CEO Summit 2015

Building a Culture of Leadership

Leadership LessonsJoseph A. Calabrese

Greater Cleveland RTA

CEO Summit 2015

Greater Cleveland Regional

Transit Authority

Mission:

To provide safe, reliable, clean and courteous

public transportation.

CEO Summit 2015

Greater Cleveland Regional

Transit Authority

How: Operate buses and trains in Northeast Ohio

Serve up to 200,000 customers on a typical weekday

Major Trip Purposes

60% to work

23% to school

Sports and Tourism

Remove 50,000 cars/day from roads

Reduce Congestion

Improve air quality

CEO Summit 2015

Greater Cleveland Regional

Transit Authority

With What:

2,500 Employees

Down from 3,200 in 2000

$350 million annual budget

$275 million operating budget

$ 75 million capital budget

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Greater Cleveland Regional

Transit Authority

Governance:

Created in 1974 by vote of taxpayers

Merged 11 transit systems into one

Pledged a 1% sales tax as support

10 member Board Of Trustees:

4 – City of Cleveland

3 – County of Cuyahoga

3 – Regional Mayors

CEO Summit 2015

Greater Cleveland Regional

Transit Authority

Governance:

Executive Management Team

Operations

Finance and Administration

Management and Budget

Engineering

Human Resources

Marketing/PR/Communications

Legal

Information Technology

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Back to the Basics!

Focus Areas:

Customer Service

“ride happy or ride free”

Financial Health

tie wage increases to ability to pay

Image

significant local, national and international recognition

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RTA Vision

CEO Summit 2015

Vision for the Greater Cleveland

Regional Transit Authority

To be the transportation mode of choice

Recognized as an Industry Leader

Employer of Choice

Champion for Sustainability

Financial Stability

Have increasing and positive community Impact

Upgrade and manage Technology

Upgrade Infrastructure

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RTA Values in Action

CEO Summit 2015

RTA Values in Action

Safety Ethics & Integrity

CEO Summit 2015

RTA Values in Action

Service Excellence Fiscal Responsibility

CEO Summit 2015

RTA Values in Action

Teamwork Responsibility & Accountability

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RTA Values in Action

Respect

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Multi-modal Transit Agency

Buses, Heavy Rail, Light Rail, BRT and

Paratransit Services

Top 20 transit market

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Multi-modal Transit Agency

400 Buses (70% of Customers)

75 Rail Cars (20% of Customers)

22 BRT Vehicles (10% of Customers)

100 Paratransit Vans ( 1% of Customers)

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Multi-modal Agency

CNG Buses

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Multi-modal Agency

Bus Rapid TransitHealthLine

• Best in North America

• Riderhip +48% yr. one

• $6 billion in devlepment

• Best ROI of $114 to $1

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Demand for services is up ! (but funding isn’t!)

2014 had highest national ridership in fifty years

Growth in our urban centers

Millennials

Seniors growing in population

Need to keep Ohio competitive for workforce talent

OPEG Study of College Students

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State Investment Has Gone from

Bad to Worse

$0.0

$5.0

$10.0

$15.0

$20.0

$25.0

$30.0

$35.0

$40.0

$45.0

$50.0

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Tra

nsi

t Fu

nd

ing

(M

illio

n $

)

State of Ohio General Revenue Funding For Public

Transit

CEO Summit 2015

Per Capita Investment

Investment by States of Similar Population (2012)

StatePer Capita Investment

Population

Ohio $ .63 11.5 million

Michigan $24.33 10.9 million

Illinois $63.26 12.8 million

Pennsylvania $85.55 12.4 million

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Hard Working Blue Collar Family

Multi-generational household

Family valued education and hard work

Always had a job or two growing up

Respect people at all levels

Team Oriented

Jock & Frat-Rat

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Why a career in transit ?

Needed a job

Learned transit from the “Ground Up”

Public and Private Experience

Worked with 8 different agencies

From Bureaucratic to Entrepreneur, and

Back!

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Long career in Public Transit

Longest serving GM in RTA history

Longest serving multi-modal GM in the

nation

Experience and continuity is important

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Success in what we do (“Image”)

Best Large Transit System in North America

Best General Manager in North America

Lexus “World Class Customer Service Award”

Northeast Ohio “Smart 50”

Innovation, Customer Service, Financial

Management

CEO Summit 2015

Keys to Success

Have a great team

Team Oriented Management Style

Bring employees at all levels into the mix

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

Have Measurable Goals and “buy In”

Pay increases function of revenues

Bonuses function of hitting targets

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Keys to Success

People skills

Common Sense

Develop Great Relationships w/Community

On many civic and non-profit Boards

Educate and Advocate

Borrow Best Practices from others

Think out of the box

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Successful Programs/Initiatives

Back to the Basics

Outstanding Customer Service

Strong Financial Management

Enhanced Image

Transit-Stat

Financial Health & Mgt. Development

TEAM program

Incentives and Communications

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Successful Programs/Initiatives

“Ride Happy or Ride Free”

Downtown Trolleys

HealthLine

Brand Management

Management Development Program

Learn transit from the ground up!

Critical for Succession Planning

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Successful Programs/Initiatives

Naming Rights

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Current Initiatives to Improve

TPE/Baldrige Award

ISO14001 Certification

Benchmarking

Working with 6D to move our VFO’s and

“change initiatives” forward

CEO Summit 2015

Q & A

CEO Summit 2015

Closing remarksJoseph A. Calabrese, CEO

General Manager/Secretary-Treasurer

1240 West 6th Street, Cleveland, OH 44113

E: jcalabrese@gcrta.org P: 216.566.5216