On Board With... Rachel Ede

Transit California sat down with Rachel Ede, Deputy Director of Transportation and Public Works at the City of Santa Rosa and a member of the Association's Executive Committee.

Transit California: You serve as Deputy Director of Transportation and Public Works at the City of Santa Rosa in Northern California, a department you've worked in since 2011. The department's Transit Division operates a fleet of 29 vehicles, maintains over 400 bus stops, and manages paratransit services, in addition to supporting a wide range of City planning and multi-modal transportation initiatives. During your service, how has operating your small transit agency changed over the years?

Not to sugarcoat the pre-COVID days but I think most transit operators would agree that funding, regulatory, and operating environments have become increasingly complex for transit operators of all sizes over the past several years. In Santa Rosa we are also navigating evolving challenges in the areas of workforce recruitment and retention, vehicle procurement and maintenance, and safety and security. For the time being a greater share of our organizational focus and energy (as well as budget!) must be spent on shoring up the fundamental elements of transit service delivery as opposed to some of the new projects and programs we would like to deliver to better meet the needs of our community.

That said, there have been some positive developments during the COVID pandemic and its aftermath, including a renewed commitment to coordination and integration among transit operators, and in our region, a marked shift from an operator-specific to network approach in several functional areas of transit service delivery. Our team is heavily invested in work with our transit partners in Sonoma County and the Bay Area to better integrate our services to build a more effective transit system.

Transit California: What challenges and opportunities do you anticipate in the short- and long-term for your agency and other small operators?

Small operators, like many larger agencies, are facing challenges related to funding uncertainty and rising costs for labor, contracted services, and vehicle procurement and maintenance, among other areas. Operators throughout the state are struggling with costs to deliver much-needed services that are outpacing operating revenues. While many small operators are enthusiastic about transitioning to zero emissions fleets, the capital investments involved are daunting, and there are many challenges related to deployment and powering of fueling infrastructure and successfully incorporating ZEVs into transit fleets in keeping with the requirements of the Innovative Clean Transit rule. As with many other operators, in Santa Rosa we've weathered an acute shortage of bus operators and maintenance staff over the past several years, as well as new challenges with maintaining safety and security on our system in the face of increased incidents involving members of the public experiencing mental illness or addiction. These are all long-term issues with short-term impacts, and many go beyond our industry's ability to address on our own. Continued effort, collaboration, creativity, and advocacy will be required.

In terms of opportunities, I believe there is much we can do to address these issues, and that collaboration is the key. During my nearly 25 years in transit I have witnessed the incredible ability of our industry to rise to meet a range of challenges by working together. It is one of the reasons I love working in the transit industry, and why organizations like CTA are so important.

Transit California: Your agency has dealt with its share of emergency preparedness and response, including for evacuations during multiple recent wildfires. What does your agency do to ensure it's ready to respond during regional emergencies? Generally speaking, what role do you see transit taking in the emergency preparedness and response policy arena?

We are fortunate to be housed within a city organization that has a robust emergency management program with emergency preparedness trainings and exercises occurring throughout the year along with regular updates to continuity of operations plans. CityBus has a seat in the City's Emergency Operations Center and our team actively coordinates with our county Operational Area, our paratransit service contractor, and other transit operators in our region on planning and preparedness for critical transportation services during emergencies. Our employees complete SEMS/NIMS training during onboarding, receive starter "go bags" to promote their personal emergency preparedness, and are registered on a text-based communication platform used to check in on and provide direction to staff during emergencies. Less tangible but equally important is the culture we strive to create in the Transit Division and the City organization as a whole, which is focused on service to the community in whatever form is required in a particular situation.

In terms of emergency preparedness/response policymaking, transit operators' voices and experiences are essential to the conversation. Transit agencies have the staff, training, deep community knowledge, and resources to play a unique role in emergency response, in many cases assisting some of the most vulnerable members of our community. Many transit operators around the state have had firsthand experience with emergency operations in recent years and should be engaged in any policy discussions that impact transit operations during emergencies to ensure we have the workforce, vehicles, training, and resources to respond effectively, continue to serve our communities, and keep our staff safe.

Transit California: You were recently elected to the Association's Executive Committee, which sets policy for the Association and directs the Association's staff. How will your perspective as an experienced leader of a Small Operator transit agency help inform the work of the Executive Committee? What are some of your goals for serving on the Committee?

While I will bring my experience managing Santa Rosa CityBus to my work on the Executive Committee, as a Small Operator representative to the Committee I look forward to drawing from the experience and perspectives of my colleagues on the Small Operators Committee and the smaller operator community at large, as well as my experience working with agencies throughout the state as a consultant prior to joining the City of Santa Rosa. As manager of Santa Rosa CityBus I have the specific perspective of the manager of directly-operated small system in a large urbanized area. My work with the Small Operators Committee continues to make me better informed about challenges and opportunities for operators serving smaller urban and rural areas, as well as specific issues impacting operators in other regions. I hope to represent these varied perspectives in my role on the Executive Committee.

Transit California: You're currently serving in your fourth term on the Association's Small Operators Committee, which provides a forum for small operator issues. Can you share some of the longstanding concerns of the Association's small operators that policymakers should consider in 2025 and beyond?

TDA reform remains a high priority for small operators within the policy arena, along with ensuring that we have the resources to maintain our workforce and sustain and expand our services to meet our communities' needs into the future. In addition, it's critical that small operator perspectives and realities are represented in state-level policymaking related to implementation of SB 125 and the work of the Transit Transformation Task Force, as well as in the continued implementation of the Innovative Clean Transit Rule. While there are many other policy areas of interest to small operators, these are the topics that continually rise to the top during my conversations with my small operator colleagues.

Transit California: You served as Chair of the Small Operators Committee during the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic, and you were part of the Association's COVID-19 Transit Crisis Relief Task Force. How did the Small Operators Committee contribute to the Association's pandemic response?

I became Chair of the Small Operators Committee just as COVID was hitting. Sometime in January 2020 I started googling reports on public transit responses to pandemics to get an idea of what we might be dealing with. Actions like mask mandates and social distancing on buses seemed inconceivable at the time, but not for long. As we all navigated a world turned upside down, the Small Operators Committee met frequently to support the Association's work related to pandemic-related funding impacts, distribution of federal COVID relief, implementation of public health orders and Cal/OSHA requirements, and efforts to secure vaccinations for frontline transit employees. I am truly grateful for the dedication of Committee members during this time, when many were stretched so thin managing their transit systems' COVID response.

One item I am particularly proud of is the Committee's decision to recognize frontline transit workers as the 2020 Small Operators Committee Transit Professionals of the Year. With fantastic support from CTA staff and the small operator community, a short video was created to highlight the extraordinary contributions of our agencies' frontline workers in responding to the pandemic. This video was widely shared and incorporated into recognition programs for transit staff throughout the state.

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.