Transit California interviewed Sharon Cooney, CEO of San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) and the 33rd Chair of the Association’s Executive Committee.
Transit California: In 2023, you were selected by your peers to serve as Chair of the Association’s Executive Committee, responsible for representing the interests of over 220 transit and rail agencies, ferry operators, transit support groups, national and international transit suppliers, and other government agencies. What are your top priorities for the Association for your term as Chair?
It’s an honor to take the helm as Chair of the California Transit Association, building upon the tremendous milestones reached as an organization and industry in recent years under the leadership of Karen King.
Last year was marked by a formidable effort led by the Association to save public transit from a devastating budget crisis, resulting in a $5.1 billion lifeline from the State of California to recover the ridership agencies lost from the pandemic. California’s public transit industry is taking necessary steps not just to recover, but charting a path forward that is more robust, sustainable and equitable than ever before.
In addition to long-term funding solutions, the Association will focus on supporting agencies in the transition to zero-emission technologies; addressing passenger safety concerns and homelessness on transit; and enhancing workforce development efforts. While the work is expansive, we are keeping the needs of the riders, workers, families, and communities we serve at the core.
As Chair of the Association’s Executive Committee, I will be championing for and furthering these priorities by advocating for state legislation with our leaders in Sacramento.
Transit California: Your ascension to the role of Chair of the Association’s Executive Committee follows years of service to the Association and its members. Among the leadership roles you have held in the Association are Vice Chair of the Executive Committee, Chair of the Finance & Management Committee, Chair of Transit Operations Funding Subcommittee, and Chair of State Legislative Committee. You have also been a member of the Federal Legislative Committee and COVID-19 Transit Crisis Relief Task Force. What has this experience taught you about the Association and its member organizations? How will this experience guide your approach to steering the organization in the years ahead?
During my involvement with the Association, I’ve learned about the power of collaboration. When individual agencies from across the state come together, and we dedicate our focus to carrying out our common goals and interests, we can make tremendous progress toward improving the services we offer. When we improve our systems, all our riders benefit and our communities thrive.
I’ve been fortunate to be a long-serving member in a variety of roles with the Association, allowing me to see the leadership grow, adapt and evolve to meet the moment and face the challenges that have made us the Association we are today. Even more so, I’ve been fortunate to have known those who preceded me, and I’ve gained valuable knowledge working with them over the years. Thanks to the work of the leadership I’ve served with for many years, the future is bright for transit in California.
Transit California: As Chair of the Association’s Transit Operations Funding Subcommittee, you were a central player in the Association’s efforts to deliver $5.1 billion in state funding in the Budget Act of 2023-24 to California’s transit agencies. As our readers know, Governor Newsom’s January budget largely preserved this funding despite a projected $38 billion deficit. As the state’s budget picture continues to worsen, what steps do you believe the Association and our member organizations should take to stave off potential cuts to this vital funding?
As an Association, we need to continue to work together through the budgetary challenges that we’re facing in California. It is up to us as a group to ensure that the future of transit continues to be bright. But additionally, we, as individual agencies, need to reach out to local delegations and our Boards regularly to educate leaders about the challenges we’re facing and the opportunities that transit provides to overcome them. Advocating for and educating on our priorities creates the groundswell of support for transit from local city leaders to county leaders, and up to the state level.
Transit California: You were recently appointed by California State Transportation Agency Secretary Toks Omishakin to the state’s new Transit Transformation Task Force, joining 10 other Association members and Executive Director Michael Pimentel on this important body. What topics are you most excited to address on the Task Force? How will the Association coordinate its broad involvement in the Task Force to ensure the voices of our diverse membership is heard?
There are many areas that I am looking forward to tackling, but if I had to choose just a few it would be the following.
As transit agencies and the state focus on climate change action, one major improvement we are working toward is the implementation of zero emissions buses (ZEB) in our fleets. The ICT requires that all California transit systems transition to ZEB technologies by 2040 to further reduce transit systems’ carbon footprint. Agencies statewide are working to understand the technology’s capabilities and developing transition plans. By working together and making the Transit Transformation Task Force a resource for us all, we’ll be better equipped to reach the goal of fully transitioning to ZEB. Through collaboration, we’re combating climate change and meeting climate action goals for the state.
Another way I believe transit agencies can help meet these climate goals and help build vibrant communities is by investing in transit-oriented developments. By increasing density around transit, we enrich the lives of those who live and work in our communities. These developments give residents an opportunity to balance their daily lives with work, school, social activities, raising families and much more.
