BEST PRACTICES
E AT THE CORPUS CHRISTI REgional
Transportation Authority
(CCRTA) have many diff erent opportunities
to help employees further their
professional learning in their fi eld. When
the average person thinks of transportation
all they see are the objects themselves:
buses, rail cars, tram tracks, etc.
Th ey do not see all of the hardworking
and dedicated people it takes to keep the
transit systems functioning effi ciently.
When employees apply for higher education
or leadership experience, that is
taken into account by their direct supervisor
when it comes time to discuss their
job performance and could potentially be
used for an increase in pay.
We encourage professional learning
and development in various ways. One
of those ways is by allowing employees
to attend national conferences to stay
current on an ever-moving industry.
Th ese trainings bring to light issues
faced by the industry as a whole, as well
as niche issues faced by transit professionals
and the practical solutions for
solving the problems.
Another way to encourage learning
is that at the CCRTA we provide professional
training sessions throughout
the year. Th is year alone we will cover
leadership training using the Covey
Method, media training, procurement
training, customer service, communication
and many more to foster a positive
work environment.
Th e CCRTA has a very active community
that focuses on leadership as well as
encouraging employees to apply for the
many diff erent leadership opportunities
available to them in transit. We constantly
have employees undergo Leadership
Corpus Christi to build strong community
relations and to bring transportation
issues to the forefront of the community’s
attentions. We also encourage
employees to apply for the American
Public Transportation Association’s
leadership programs to be recognized
as leaders in the industry.
Finally, the CCRTA has a very benevolent
tuition reimbursement program
for its employees to promote
employees to pursue their higher education
in all departments. It is especially
exciting to see employees rise in the
ranks in operations and transportation
to become an administrative employee
and use all of their skills and expertise
to infl uence decisions.
We will continue to use all of our
skills and knowledge to drive our public
to school, to work, and to complete all of
their daily tasks.
As always, the CCRTA and its employees
are forever driving forward.
88 | Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017
UTSIDE OF BUS AND RAIL ROADeos
and grant submittals, our transit
industry is rarely competitive
and largely collaborative.
Th is is our greatest strength.
Agency-to-agency, city-to-city, we
share in our great successes and learn
from each other’s occasional setbacks.
Th e ongoing networking and relationship
building that happens naturally
at conferences turns simple handshakes
and business card exchanges
into long-lasting partnerships and
knowledge sharing.
While content is always key in the
conference setting, it is essential that
transit agencies send forward-thinking
individuals to experience the host cities
they are staged in, to see what actually
works on the street, and to validate new
ideas ripe for implementation in their
own spaces.
Th e city and county of Honolulu, as
well as the rest of the State of Hawai‘i,
is the most isolated state in the United
States of America. Our county, which
comprises the island of O‘ahu and includes
the iconic Waikīkī district, is
known for its great weather and natural
beauty. It also has notable urban
density, in some areas rivaling that of
Manhattan in New York City. We are
consistently ranked near the middle
of the top 10 American cities based
on per-capita transit ridership on our
bus-only system (rail coming soon).
However, we cannot exist solely on
our island, and must seek collaboration
Professional
Development
Tuition reimbursement / Professional talks / Knowledge sharing
Jon Y. Nouchi
Deputy Director, Department of
Transportation Services
City and County of Honolulu
TheBus/TheHandi-Van/Honolulu
Rail Transit
O
W
Kelly
Coughlin
Director of
Marketing and
Governmental
Affairs
Corpus Christi
Regional
Transportation
Authority
Corpus Christi, Texas
Honolulu, Hawaii
It is especially
exciting to see
employees rise
in the ranks in
operations and
transportation.