Nuria Fernandez, GM/CEO of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award for Transportation Professional and Public Service by the Council of University Transportation Center.
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Nuria Fernandez, GM/CEO of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award for Transportation Professional and Public Service by the Council of University Transportation Center.
She was COO for the New York State Metropolitan Transportation Authority, managed the operations of O’Hare International Airport, was sr. VP for Design and Construction at the Chicago Transit Authority and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, and provided high-level policy and program expertise at the U.S. Department of Transportation where she served as deputy administrator of the Federal Transit Administration, under President Clinton.
CUTC promotes university research, education, workforce development, and technology transfer as essential to the nation’s transportation system. The Council often works with the U.S. Department of Transportation to contribute to the formation of U.S. transportation policy.
She is currently Vice Chair of the American Public Transportation Association and recently celebrated her five-year anniversary at the helm of VTA.
San Jose State University’s Mineta Transportation Institute, where Fernandez is on the board of directors, is a member of The Council of University Transportation Centers.
Fernandez received the Lifetime Achievement honor at the CUTC Annual Awards Banquet on Saturday, January 12 in Washington, D.C.
The region’s fixed-route system finished out the year with a total of 373.5 million rides. Adding 12.3 million rides over 2024 represents an increase that is equal to the annual transit ridership of Kansas City.
The service is a flexible, reservation-based transit service designed to close the first- and last-mile gaps and connect riders to employment for just $5 per day.
The upgraded system, which went live earlier this month, supports METRO’s METRONow vision to enhance the customer experience, improve service reliability, and strengthen long-term regional mobility.
The agreement provides competitive wages and reflects strong labor-management collaboration, positive working relationships, and a shared commitment to building a world-class transit system for the community, said RTA CEO Lona Edwards Hankins.
The priorities are outlined in the 2026 Board and CEO Initiatives and Action Plan, which serves as a roadmap to guide the agency’s work throughout the year and ensure continued progress and accountability on voter-approved transportation investments and essential mobility services.