RTD Accountability Committee – October 19, 2020
Following public comment, there was an Introduction of On-Call Consultants – North Highland Vice President, Anna Danegger, and Project Manager, Tanya Eydelman. They provided an introduction of their firm and expectations of their proposal to the committee. Ms. Danegger explained that North Highland has provided similar services in the past for other transit agencies such as New Jersey Transit.
Appointment of Subcommittee Chairs – Co-Chair Murillo recognized and thanked the appointed chairs for each subcommittee. Rutt Bridges has been designated as chair for the Finance Subcommittee. Julie Duran Mullica has been designated as chair for the Governance Subcommittee. Deyanira Zavala has been designated as chair for the Operations Subcommittee.
Subcommittee reports:
- Finance Subcommittee – Rutt Bridges reported the subcommittee reviewed financial reports to try and get a better understanding of RTD’s financial resources and documents. The subcommittee has received additional informational briefs to assist the subcommittee in making informed decisions on their tasks at hand. The subcommittee also reviewed and approved their objective guidelines.
- Governance Subcommittee – Doug Rex reported the subcommittee reviewed and approved their objective guidelines. The subcommittee decided the first area of focus would be reviewing governance models from regional transit agencies around the nation.
- Operations Subcommittee – Matthew Helfant reported the subcommittee received a presentation from RTD staff on how they conduct service planning. They also received a brief presentation from DRCOG staff on transit service planning that included best practices and importing considerations. The subcommittee decided their first area of focus will be on equity and best practices of fare structures.
Strategic Priorities for Subcommittees – Co-Chair Jones presented the draft strategic priorities for each subcommittee for consideration by committee members. Over the past couple months, subcommittees have initiated conversations around the focus areas identified in the RTD Accountability Committee scope of work. The Committee’s co-chairs lead a discussion to focus on key areas for further exploration and ultimately the development of recommendations.
Members were grateful to the co-chairs for creating these guidelines. A few additional requests from members included adding a specific focus area that addresses the issue on reliability of RTD services, specifying a focus on customer experience, and a way to incorporate customer/consumer engagement.