- One word to describe yourself: Authentic
- Favorite TV show: “Handmaid’s Tale”
- Favorite hobby(s): Hiking and trail running
- Fun fact about yourself: I’m terrified of heights which makes my favorite hobby of hiking challenging.
- Favorite station or stop that you have ever visited or frequent (and why): Nice, France – I rode on their tram that is grass-line which made the ride quieter. I also love that it creates a permeable surface for storm water runoff. Very environmentally conscious!
Erinn Pinkerton is the first female president and CEO of BC Transit Corp. (BC Transit), overseeing a fleet of more than 1,200 vehicles and an annual operating budget of more than C$300 million (US$$225.589 million). Previously, she was the vice president of business development for BC Transit.
She is a visionary leader and has used her strategic thinking at BC Transit with regard to the future role of public transportation in our society and the importance of modernization to ensure it attracts and retains riders. She’s at the forefront of innovation, technology usage and partnerships critical to BC Transit.
She has spearheaded important initiatives for BC Transit, including the launch of the Transit Future program, which delivered direct engagement with communities across the British Columbia, embracing direct feedback from current and future customers to inform future investment and service decisions for their transit systems. She also led the implementation of new technologies such as real-time information, automatic passenger counters, closed circuit television cameras and more.
Over her career, she has demonstrated an ability to set a vision, set ambitious objectives and successfully achieve those objectives. By setting a clear vision and sharing it widely, her teams have carried out award winning initiatives such as the #ExploreBCByBus campaign recognized with a Canadian Urban Transportation Association (CUTA) Marketing Initiative of the Year Award in 2017 and a Planning Institute of BC award for the work undertaken by BC Transit’s Planning Team for the Highway 16 Community Transit Service initiative. It was her leadership and vision that enabled these teams to carry out the work necessary to receive these awards.
She’s not just a leader that gets things done; she’s a leader that people both inside and outside the organization love to follow. She has an ambitious change agenda and is willing to take on a problem regardless of how complex or challenging it is. Under her people-first leadership, coupled with her innovative spirit, BC Transit is well-positioned to transform the journeys of all transit users across the province of British Columbia for many years to come.
“The clock resets daily for our operations and being part of a team that is dedicated to meeting the ever-changing and daily services needs is inspiring.”
“[What I enjoy most is] being able to work with people who are committed and passionate about providing the highest quality service to our customers.”
“It is an exciting time to be a part of the public transit industry. The landscape is transforming and we are able to use technology to improve and change the way we deliver services for our customers; as well as being part of the global climate change solution by transitioning our fleet to zero emission vehicles is a goal we can all be proud of.”