As we continue to recover from the economic and workforce effects of the pandemic and as populations in our communities continue to grow, so does the need for a more reliable and frequent public transit service. By focusing on workforce development, we can ensure the needs of the communities are met. But that does not happen overnight. It takes time and dedication to recruit transit operators that are the backbone of our operations. When we recognize the value of operators, we can ensure they remain with transit agencies long-term.
Workforce development also helps transit agencies improve the customer experience in our systems. It helps us improve security efforts, providing a safer riding experience to frequent and occasional transit users. When customers feel safe, transit systems grow and attract more riders into a system that can provide clean and reliable service.
It takes all of us together to achieve this workforce stability, and I look forward to learning from and sharing our learnings with the Task Force.
Transit California: Since 2020, you’ve served as MTS’s CEO, where you lead a transit system that serves 3 million people in San Diego County, with over 2,800 employees and contractors. Your responsibilities include oversight of 63 miles of light rail and 100 fixed bus routes, as well as paratransit services, taxicab administration, and freight rail lines. You took over this enormous, diverse system at the start of the pandemic and navigated the fiscal cliff. How do you envision MTS’s “new normal,” and what are some of the ambitious goals you have set for the agency’s future?
One of my team’s main goals is building ridership back to pre-pandemic levels and beyond. We’re currently at approximately 90% of our pre-pandemic ridership baseline. So, we still have work to do, but I am confident we will do it in the next 18-24 months, thanks in part to SB 125.
As I mentioned previously, MTS is transitioning to an all-ZEB fleet by 2040. Last year we made huge progress in this area. For the first time in agency history, MTS launched an all-electric BRT service Oct. 15. Rapid 227 serves the communities of Otay Mesa, Nestor and Imperial Beach. This new service for MTS features 12 60-foot electric buses, the first articulated electric vehicles in MTS’ fleet. Rapid 227 is a major milestone in the agency’s effort to transition to an all zero-emissions bus fleet by 2040.
With procuring more and more electric buses part of MTS’s fleet development plan, we’re currently working on reconfiguring and “powering up” our existing bus facilities to manage more electric buses. We have four divisions that still need retrofitting for charging capabilities so it’s a top priority in our capital improvement plans. We plan to take a similar approach to these four as we did with our South Bay division for Rapid 227. At this division we built an $8.5 million overhead gantry charging system capable of charging 24 battery-electric buses at a time, and it is expandable to add more charging capacity. Buses can be docked under the gantry in seconds and fully charged in just a few hours. This offers advantages for efficient operations for a clean energy fleet. MTS is the first transit agency to build this type of charging infrastructure in North America.
While transitioning to an all-ZEB fleet is a top priority, we’re also focused on improving the transit experience now. That starts with more service and better service. SB 125 funding will help us to jump start efforts to improve rider experience, make our system even better and attract more riders. More people riding transit means less air pollution, less traffic and more smiling faces. It’s going to be an exciting year for MTS and for transit in California!
Transit California: Like many agency members of the Association, MTS has recently announced a security initiative in response to surveys where riders say they want to feel safer on transit; along with the Association, MTS is also co-sponsoring upcoming state legislation authored by Assemblymember Kevin McCarty to help protect transit workers from assault. Can you talk about some of your expectations and hopes for this initiative and this legislation, and how they go beyond current enforcement policies?
A recent passenger satisfaction survey and focus groups MTS carried out uncovered that riders want to see more security on the transit system. In response, we set out to improve security on our Trolley and bus system.
Last year the MTS Board approved a $4.2 million increase to the security budget to add more Code Compliance Inspectors. Overall, this action will result in a 60% increase in the number of security officers in our system. Additionally, MTS will increase security officer teams and riders can expect to see officers more often during their trip, improving response time. Additionally, we are creating security outposts at our busier transit centers to improve visibility of our security. We’re also making improvements to our stops and stations to keep them safer and cleaner. This includes improved shade and lighting and modernizing the trash collection process.
The implementation of our security initiatives will benefit our entire system. We want our customers to have a wonderful experience while riding so they keep coming back.
Transit California: MTS, like the Association as a whole, has identified equity as the bedrock for providing quality transit services to all Californians. To that end, MTS undertook the Social Equity Listening Tour. Would you please talk about how you helped lead the development and advancement of this tour, as well as the opportunities and possible challenges of implementing the tour’s reported recommendations?
The Social Equity Listening Tour stemmed from the voices in our communities. Social equity in public transit is a challenge that is not unique to MTS, and it can be overlooked at times. SELT was a tool for us to stop and listen to some of our most vulnerable riders to better understand which areas were important to them and to uncover opportunities to address them.
