Transit CEO gets new contract
Kelleman’s salary bumped to $269K
Katharine Eagan Kelleman’s response Friday to a new contract that will keep her as CEO at Port Authority through 2025 was quick and succinct.
“I’m living the dream,” Ms. Kelleman, 49, said after the board tore up her old deal that was scheduled to expire at the end of the year.
The new contract, backdated to January, raises her base salary from $230,000 to $269,500, plus annual raises of 5%, the opportunity for annual performance bonuses of up to 20% and a 15% annual contribution to her 401(k) retirement plan. The old deal had no annual raise, a maximum 10% bonus and the retirement contribution.
Ms. Kelleman, who many considered a rising star in the transit industry when she came here in 2018, said Pittsburgh is the perfect combination of work and family life for her husband and two children.
“Two things I consider most important are this truly fantastic team and this truly fantastic place to live,” she said. “I am over the moon with the folks we work with,
“We love raising our kids here, where they can know the neighbors. I can’t put a price tag on that.”
Jeffrey Letwin, chairman of the authority board, said he had no real fear Ms. Kelleman would leave because of how much she likes living in the Pittsburgh area. It was “the right thing to do” to backdate the contract to the beginning of the year because discussions had been ongoing for some months.
Mr. Letwin ticked off a list of accomplishments: expanding the management staff to oversee areas such as long-range planning and finances; revamping plans for the upcoming Bus Rapid Transit system between Oakland and Downtown Pittsburgh so that local service to the Monongahela Valley won’t be cut and riders won’t have to transfer in Oakland; and developing NEXTransit, the agency’s first long-range plan that calls for extending the light rail system into the North Hills, establishing transit corridors along the Parkways East and West,
Mr. Letwin said the board knew Ms. Kelleman was the right choice when she was hired to replace Ellen McLean, who steered the agency through several years of financial difficulties. Ms. Kelleman, who has a transportation planning background, was brought in to take the agency in a new direction.
Mr. Letwin ticked off a list of accomplishments: expanding the management staff to oversee areas such as long-range planning and finances; revamping plans for the upcoming Bus Rapid Transit system between Oakland
and Downtown Pittsburgh so that local service to the Monongahela Valley won’t be cut and riders won’t have to transfer in Oakland; and developing NEXTransit, the agency’s first long-range plan that calls for extending the light rail system into the North Hills, establishing transit corridors along the Parkways East and West, and revamping neighborhood service so riders don’t have to go through Downtown Pittsburgh to get to a destination next to where they live.
Her tenure also has included navigating dramatic ridership losses on buses and the light rail system due to the COVID-19 pandemic and dealing with physical problems such as flooding along the light rail system in the South Hills, the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train that damaged light-rail tracks when train cars fell near the Station Square station, and closure of the Saw Mill Run Boulevard Bridge on the South Busway after part of it shifted.
The agency took some criticism in the past few months for requiring all employees to be vaccinated against the virus, making a shortage of drivers even worse when 48 were fired for refusing the vaccine. That has caused the agency to miss many more scheduled trips because staff hasn’t been available.
Not everyone is thrilled with the agency’s operation.
Ross Nicotero, president and business agent for Local 85 of the Amalgamated Transit Union, sharply criticized the board again Friday for beefing up administrative staff and firing employees for not being vaccinated when it was already shorthanded. He called the agency “economically reckless” for damaging service by not having enough operators available.
Ms. Kelleman said she has a handful of short-term goals: hiring more operators so the agency can meet almost all of its scheduled trips, beginning Bus Rapid Transit construction; revising the route buses follow in the Downtown Pittsburgh area, establishing a program for employers to buy transit service for their workers at a reduced cost, and finally rebranding the agency so the system is easier to find and use.
Rebranding was one of the first goals Ms. Kelleman had when she arrived, but plans that began three years ago have been shelved during the pandemic. In the next few months, with ridership slowly returning after initially falling more than 80% below pre-pandemic levels, that program is expected to move forward.
Right now, riders have to go through “a bit of mental gymnastics” to locate service with buses several different colors and signs that look different and often are displayed differently in every neighborhood. Expect rebranding to bring some level of uniformity to the system.
The agency may even change its name.
“Stay tuned,” Ms. Kelleman said.