Katharine Kelleman – Port Authority of Allegheny County

“We run the service, but the community owns it.”

Our guest today took her first job right out of graduate school and has been part of five different transit agencies. Katharine Kelleman started her transit career as a transit planner for the City of San Angelo before moving to DART (Dallas), then MTA (Maryland), HART (Tampa), and most recently became the CEO of the Port Authority of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh.

On this episode of Transit Unplugged, Katherine Kelleman talks about the unique properties of running a legacy system that has served transit riders, in some shape or form, since the 1870s. She then elaborates on the Port Authority’s five-part tactical plan, focusing on delivering excellent customer experiences, employee engagement, safety, codifying a financial plan, and creating a comprehensive communication plan. Finally, Kelleman dives into their connected vehicle pilot program and how working with local universities (Carnegie Mellon University and University of Pittsburgh) allows them to use technology to make transit safer and use resources better – building the foundations for a (potential) smart and connected city movement. 

If you want to know more about Port Authority, you can check out their website.

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