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Meet Nuria Fernandez!
Nuria I. Fernandez
General Manager
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
San Jose, CA
Member, APTA Board of Directors; co-chair, Authorization Task Force; member, Legislative, Rail Transit, and Public-Private Partnerships committees
Please describe the scope of your agency.
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) in San Jose, CA, is the public transit provider and congestion management agency for Santa Clara County. With more than 2,000 employees, VTA is responsible for operating, planning, implementing, and constructing transportation improvements, including bus and rail service, the extension of the regional Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system, highways, express lanes, and other related projects.
Our bus and light rail system contributed to nearly 43 million trips this year, serving a county made up of 15 cities and a service area of 348 square miles. This area is also the heart of Silicon Valley, where people from all over the Greater Bay Area and Central Valleys commute to for jobs, education, and other opportunities.
How long have you worked in public transportation?
I have more than 30 years of experience in the transportation field and a professional career that has included planning, design, and construction of mass transit systems, airport operations, and policy development of federal transportation programs. It’s been one year since I first became the general manager and chief executive officer for VTA. Prior to that, I served as the chief operating officer for the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
How long have you been an APTA member? Please describe your involvement.
I have been an active member of APTA throughout my entire transportation career. Over the years, much of my engagement was attending conferences and serving on various committees.
What have you found to be the most valuable APTA benefit or resource? Which one helps you do your job?
APTA excels in bringing large groups of like-minded, motivated people together to solve problems, exchange ideas, and share lessons as well as best practices in all aspects of public transit system operations.Aside from offering support with workforce and professional development programs, APTA is the place to build your network of professionals and pay it forward by participating in programs like Leadership APTA and the Early Career Program.
What do you like most about your job?
It is an exciting and very busy time at VTA—the BART Silicon Valley Project construction is underway, as well as the first BRT line in the entire Bay Area. Also, we have just about completed our first season in serving a brand new sports and entertainment venue, Levi’s Stadium in the city of Santa Clara.
Since I joined VTA last December, there has been openness to exploring different ways of getting things done. This year we are focusing on specific actions, among which are building ridership to improve our current farebox recovery ratio and branding our transportation services throughout the county.
What is unique about your agency? What would readers be surprised to learn?
VTA has accomplished many firsts, and that is a result of the spirit of innovation and initiative that pervades the technological center of the world.We hosted our first “hackathon” in October 2014, gathering bright minds from around Silicon Valley to spend two days developing ways to make the transportation experience better using technology and open data. Another first for VTA was becoming the first system in the world to offer 4G Wi-Fi on board all 100 light rail vehicles.
Another unique feature of our agency is the people it serves. Here in the hub of Silicon Valley, our forward-thinking residents know and understand the importance of making things happen. That’s why Santa Clara County was the first “Self-Help County” in California, meaning that our voters taxed themselves to support transportation.
Since that first sales tax in 1976, voters in Santa Clara County have passed four more taxes to support capital programs and public transit service, enabling VTA to undertake the extension of BART Silicon Valley, as well as build highways, expand transit services, and fund operations and maintenance of our transit system.
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