Promoting Diversity in Transit Leadership

While the majority of transit users and operators are people of color, the leadership at transit agencies around the country is overwhelmingly White. The organization Latinos in Transit aims to change that by creating support and mentorship networks that help Latinos to move up in the ranks and into leadership positions.

Dan Zukowski of Smart Cities Dive interviews Latinos in Transit President Alva Carrasco, who has been working in public transit for three decades. “We’ve always known that our front lines are mostly made up of people of color. That’s just a fact, no matter what agency you look at. Then, as you move up the chain of command you see less and less,” Carrasco said. “We knew that we had to do a better job in attracting more Latinos, and more people of color in general, to the transportation industry.” Carrasco adds that “The other piece was also bringing in disadvantaged businesses, minority-owned businesses [and] women-owned businesses to help them connect with our transit members and our organizations.”

The organization connects workers and transit agencies, holds summits, and is launching a mentorship program to promote more diversity and inclusion.