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Mass Transit, the only magazine exclusively dedicated to public transportation, announced the fourth annual Mass Transit Top 40 Under 40 list, honoring those professionals who have made significant contributions to the public transit industry. Honorees were nominated by their peers and judged on criteria that included job commitment, industry involvement and contribution, achievement in his or her position and innovation in his or her field.
The announcement was made yesterday. View entire list
HART Chief Operating Officer Katharine Eagan was named to this year's prestigious list, becoming the first HART employee to receive this recognition. As COO, Ms. Eagan is charged with leading a team of more than 500 employees who carry out key functions at this agency, including service planning, scheduling, maintenance, and operations for the agency's fixed-route bus service, HARTFlex on-demand van service, HARTPlus paratransit service for people with disabilities, and TECO Line Streetcar System. She also oversees the Information Systems Department, which manages the HART computer network and supports advanced technology on buses, such as GPS, Automatic Vehicle Counters and a surveillance system of nearly 900 cameras located on buses and transit centers.
"Personally, she is the most intelligent transit professional that I have worked with in my 39-year career," said Philip Hale, HART Chief Executive Officer. "I am confident Ms. Eagan will continue to be an innovative leader in the transit industry, and a dedicated public servant to this community as significant transit improvements are implemented in the near future, such as MetroRapid North-South."
Winners will be showcased in the September/October cover feature of Mass Transit magazine and online at www.MassTransitmag.com.
"We received so many qualified nominations we could easily have extended the list," Mass Transit Editor Leah Harnack said. "It was challenging to narrow it down, but we are confident that this list is made up of professionals who are not only extremely deserving of this honor, we expect they will continue to play a significant role in public transport for decades to come."
Mass Transit and www.MassTransitmag.com are published by Cygnus Business Media, an internationally-recognized business-to-business media company.
About Katharine Eagan
Ms. Eagan started with HART in 2009 as Chief of Service Development, directing service planning and scheduling, as well as marketing and community relations. She used these areas to build ridership, implementing unique and targeted marketing promotions, and strategic route planning.
For instance, Ms. Eagan overhauled the process for scheduled service changes. She incrementally restructured and streamlined bus routes, eliminating or reducing unproductive service and reinvesting into areas with bus ridership growth potential. This foresight averted sudden and drastic service cuts, which would have been detrimental to existing bus customers.
 | | Katharine Eagan kicked off informal operator briefings to provide HART operators with an interactive, open forum to ask questions. Many operators who work irregular shifts do not have the advantage of staying up to date via conventional means of internal communications. |
Ms. Eagan launched the community meeting process ahead of public hearings for service changes, and incorporated feedback into final route modifications. As a result, HART has become more responsive to the public's needs, while raising awareness and understanding among customers and stakeholders about the resources and planning required to operate effective and efficient transit service.
Stepping in as COO in 2011, Ms. Eagan became the first female to serve in this capacity at HART. She continues to optimize all facets of bus service, and has focused on empowering operators via open forums of communication and dialogue as they are faced with carrying increased numbers of customers. She also continues to reduce operating costs. For example, her team introduced real-time paratransit scheduling and other policy changes that have absorbed double-digit paratransit ridership gains within current fiscal constraints.
"Like most transit properties in the United States, HART is doing more with less -- operators, maintenance staff, customer service representatives and administrative support -- while providing 40 percent more trips compared to 2006, when HART had the same level of funding as it does today. Therefore, to be recognized by peers facing the same challenges is very humbling," said Ms. Eagan.
"It's an exciting time to be in the transit industry in this community -- the demand here is above the national average and many small and large projects are underway to improve and modernize our current system."
Prior to joining HART, Ms. Eagan directed service development at the Maryland Transit Administration, the 14th most heavily used transit system in the United States (according to the APTA 2009 Fact Book). Her department developed schedules and work assignments for four local bus divisions with more than 1,100 bus operators and a fleet of more than 600 vehicles. Ms. Eagan also worked in planning for the City of San Angelo, Texas, and Dallas Area Rapid Transit.
Ms. Eagan holds a master's degree in public administration from Angelo State University, San Angelo, Texas, and a bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, the highest professional certification a planner can achieve, and the American Planning Association. She is on the board for the Tampa chapter of Women's Transportation Seminar, as well as the Tampa chapter of the National Association of Women in Construction.
Ms. Eagan lives in the Seminole Heights area of Tampa with her husband, son, and three pets.
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