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Inessa Vitko returned to TriMet to serve as Executive Director of Transportation Operations in October 2022. Inessa directs all operational activities for the bus, MAX light rail, WES commuter rail, and LIFT paratransit services.

Inessa has extensive knowledge across many transit functions and previously served as Chief Operations Officer at C-TRAN in Clark County, Washington. She began her transit career at TriMet more than 16 years ago before moving to the bus agency in Vancouver. With the help of Inessa’s leadership, C-TRAN has been named the American Public Transportation Association’s North America Transit System of the Year twice — in 2019 and 2022.

Inessa led C-TRAN’s largest department since May 2018. As COO, she oversaw the work of over 300 union and non-union C-TRAN employees in the agency’s fixed-route and demand-response operations, dispatch, field supervision, and customer service areas. She also headed up the agency’s operations scheduling, marketing/communications, ADA compliance, and information technology efforts, as well as C-TRAN’s contracted security team.

Inessa served as C-TRAN’s lead on labor negotiations and has a strong relationship with Amalgamated Transit Union Local 757 leadership, the same union that represents TriMet’s operators and other union employees.

Before moving to C-TRAN, Inessa served as the head of TriMet’s customer experience team and helped elevate customer-forward thinking inside the agency. She played a key role in many major projects at TriMet, including the opening of the MAX Orange Line, the launch of the Hop Fastpass® electronic fare system, coordination for major MAX improvement projects and service planning for the Transit Mall renovation, which was part of the construction of the MAX Green Line.

Inessa holds a Master’s of Public Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Statistics, both from Portland State University. She is an avid Portland Trail Blazers fan, hopes to see the WNBA come back to Portland, and enjoys traveling and sailing with her husband.