Spotlight On: Elizabeth Gonzalez Brock, Chair, Metropolitan Transit Authority (METRO)
June 2024 — In a recent interview with Invest:, Elizabeth Gonzalez Brock, chair of METRO, emphasized her strategic focus on enhancing ridership by improving public safety, cleanliness, reliability, accessibility, and infrastructure. She also advocated for a shift from outdated metrics to dynamic, population-responsive goals through a foundational approach that meets customers where they are today.
What are your priorities in your new position, and how do you plan to influence METRO’s strategic direction?
Mayor John Whitmire tasked the METRO Board of Directors with providing a useful service and encouraged the Board to revolutionize the way we think about transit. As a result, we are tying all initiatives to ridership and are earning our right to grow by having proof of concept projects. We will also tie our projects to larger master plans and economic development opportunities that foster robust communities.
Our primary commitment is to be customer-centric, with a keen focus on enhancing ridership. Currently, we’re facing a 40% decrease in ridership from our peak levels. It’s crucial to base our strategy on meeting the customer where they are – not where we want them to be or where we have historically performed. We are transitioning from projecting figures to setting concrete business development goals that give people reasons to choose METRO. This includes prioritizing public safety and ensuring our buses are clean and punctual — we’re targeting 100% on-time performance. We also need to improve infrastructure like sidewalks and bus shelters to enhance customer experiences. Furthermore, METRO is committed to responsibly maintaining the infrastructure that all citizens utilize, such as repairing roads that have fallen into disrepair and strategically placing shared use lanes to best serve commuters and pedestrians alike. Additionally, we will utilize technology to optimize end-to-end trip planning. On demand service at a customer’s fingertips, with real-time ride tracking and traffic alerts, will boost ridership and enhance the overall customer experience. All of METRO’s strategic direction and spending will follow our customers, while being responsible with taxpayer dollars by making decisions that will make it easier for all citizens to live, work, and play in Houston.
What are the broader economic and social impacts of METRO?
METRO is not only a great place to work but also plays a significant role in job creation and providing business opportunities. We have a range of opportunities from skilled professionals to bus drivers. We also have the goal of fostering diverse vendor relationships. As the first Hispanic female chair, I’m particularly keen on enhancing outreach to the underserved Hispanic and other minority communities by promoting job opportunities and ensuring our services are accessible. We will increase multilingual communication and address any existing gaps in service delivery to minority communities. Also, when businesses are deciding where to locate their headquarters, they want a strong and diverse transit system. Our new focus on microtransit on-demand services allows more flexibility in our service delivery and provides easier opportunities for new customers to have a personalized, positive first experience with METRO. These services will prioritize clean energy by using zero tailpipe emission vehicles.
What is the expected impact of the METRONext plan?
We are reviewing METRONext, but there is a concept we are now calling “Metro NOW,” emphasizing the importance of mastering fundamental services first. This includes ensuring foundational infrastructure improvements and enhancing public safety. People won’t use public transit if they don’t feel safe, which is why an adequate police presence is essential. Beyond that, we’re exploring alternative transportation modes like microtransit, which requires that we transform the way we think about transportation today and into the future. Uber raised the public’s transportation expectations. We also have to raise the bar for transit in the same fashion. In the future, we may not even need bus stops if we get this model right.
Why is public transportation crucial for Houston?
Houston is vast, diverse, and not slowing in growth, so convenient access to transit is a legitimate challenge. Often, people live too far from a bus or rail line, and this is complicated by our sizable weather swings. There are language barriers. There are barriers for our disabled community and our senior citizens. All of these challenges exist right now. It is our responsibility to bridge these gaps in order to grow ridership and to make transit useful and responsive to our community. We believe with technology, meeting the customer where they are, and collaboration, we will bridge those gaps.
With the influx of new residents and businesses, how is METRO adapting to accommodate this growth?
Houston’s growth is palpable, and METRO must evolve alongside our city. We are forming a business development team to actively engage with community and business leaders to increase ridership. This approach aims to make our transit system more appealing not only to those who rely on it out of necessity but also to the business community, young people who prefer not to own cars, and newcomers attracted by our city’s amenities. Our focus on customer-centric values is a crucial component to increase ridership.
How is METRO ensuring its workforce is prepared and resilient to support this growth?
METRO is committed to developing a skilled and resilient workforce through robust training programs and active recruitment strategies. We also collaborate with vendors to leverage external opportunities. Specifically, we are committed to providing minority vendors with opportunities to partner with METRO and engaging with community leaders to ensure we are best serving the entirety of our diverse population.
What are some of METRO’s initiatives to increase transportation access for underserved populations?
We are collaborating with all levels of government and listening to community leaders to improve infrastructure and services. We are finding common sense approaches to problems and meeting the customer where they are, which means addressing actual needs for today. Prioritizing underserved areas like Gulfton is crucial to our success and to the community’s economic health. We are reviewing data, meeting with real citizens and making site visits. Our observations overwhelmingly support our hypothesis that we need more customer-centric transit and need to utilize technology to help us meet the customers where they are. And, our enhanced focus on multilingual communications will expand our ability to reach underserved communities.
What long-term changes do you envision for METRO over the next decade?
Technology will help us revolutionize transit. We plan to leverage MaaS (Mobility as a Service) technology to streamline various modes of transportation into a single platform, thus providing our customers with a more convenient end-to-end travel experience. Embracing technology is essential, allowing us to evolve beyond traditional bus and rail services by integrating all available tools to enhance our effectiveness and make it easier for customers to choose METRO.
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