2024 40 Under 40: Erin McAuliff

Erin McAuliff, acting director of accessible services at the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), leads the planning and execution of accessibility initiatives across all transportation modes and directs the SF Paratransit program, managing an annual budget of $30 million. She has also previously held roles at the Marin County Transit District, SPUR and the Coalition for Smarter Growth, focusing on transportation and equity.  

The transit initiatives McAuliff has led and contributed to have helped redefine how the agency connects older adults and riders with disabilities to essential resources, fundamentally altering the usability and accessibility of transit systems in the Bay Area. She has pioneered several projects, including Marin Transit Connect’s microtransit service and the SFMTA Essential Trip Card subsidized taxi program.        

The broad scope of SFMTA’s responsibilities, which include Muni, paratransit, parking and traffic, bicycling, walking, micromobility and taxis, has also afforded McAuliff the opportunity to center accessibility and equity in all transportation modes and a range of capital projects, including Muni’s new Central Subway.  

Colleagues say she has fostered a culture of innovation, epitomized by her leadership in crafting the SFMTA's first comprehensive Accessibility Strategy. The project, which recognizes the legacy of disability advocates and transit planners who paved the way for an accessible Muni system, will ensure accessibility that exceeds minimum requirements continues to be a fundamental principle of transit planning and operations in San Francisco, Calif.  

In addition to her technical expertise, McAuliff has demonstrated a knack for building and supporting strong, cohesive teams and facilitating collaboration. Colleagues attest to her leadership qualities, describing her as thoughtful, direct, organized, empathetic and a “wrangler of chaos.”  

She has also provided leadership for initiatives that improve culture and collaboration city-wide, including the city and county of San Francisco and the SFMTA’s respective racial equity efforts and employee affinity groups. McAuliff has garnered prestigious accolades and appointments within the transit community, including her appointment to the Transportation Research Board's Standing Committee on Specialized, Rural, and Intercity Bus Transportation and also actively contributes to the transit community through involvement in esteemed organizations such as Women's Transportation Seminar (WTS) and National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO). 

As the chair of Special Events and a member of the Mentoring Program Committee of the WTS SF Bay Area chapter, she has played a pivotal role in supporting and inspiring the next generation of transit leaders.  

Is there a specific experience that led you to where you are today?  

The 2014 NACTO Designing Cities Conference in San Francisco was a turning point in my career. While I already had a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning, attending the Designing Cities conference was the first time I saw a place for myself in public transit specifically. The experience gave me the opportunity to connect with other professionals who were also focused on achieving safety, equity and accessibility through planning and street design, including my future boss at Marin Transit, Robert Betts. The handful of days I spent at the conference unexpectedly led to almost a decade of working for transit agencies. 

What do you enjoy most about your job?  

I love my very broad vantage point at the moment. The SFMTA is unique in that it is a transit agency, has the responsibilities of a more traditional Department of Transportation to maintain the overall street network and regulates the taxi industry. I really enjoy leading the accessible services team because we are helping tie together all the different modes to support a holistic mobility network that is both functional and equitable. It’s very exciting to work on projects and initiatives that don’t just support transit and paratransit riders or drivers or people walking or rolling, but support a diversity of community members. 

What’s the most challenging part of your job?  

Public service is a long game. We have a lot of work to do to make sure everyone has the mobility options they deserve and that people are safe on our streets. We also don’t have any time to waste when it comes to saving and improving lives so the slow pace of progress can be incredibly challenging. It’s possible and always exciting to achieve quick wins – and they are always worth recognizing and celebrating – but admittedly it can be hard to patiently wait for results the rest of the time. 

What is an accomplishment you would like to work towards in your career?  

Looking forward, I would love an opportunity to support a diversity of professionals in the transit industry, especially folks at the beginning of their careers. I’d like to bring together planners, engineers and policy makers in undergraduate and graduate schools to learn together and develop a shared understanding of how we can plan for and design services and roads that are safe, equitable and accessible to all.  

Best advice/tip/best practice to share from your area of expertise?  

The best advice I ever received was from my very dear colleague and mentor, Annette Williams, former director of accessible services at SFMTA. She will always say that at the end of the day, it comes down to “relationships, money and inches”, and if you want a project to be successful, then make sure you’re considering and satisfying all three of these conditions, but especially your relationships. I’ve now witnessed many projects that seemed financially or technically infeasible become a reality because colleagues and community members trusted one another enough to get creative and collaborate on solutions to move projects forward. We’re all in this together so be kind and invest in working well with one another.