Pinkerton unanimously named new COTA chief
Joanna Pinkerton was officially named COTA’s CEO on Wednesday, drawing raves from the authority’s board members who unanimously hired her to transform it into more than a bus company.
Pinkerton, 41, starts her new job on April 16 with a salary of $290,000 a year. She succeeds Curtis Stitt, who retired in September.
Pinkerton is a civil engineer who has spent the past five years working for Ohio State University, first at its Center for Automotive Research. Since 2017, she has been chief operating officer at the Transportation Research Center, a nonprofit affiliated with OSU that focuses on mobility and technology industries.
The Central Ohio Transit Authority board said Pinkerton has the private business, public transportation and academic experience to make COTA whatever it is to become in the future. That could mean driverless buses, specialized transportation for the first and last mile to and from bus stops, or other forms of getting people to and from work and where they live.
“Central Ohio is perfectly positioned to continue leading transportation innovations to accommodate a rapidly growing community, and COTA will be at the forefront of that conversation,” Pinkerton said in a COTA news release issued after the vote to hire her.
About $ 130 million of COTA’s $ 151 million annual budget comes from two Franklin County sales taxes. The authority employs about 1,000 and provides 19 million trips per year.