One word to describe yourself: Determined
Fun fact about yourself: Auto body repair was my original career goal and it’s still a fun hobby.
Rebecca Tahchawwickah’s goal is to create an environment that promotes safety and security for passengers while making mobility for all an everyday reality. She does this by using education to change the perspective of public transit as a starting point to reaching the goal of accessibility for all.
Tahchawwickah started her career in public transit as a dispatcher for Comanche Nation Transit and worked her way up to her current role of transit asset management. Her determination from day one helped her become the wave of change that played a key role in making Comanche Nation Transit the safe system that it is today. During her tenure, she created an asset organization system and data collection system that led to an improvement of service. She also created an internal safety reporting tool that has given employees a way to express concerns or safety issues that come up. In addition, she has worked to improve the quality of education and ensure proper risk assessment for each step of training and safety for clients and employees, underscoring her commitment to setting safety standards and nurturing the safety culture of the transit system.
In 2021 and 2022, Tahchawwickah was awarded the Oklahoma Transit Association Award of Excellence in Safety and Training. This award recognizes the finest efforts in providing safe, reliable, efficient and coordinated public transportation that meets the mobility needs of all Oklahomans, as well as efforts to build, promote and advocate for public transit.
She also spoke at the NTICC 2021 on how Tribal transit can be on the lookout to combat human trafficking, touching on how implementing human trafficking awareness and tools can help bus operators learn, identify and report possible incidents.
Tahchawwickah is a member of the Comanche Nation Tribe. She has been with Comanche Nation Transit for nine years and continues to serve in many capacities for the system, including managing the agency’s daily operations, TAM plan, grants, data analysis, asset management, dispatching and bus operating.
Is there a specific experience that led you to where you are today?
One thing that really shaped the way I feel about transit was when I was a bus operator. It was almost time for my shift to end and I got a call from dispatch to go pick up one more client. I admit I was mad and just wanted to head back and not be late pulling in, but the dispatch insisted. I arrive, still all mad, and a man waved me down and behind him out walks a little boy and this lady carrying an infant car seat. They were released from the hospital after having a baby girl. I took them home and the lady said they called us because they heard we were a safe service. I dropped them off at home and after cooing over their children, I headed to dispatch. Two weeks later, the same man called, and I go to pick him up. He was on his way to a job interview. Another week goes by, and I find out he is using our service to get to work. That one pick up changed my view about my work. I realized how impactful transit is.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
I deeply enjoy the challenges that come up and figuring out how to resolve those challenges. It’s great to take time and learn about new ways to solve simple or advanced issues that our system faces. Then seeing how it benefits our clients and seeing our employees breathe a little easier.
What’s the most challenging part of your job?
The most challenging part of my job is finding balance between everything in day-to-day operations. It gets tough some days, so I often get reminded by our team to stop, take a moment and think what is the first thing I need to get through this? We have used that as a way to remind ourselves that anything can be done, we just need the patience and flexibility to get it done.
Accomplishment you’re most proud of and why?
The thing I am most proud of is looking back and seeing where our transit system started and seeing where it is today. Just in the past few years we have really been able to make big changes to the way we approach safety, customer service and data collection. Lot of things did not go our way, but we took away knowledge every time and used that to make better decisions later. Some things did go our way and the feeling of meeting our goals just made us want to work harder. It has been an incredible journey and I can’t wait to see where it continues to go.
Best advice/tip/best practice to share from your area of expertise?
Best advice I could give anyone in transit is be prepared. No matter what type of position in transit you work, have yourself a go bag and fill it with things that you may need to face anything! Especially if you work in multiple capacities. At some point you could go from dispatching to driving, and still have a meeting with vendors or doing maintenance on your system’s assets. Learn to be flexible too because that will help transition you through the day. These things here can get you through anything—daily operations or the weather can throw at you. Behind that, always be teachable. You’re never too old to learn something new. It’s the best skill to practice in transit.
