Suzie Edrington

Edrington, Suzie

Associate Research Scientist

Transit Mobility Program
Texas A&M Transportation Institute
Texas A&M University System
701 N. Post Oak, Suite 430
Houston, TX 77024
ph. (713) 686-2971 Ext. 15107 · fax (713) 686-5396
s-edrington@tamu.edu

Short Biography

Suzie is an associate research scientist for the Transit Mobility Program at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute and has over 23 years of transportation experience, with 16 years of hands-on public transit experience with the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas (METRO) in both the paratransit and fixed route operations and maintenance divisions. During her METRO career, Suzie's responsibilities included operational performance analysis, service forecasting, manpower planning, capital investment forecasting, ADA compliance, financial analysis, contract management, and National Transit Database reporting. Since joining TTI in 2006, Suzie has applied her practical experience to a variety of projects.

Suzie received a master in urban and regional planning with a certificate in transportation planning; studies include designing for sustainable transportation, complete-streets, form-based codes, transit-oriented development, transportation investments, shared parking generation.

Suzie has provided program reviews for large urban, small urban and rural transit providers evaluating performance measurements, providing recommendations regarding the operations efficiency and effectiveness, assessing the current and future economic viability, and examining internal operating procedures and staffing levels. Suzie annually conducts a Texas transit district performance data evaluation for each of the 68 state-funded rural and urban transit districts and provides technical assistance on an on-going basis. Recent projects and publications include: FTA Rural Transit Livability Performance Measures, TxDOT Guidebook: Managing Operating Costs for Rural and Small Urban Public Transit Systems, NCHRP Rural and Specialized Transit DOT Data Reporting; Peer Grouping and Performance Measurement to Improve Rural and Small Urban Transit in Texas; Facilitating Creation of Transit System Technology User Groups; Estimated Impact of the 2010 Census on Public Transit Funding; Quantifying the Purchasing Power of Public Transportation; and Dispatching Demand-Response: Guidebook to Increasing Productivity and Saving Money.

Areas of expertise include transit performance--operations and livability outcome measures, transit operations/operational analysis--staffing strategies and operating procedures, operational and capital budgeting and forecasting, ADA paratransit, rural community transportation, and contract management and public/private partnerships.

Education

  • M.S., Urban and Regional Planning, Texas A & M University, 2010.
  • B.A., Economics, University of Texas at Austin, 1989.

Experience

  • Associate Research Scientist, Transit Mobility Program, Texas A&M Transportation Institute, September 2012 - Present.
  • Assistant Research Scientist, Transit Mobility Program, Texas A&M Transportation Institute, January 2011 - Present.
  • Research Specialist, Transit Mobility Program, Texas Transportation Institute, June 2006 - December 2010.
  • Transportation Programs Administrator, Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, June 1997 - June 2006.
  • Operations and Maintenance, Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, September 1990 - June 1997.
  • Operations and Maintenance Intern, Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, December 1989 - September 1990.

Affiliations

  • American Planning Association.
  • Women's Transportation Seminar, Advancing Women in Transportation.
  • Congress for the New Urbanism.

Honors & Awards

Outstanding Student of the Year, University Transportation Center for Mobility, 2010.

Honor Society in Architecture and Allied Arts, Alpha Alpha Chapter of Tau Sigma Delta.

WTS Conference Representative, University Transportation Center for Mobility, 2010.

Keese-Wootan Transportation Fellowship Recipient, University Transportation Center for Mobility, 2008.

Selected Publications

J.C. Arndt, A.S. Edrington. combined with 0-6205-P1. 0-6205-P2. Texas Transportation Institute, College Station, TX. 2011.

J.C. Arndt, A.S. Edrington. Rural and Urban Transit District Benchmarking - Effectiveness and Efficiency Guidance Document. 0-6205-P1. Texas Transportation Institute, College Station, TX. May 2011.

J.C. Arndt, A.S. Edrington, S.M. Sandidge, L. Quadrifoglio, J. Perkins. Peer Grouping and Performance Measurement to Improve Rural and Urban Transit in Texas. 0-6205-1. Texas Transportation Institute, College Station, TX. May 2011.

J.C. Arndt, A.S. Edrington, S.M. Sandidge, A. Valencia, J. Jordan. Sizing and Serving Texas Urban Gaps. 0-6473-1. Texas Transportation Institute, College Station, TX. April 2011.

T. Clower, P. Ruggiere, M. Bomba, J. Arndt, J. Li, A.S. Edrington, P. Hendershot. Evaluating the Impact of Transit-Oriented Development. 0-6511-1. University of North Texas, Denton, TX. February 2011.

L.K. Cherrington, K. Eschbach, M. Cline, A.S. Edrington, P.L. Ellis, E. Kraus. Estimated Impacts of the 2010 Census on the Texas Transit Funding Formula: Project Summary Report. 0-6199-S. Texas Transportation Institute, College Station, TX. 2010.

K. Eschbach, M. Cline, L.K. Cherrington, A.S. Edrington, P.L. Ellis, E. Kraus. Estimated Impacts of the 2010 Census on the Texas Transit Funding Formula. 0-6199-1. Texas Transportation Institute, College Station, TX. September 2010.

L.K. Cherrington, A.S. Edrington. Estimated Impacts of the 2010 Census on the Texas Transit Funding Formula: Summary Report on Findings. 0-6199-P1. Texas Transportation Institute, College Station, TX. August 2010.

L.K. Cherrington, A.S. Edrington, M. Malki, . Beruvides, Mario, J.L. Simonton, N. Waters, S. Chaivichitmalakul, H. Palikhe, J.A. Walewski. Quantifying the Purchasing Power of Public Transportation in Texas: Technical Report. 0-6194-1. Texas Transportation Institute, College Station, TX. July 2010.

L.K. Cherrington, A.S. Edrington, M. Malki, . Beruvides, Mario, J.L. Simonton, N. Waters, S. Chaivichitmalakul, H. Palikhe, J.A. Walewski. Quantifying the Purchasing Power of Public Transportation in Texas. 0-6194-S. Texas Transportation Institute, College Station, TX. January 2010.