Cata Earns Top Honor

By Whittington, Jane

In October 2007, Sandy Draggoo, executive director of CATA (Capital Area Transportation Authority), stood on a stage in Charlotte, North Carolina, along with Patricia Munshaw, CATA’s board chair, and Mike Cullimore, president of AM Local 1039, to receive the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) award for the best transit system of its size in the United States and Canada. For Draggoo, it was, as she said, “the pinnacle of my career.”

“Standing there on that stage with our board chair and the president of the union that represents our employees was an overwhelming honor. I couldn’t be prouder of CATA and everyone who works there.

“We won this same award in 1991; and, in 2003, I was named the General Manager of the Year by APIA No other transit system in Michigan can claim multiple wins as ‘America’s best,’ With three huge awards to our credit, we’re sitting on top of the world.”

As executive director of CATA, Draggoo oversees 300 employees and a fleet of 196 buses and vans. Every day this fleet crisscrosses Lansing and its environs and brings to the public, in APTA’s words, “exceptional efficiency and effectiveness.”

According to APTA, systems are judged on their performance over a three-year period. One system is chosen from each of four categories, based on passenger trip totals. CATA was deemed first for 2007 in the 4 million to 30 million-ride category, which includes 106 systems. CATA’s ridership in 2006 broke its all-time record, exceeding 10 million rides.

Assistant Executive Director Debbie Alexander said, “We don’t know which other systems were considered for the honor, but systems of similar size in Michigan include Grand Rapids, Flint and Ann Arbor.”

In choosing the award winner, APTA considers improvements and achievements in:

* Safety

* Customer service

* Attendance and employee costs

* Marketing

* Community relations

* Operations

* Financial management

* Minority and women advancement

* Policy and administration.

Draggoo has worked for CATA for 34 years and said, “A big part of my life and my heart are here. I love this place.”

Originally from a farm in Hillsdale County, Draggoo attended business college with the goal of becoming an executive secretary. She worked briefly in that field and then married and stayed home for 10 years to raise her three children. Eventually, she said, “I decided I would find a temporary job so that I could buy a piano. I just wanted to work three days a month. I went to work at Diamond Reo Truck and was asked to stay to work for a newly hired vice president. I ended up staying two and a half years. When another VP at Diamond Reo, Clare Loudenslayer, left to head CATA in 1974, he asked me to come as his assistant. I’ve been here ever since.

“Before CATA was formed, public transportation in the area was run by private companies. Clare had the tenacity and determination to take the bold steps necessary to make CATA all that it could be.

“In 1984, one day he just decided that it was time for him to retire. He left that very day and told me, ‘You need to run this place for the next 30 days until the board hires someone.’ When the board talked at their next meeting about the man they planned to hire for the interim director, Lucille Belen said, ‘Sandy will just have to teach that man what to do. She’s doing a fine job. Let her continue.’ And so they did. The board eventually hired a search firm to find a permanent director, and this firm told the board, ‘We will only be interviewing men. There’s no way a woman can do this job.’ Fortunately for me, the board felt differently about it, and Dwayne Allen presented a motion to interview me. They interviewed me and hired me that same day, and I’ve been the director since January of 1985.”

Today’s state-of-the-art facility, its dedicated staff and CATA’s fleet of buses (which includes 10 hybrids) are supported solely by public funds, a combination of local, state and federal funding, along with contracts and monies received from fares. Using these funds wisely, CATA has managed to maintain its low fares while not compromising on service.

According to Debbie Alexander, Michigan’s economy has caused an increase in the need for CATA’s services. ‘When there is a downturn in the economy, people look for ways to save money, and our services are good value for the money.”

As the needs of the community change, CATA has added innovative services that meet those needs. Besides its regular bus routes, CATA also offers a shopping service which provides door-to-door transportation for senior citizens; rural services, some of which operate on specific routes and some of which provide curb-to-curb service to residents of rural Ingham County; Spec-Tran, CATA’s advanced reservation transit service for those with disabilities who cannot use fixed route service; CATA clean commute options, a free program dedicated to educating the community on alternatives to driving alone, which includes a free ride matching service for those interested in forming car or vanpools; and many other such programs detailed on the website, www.cata.org. Since 1999, CATA has also provided campus transportation on the Michigan State University campus for its students.

Draggoo is especially proud of CATA’s role, as she put it, “as the only lifeline many people have. That’s the most rewarding part of being part of this organization – what CATA has done for people.”

She also pointed with pride to CATA’s history of community involvement: “Silver Bells in the City, Be a Tourist in Your Own Town, art fairs, football games – we’re a part of it all.”

Another source of pride for Draggoo is CATA’s commitment to the environment. The first public transit system in Michigan to add full- size hybrid buses to its fleet, the board has taken the stand that every vehicle purchased in the future will be a hybrid.

According to Alexander, “Environmental impact is becoming a motivator for the use of public transportation, particularly a system that, like ours, uses hybrid vehicles and addresses environmental issues through our services. This will only become more important in the future.”

She also predicted an increase in services, particularly along primary corridors, and advanced technological solutions in terms of customer service.

For Draggoo, success like CATA’s comes as the result of cooperation and coordination. She stated, ‘We have a great board that keeps policy straight, managers who keep the vision clear and employees who keep creativity strong. I’m so proud of the people who work here; they are why we are who we are and why we continue to have the ability to serve the public well.”

Copyright Greater Lansing Business Monthly Jan 2008

(c) 2008 Greater Lansing Business Monthly. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.