With the feedback we identified needs and priorities within our service area to improve safety and accessibility. Overwhelmingly, we heard that riders wanted to see better amenities in our system. But what did that mean to them? We dug a little deeper to get a better understanding, and here is what the listening tour uncovered.
Riders want to see more bus shelters for shade and protection. MTS is now advancing effort to install an additional 250 bus shelters across system and in disadvantaged communities. This is a 50% increase to our current inventory. Riders also want to feel safer while waiting at bus stops and Trolley stations. As part of our Now Better Transit campaign, we’re working on providing better lighting at stops and stations throughout our system. This will make riders feel more comfortable at night or in the early morning hours.
Additionally, riders raised cleanliness issues at stops and stations. In response, MTS is installing 150 new tech-savvy trash cans in downtown San Diego to keep our stations cleaner and our cleaning operation moving quicker.
Lastly, our riders want to see more visually appealing Trolley stations; they want MTS to create a more inviting climate while waiting for the Trolley. We’re doing this by installing murals along our Trolley lines. By beautifying our spaces, and by collaborating with local artists, we’ll have a better representation of our vibrant communities for everyone to enjoy.
As with anything, we of course have overcome some challenges to make all this possible. It's a process to get all these initiatives moving and off the ground. Many stakeholders want improvements done immediately. But it takes time to ensure certain improvements are done the right way. For example, to install new bus shelters, we must first identify the priority locations along our system. Then, we need to work with our city staff to implement any streetscape improvements necessary for ADA compliance, and other rules and regulations. As many of us know from experience, this takes time to implement.
But this is not a deterrent for MTS to make these improvements. We take on these challenges as a team and overcome them one by one. This ensures our riders feel heard and continue to use our system, and it helps us attract new riders.
Transit California: You’ve been with MTS for nearly 20 years, where you’ve served as director of government affairs, director of planning, chief of staff, and more. How has this varied and longtime service informed your leadership style and priorities as CEO?
I’ve learned that I need to be measured and thoughtful in my decision making. Sometimes that’s not easy. In today’s world, people want information and answers immediately. But decisions made at the CEO level have lasting impacts on the direction of a transit agency. So, being pragmatic with decision-making is something I do whenever possible.
While this is the ideal scenario, sometimes we don’t have that luxury. So, it’s important to have an experienced team that you trust and listen to for recommendations and advice. With the support of my team, I am better able to view the whole picture and set the right priorities that will lead us into a successful future, with riders and employees staying top-of-mind.
Transit California: During your service with MTS, you held a leadership role in several major infrastructure upgrade expansions, including San Diego’s $660 million Trolley Renewal and the $2.1 billion Mid-Coast Trolley Extension. Can you give some insight into how you helped ensure the success of these large-scale projects?
With large infrastructure projects, it must be a team effort. There are so many moving parts – operations, safety, construction, etc. It really is a collaboration of multiple individuals setting out to achieve the same goal, a test of cohesiveness and resilience as a team.
But the internal team effort is only one part of the equation. Strong working relationships across municipalities, SANDAG, contractors, and everyone involved in such a large-scale project is paramount to build something like the Mid-Coast Trolley Extension on time and on budget. There must be a high level of trust and communication to ensure everyone is working together. Without trust and cohesiveness, projects of this magnitude can get derailed quickly. Thankfully, we had a great team for both of these projects and they’ve been great additions to the transit system.
Transit California: MTS serves one of the busiest border crossings in the world, with over 90,000 total northbound crossers and over 20,000 daily pedestrian crossers. Many of these pedestrians rely on MTS’s busy but aging Transit Center to board trolleys and buses for their transit needs. MTS is currently involved in the upgrade and expansion of this facility to the San Ysidro Mobility Hub. What are some of the unique needs for this facility to best serve riders, and what are your hopes for this long-term project?
The San Ysidro Transit Center is the second busiest transit center in the MTS system. It’s also a major binational connection for workers, families and tourists. One of this station's most unique needs is to reduce the interaction between pedestrians, buses and light rail. Currently it is very congested, and space is limited. So, we need to be creative with how we reconfigure. This could include elevated tracks and grade crossings and a more robust mobility hub that has more connections to more services.
I want to see this project be as successful as the Mid-Coast Trolley Extension. I want to see our riders enjoy a transit center that fulfills their transportation needs as they travel across the border for work, school, health appointments, social activities and more.