AITPM TMN Chair Q&A

AITPM 2023/2024 Year in Focus

Richard Piotrowski, Technical Principal - Transport Planning & Advisory, SMEC

What do you do in your day job?

I’m based in Perth but I have a national role within SMEC. My job is to build SMEC’s reputation as a leading consultancy in the transport planning sector with a strong reputation for innovation, technical excellence, quality and project delivery. I have a strong interest in transport modelling but I also have several other competencies including public transport planning and transit oriented developments. Mentoring young professionals is also a key component of my role, which I enjoy.

The best thing about my role is meeting and developing lasting relationships with other people in the industry, whether they are clients, colleagues at SMEC, or other members of the transport planning and modelling community. I also enjoy identifying knowledgeable overseas professionals with unique insights who are willing to share their knowledge with the Australian transport planning and modelling community.

Why and how did you get into transport? 

I applied to study civil engineering because most of the highest achievers at my high school were heading in that direction and it seemed like the right thing to do. My father had always wanted to become an engineer, but never had the opportunity to do so due to WWII so he also provided encouragement.

I ended up in Transport Planning due thanks to the support of one of my professors at the University of Waterloo in Canada (Prof John Shortreed). He had worked in London and put me in touch with David Bayliss who was the Director of Planning at London Regional Transport (now Transport for London). In the summer of 1986, I travelled to the UK for a working holiday and was fortunate to get a job as a student at LT. That was my introduction to transport planning and it couldn’t have been a better place to start my career. After graduation, they offered me a permanent position and I spent another year in London in 87/88 prior to coming to Australia for a working holiday.

Why do you volunteer for AITPM and how did you first get involved?

I was working at the WA DoT in 2011 for Craig Wooldridge and he encouraged me to join AITPM and get involved. My good friend Bruce Aulabaugh also had good things to say about it.

What advice would you have for others interested in volunteering with AITPM?

Don’t be afraid to nominate yourself for a division committee, or for the TMN, if you are interested in transport modelling. Submit a conference abstract on a topic that you are passionate about. Be persistent. Don’t take no for an answer. Even if you don’t get accepted on the first attempt, keep trying. You will eventually be successful. Persistence pays off. I would also highly recommend emerging professionals attending the AITPM conference each year (if possible). Even if you must pay for it yourself, the investment will pay dividends later in your career.