and on current work with combined authorities, operators and governments. If you want to check whether I can speak credibly on your topic, check out the blog and podcast.
Watch me in action
“𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘴. 𝘏𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤, 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘉𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦, 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦.”
Bernt Reitan Jenssen, CEO at Ruter (Transport Authority for Oslo)
For organisers
Need a bio and photo?
Here’s a bio you can lift straight into your programme:
Most ambitious organisations don't lack ideas.
They lack the confidence to act on the ideas they already have.
Thomas Ableman has spent twenty years inside Britain's public transport system trying to fix that gap — as Commercial Director at Chiltern Railways, as founder of Sn-ap, a venture-capital-backed digital marketplace for intercity travel, and as Director of Strategy & Innovation at Transport for London, one of the world's largest integrated transport authorities.
He now works as a senior adviser and facilitator to chief executives of combined authorities, transport operators and government, helping them move at the pace their ambition deserves.
He originated the Mini Switzerland project, now funded as a national demonstrator for Swiss-style integrated rural transport, writes the Freewheeling blog and hosts the Freewheeling Podcast.
Tell me about your event
Book a call straight into my diary and we’ll create something that makes your event stand out