New MTS Chief Sharon Cooney: Safety 'Underlies Everything We Do'

Speaker 1: 00:00 San Diego's metropolitan transit system lost its CEO. Paul J Blonsky in may, after he died from a sudden heart attack within days, the agency's board of directors appointed Sharon Cooney to replace him. Cooney has worked at MTS for 15 years. Most recently, serving as deputy CEO. She's the first woman to lead the agency KPBS Metro reporter, Andrew Bowen, spoke with her about her plans for the future. Speaker 2: 00:28 Sharon Cooney. Thank you so much for speaking with us. Oh, thank you for having me. So you took the helmet MTS in a time of real crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic has hurt your ridership. It's hurt your finances. What are your priorities as you try to navigate this really difficult time? Speaker 1: 00:44 Sure. Well, it's been a challenge, but you know, it's been great being part of such a great team at MTS. Um, we get through it together. Um, I think one of my highest priority is to continue with the excellent level of service that we've provided, um, pre COVID, um, to make sure that we continue to be the best, uh, transit agency, um, to continue to reach all of the goals for things like ridership. Um, as people come back to work, make sure that we have a really great on time performance. Um, all of the things that matter to people when they're choosing transit for their commute and their, their daily lives, um, that's my highest priority. And we have some really exciting projects coming up this year. Um, over the next 24 months, we're going to be finishing up with the Midcoast trolley opening, um, in November of 2021, that's really exciting and we're really doing everything already buying the vehicles and training up staff, so that we'll be ready to open when it's handed to us. Speaker 1: 01:47 Um, we also are working on our new fare collection system, which it's really a great, um, opportunity for us to add amenities for our customers, um, and to really come into a more modern modernize, um, and already existing, pretty good, uh, fair collection system. Um, and you know, we have a new Irish, uh, rapid that's going to be opening up and also in about 18 months. Um, it's actually exciting because it's going to be in the South Bay. It'll be our first all electric, um, vehicle, uh, BRT. So that's really an exciting improvement. Um, kind of jump-starting the, the, uh, rollout into a hundred percent, zero emission bus. Speaker 2: 02:29 What are the biggest barriers to recovery for MTS? Speaker 1: 02:33 Well, I think the big challenge is making sure that our customers and our employees are safe. I mean, that's a high priority as well. Um, it's underlies everything we do. Uh, we want to make sure that for instance, if somebody has to now start going into work, as the economy opens up, they choose transit because they know we are a safe alternative to an automobile. Um, we w we've been doing everything from using that immediately disinfect the vehicles to making sure we have germ barriers to protect our drivers on the buses where we're putting those in, as we speak and had we'll have the fleet done by the end of August. Um, we are making sure that everybody's wearing a mask. If you're going to choose Chan's that you're going to wear a mask. And so, um, if you don't have one, we'll provide one for you, um, to use as well. Um, so that's really the that's the biggest challenge is making sure people feel and understand how we're keeping the system sanitized and safe Speaker 2: 03:33 MTS partnered with the city of San Diego for a bus only lane on El Cajon Boulevard. What have the results of that project been and where would you like that? Uh, expanded in the city? Yeah. Speaker 1: 03:43 Yeah, well, uh, pre COVID, we were seeing some on time performance, um, assistance there. Um, obviously traffic has been lighter, uh, since people aren't going to work, um, as much. Um, and so there's, um, it's harder to see how much that does for us, but, you know, I think what it has done is it's allowed people to S to realize that this is something that you could repeat in other parts of the, our jurisdiction that other parts of the transit network could benefit from the, um, faster, more reliable, uh, scheduling of the, of the bus routes. So we're hopeful that we will replicate this in multiple places throughout our network Speaker 2: 04:23 MTS had for more than a year, been working on a tax measure that would have been on the November ballot, elevate SD 2020, and those plans were abandoned after the pandemic hit. Where do things stand with that? And what's the future of that proposal Speaker 1: 04:39 That was really kind of a blow. I mean, one more thing about COVID that we didn't anticipate. Um, but elevate SD was not just about, about initiative. It was about really listening to, um, what will make transit attractive to people in San Diego County. And that was one of the best benefits that we got was the real public participation in the process. The, you know, the outreach we were doing was unprecedented. I can't remember any other public project that had that much public participation and outreach. And so that's something that we're going to build on as we move forward, as we try to help, um, San Diego County dig out of what's happening with the economic downturn as we remain here for our essential workers during this time, uh, we are going to use that, you know, um, connection and involvement to really enhance our services and really make it the best system possible. When we come back to full, full, uh, opening of the economy, Speaker 2: 05:44 I want to ask you about your fare enforcement policies. This has been under scrutiny a little bit or more recently. The voice of San Diego is reported on a big surgeon and fair citations that have been issued over the past couple of, um, how sometimes those FA uh, you know, failing to pay a $2 and 50 cent fair can spiral into hundreds of dollars in fines and court fees and things like that. Uh, what does that tell you? Does this concern you, and what will fair enforcement look like under your leadership? Speaker 1: 06:13 So, uh, we've already begun working with the board of directors and through our public security committee, our chair, um, Monica, Montgomery, um, it has really helped us drive forward. A couple of new policies. One of them is a diversion program that will start in September. Uh, what this will do is it allows people a chance to first, if you are approached and you don't have a fare on board trolley, we're going to, um, allow you to buy your fair. Um, but then if you can't, then, um, you can expunge the, um, potential citation and you have 120 days to do so. Um, so the diversion program is intended for those who, you know, for, for whatever reason couldn't pay for their fare or didn't pay for their fare. Um, but that they could avoid having to go through any kind of, um, procedure, um, administrative or otherwise. Um, this, this, I think will be a really, um, helpful for those who feel like they've been, um, somehow being harmed by the way we were doing fair enforcement, Speaker 2: 07:22 Your predecessor, Paul J Blonsky passed away really suddenly in may. And you had worked with him for many years. What did you learn from him? Speaker 1: 07:30 Um, well, I learned a lot about transit, obviously I wasn't in transit before I started here at MTS. Um, but I learned a lot about the nuts and bolts, but I think more than that, I think I learned the value of team building and really understanding that it's not just one person, it's everybody pulling together to become the most, um, effective, excellent transportation system that we possibly could be. So that's what I learned from him. And, um, I'm hopeful to bring that forward in my own leadership. Speaker 2: 08:04 What do you miss about him? Speaker 1: 08:06 I think it was probably his humor. You know, he, he brought humor into almost every situation. We could be facing something that was, you know, technically challenging or dry or whatever, and he could make everybody laugh and kind of, you know, get everybody enthusiastic about it. I hope I can do that too. Speaker 2: 08:26 You're the first female CEO of MTS. What does that mean to you? Speaker 1: 08:30 Well, I really value, um, the number of women in the organization who have come forward and, and thanked me for stepping up into this leadership role. Um, if I can be a mentor, if I can bring more women into the public transportation world, I would love to be able to do that. So if that, if my becoming CEO helps that, then I'm excited. Speaker 3: 08:57 All right. Well, Sharon Cooney, thank you so much for speaking with KPBS. You're welcome. And thanks for having me. [inaudible].