Heather Ferguson

Background

About Heather Ferguson

Heather Ferguson works in WSP USA’s National Transit and Rail practice which helps transportation agencies plan, design and manage all forms of mass transit, including light and heavy rail, and Bus Rapid Transit. Views expressed here are my own. Ms. Ferguson has over 23 years of transit industry experience including 18 years at the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) and nearly 4 years at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), and 1.5 years at WSP USA. Prior to joining WSP USA, she served as the Director of Rail Operations Planning and Scheduling for WMATA. She and her team helped the agency adapt rail schedules for the COVID-19 pandemic, accelerated construction activities and a successful activation of the Silver Line extension to Ashburn, VA and Dulles International Airport. At the Chicago Transit Authority, Ms. Ferguson served as the General Manager of Scheduling for 10 years, focusing on adapting bus and rail schedules to growing ridership with constrained resources. Heather and her team helped to plan and schedule a multi-month shut down of the Red Line south branch, requiring both alternative rail service and bus shuttle planning. She also served as Director, Budget managing a $1.5 Billion operating budget for CTA. At both CTA and WMATA, Ms. Ferguson supported over 10 major rail construction projects requiring creative alternative service plans to maximize rail service to minimize impact on customers. She is passionate about using data to inform service and scheduling changes, and working across departmental lines to ensure projects are successfully completed.