A champion of Metro Transit’s efforts to bring rapid bus service to the region has been recognized as one of the transit industry’s top young professionals.
Arterial BRT Manager Katie Roth is among those recognized in Mass Transit magazine’s 2017 Top 40 Under 40 list. The list recognizes professionals who have made “significant contributions” to the transit industry.
“Out of more than 160 nominations, these chosen professionals have proven records of accomplishments, making a difference at their companies or transit agencies, in their communities and in the industry,” said Leah Harnack, Mass Transit’s Executive Editor.
As a manager in Metro Transit’s Bus Rapid Transit/Small Starts Project Office, Roth, 32, leads a team of planners, engineers, consultants and outreach staff planning future rapid bus lines. She also helps coordinate across divisions to introduce the new service.
The region’s first rapid bus line, the A Line, opened in 2016 with faster, more frequent service on Snelling Avenue, Ford Parkway and 46th Street. Planning is now underway for the C Line, which will largely replace existing Route 19 local service in 2019.
Roth’s career at Metro Transit began as in intern in Service Development in 2006. As a Senior Transit Planner at SRF Consulting Group, she helped complete a study of a regional rapid bus network that would cover 100 miles and see an estimated 160,000 average weekday boardings. She rejoined Metro Transit in 2012.
Roth has also presented at several local and national conferences and been active in WTS Minnesota, a group that supports women in the transportation industry.
“This recognition is humbling because it shows the importance of building out the rapid bus system,” said Roth, a daily transit rider who lives in Minneapolis. “I love coming to work every day knowing that I’m helping make transit better for thousands of people in the region.”
Several Metro Transit employees have been named to Mass Transit’s Top 40 Under 40 list since it was initiated a decade ago.
Past honorees include Assistant Transportation Manager Chang Yang, Kristin Thompson, Assistant Director-Scheduling, Analysis and Data Collection, Capt. Jim Franklin and Charles Carlson, a Senior Manager in the Bus Rapid Transit/Small Starts Project Office.
> Top 40 Under 40: Katie Roth
> Metro Transit Awards & Recognition