provided customers with real-time predictive
Fact:
She’s most proud
of being part
of the project
management,
opening and
new operations
of DCTA’s
A-train service.
MassTransitmag.
com/12354855
For more information, visit www.MassTransitmag.com/12362262
22 | Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017
Rock Region METRO proudly
congratulates Director of Operations
Donna Bowers,
2017 Mass Transit
40 Under 40 Honoree.
@rrmetro
rrmetro.org
arrival information through a
smartphone application, SMS text and
on the web. Th e successful launch of
METROtrack was primarily due to her
unwavering dedication to completing
the project on time and error free.
A few months aft er product launch,
she embarked on one of the most aggressive
service modifi cations Rock Region
METRO has undertaken. Armed with
improved data from the METROtrack
system, she and the agency’s planner were
able to formulate service improvement
plan that improved the customer experience
while remaining budget neutral.
She has also implemented an interactive
voice response system to improve
the trip-planning experience for METRO’s
paratransit customers.
DONNA BOWERS BEGAN HER TRANsit
career in 2008 as a temporary administrative
assistant. Since that time, she
has found herself playing critical roles
in the management of a successful commuter
rail startup and modernizing a
transit system in central Arkansas.
As project assistant at the Denton
County Transportation Authority
(DCTA), she completed her undergraduate
degree while supporting the administrative
duties of the Capital Program
Development Department of the agency,
always willing to go above and beyond
to make the DCTA team a success. Her
commitment directly resulted in the successful
design, construction and start-up
of the A-train, a $350M, 21-mile commuter
rail system.
Following the operational start-up
of the A-train, she was promoted to
operations manager for the A-train,
where she continued to grow as a transit
professional.
In Bowers’ fi rst year as director of
operations at Rock Region METRO,
she was responsible for the implementation
of the METROtrack system, which
“I enjoy being part of providing a vital service to the
community and working to improve that service each day.
I love working in the public transit industry because no two
days are ever the same. Each day provides new opportunities
and challenges for learning, improvement and growth.”
Donna Bowers
Director of
Operations
Rock Region
METRO