Terry Garcia Crews
Chief Executive Officer & General Manager
Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority/Metro
Cincinnati, OH

How many people do you employ? 834.

How long have you worked in the public transportation industry? 26 years.

How long have you been an APTA member?
I’ve been a member of APTA for 26 years. When you associate with an organization like APTA and all that it offers, it made sense for every agency I've worked for to remain a member!

I currently serve as vice chair of APTA’s Medium-Sized Transit Operations Committee and have been asked to serve on the Workforce Development Task Force and the Nominating Committee. Previously, I served as an APTA regional board director and a member of several APTA committees, including the Diversity Council.

What drew you to a career in public transportation?
The challenge of delivering a critical service to our community sparked my interest in public transportation.

My first position was marketing director for Sun Tran in Tucson, AZ. I found it to be extremely challenging because it's a product you typically don't buy off the shelf like Kellogg's Corn Flakes. From a marketing standpoint, I found it satisfying to be able to convince the public that transportation is a viable alternative, and to see ridership numbers grow.

After being a communications professional for a while, though, I decided to be a consultant and found transportation to be my niche. I worked as a consultant developing marketing plans, advertising and public relations campaigns, and overall strategic plans for clients on both coasts. But that role required a lot of travel, which made it difficult on my young children, so when Sun Tran asked me to become their assistant general manager, I returned to the public sector.

From Tucson, I took on an interim assignment in Poughkeepsie, NY, and quickly hired a general manager after spending November and December in the snow. Next I went to Lexington, KY, and Austin, TX—all as the CEO/GM. And now I'm in Cincinnati, OH. My family doesn't like me to call a “family meeting” because they think we might be moving again!

All these opportunities have garnered me great professional development. I have found my experiences to be worthwhile. Working in multi-dimensional organizations results in financial sustainability, service improvements, organizational culture change, improvements in labor and employee relations, and growth in stakeholder support.

What have you found to be the most valuable APTA benefit or resource—that helps you do your job?
There are a lot of aspects and resources that are valuable. I find the Legislative Updates to be very timely and informative, and the marketing support that APTA provides extends our ability to market public transit. But most importantly, it's the power of APTA in bringing transportation systems together to address legislative and overall industry challenges.

Please explain why or how this has helped.
A prominent example of APTA’s value is the recent legislative battle we had with the transportation bill. When APTA rallied everybody together on a conference call and really put people into action—that made me take a moment to pause and say: “Wow!” We definitely have leverage as an industry and a group—and it was the collective effort led by APTA that made us so successful in changing mindsets.

What do you like most about your job?
I love the changing environment, of serving a multitude of stakeholders. I enjoy seeing our buses roll down our city streets, knowing that we are making a difference. We are the link to financial sustainability by connecting people to jobs and other transportation purposes.

In addition to our contribution to economic development, I especially appreciate our employees on all levels—they are an important part of our Metro team. I have an open-door philosophy, and I welcome the opportunity to talk with and mentor employees. It’s very rewarding to see employees grow and take on additional responsibilities as they develop their own role within our industry.

What is unique about your agency?
At Metro, we have a true culture of diversity. We feel so strongly about inclusion that we have a diversity statement endorsed by our executive team. Further, this effort is supported by our Diversity Council. Our hiring practices and career growth opportunities reflect our commitment to diversity.

We have three women in the top three positions in our organization: chief executive officer, chief operating officer, and chief financial officer. Although it’s unique in the industry right now, I think we are building the bridge to make it a more common occurrence in the future. But it is not just gender-based: Metro’s executive team represents a broad array of cultural backgrounds.

Make sure you see Terry Garcia Crews' video, now that you've read this!