Karl Otterstrom named new Spokane Transit Authority CEO

Spokane Transit Authority announced Thursday that Karl Otterstrom will take over as new chief executive officer, effective Aug. 10.

Otterstrom succeeds Susan Meyer, who held the position for just under two decades before retiring last year. He has worked with Spokane Transit for more than 15 years, including acting as co-CEO with Brandon Rapez-Beatty since Jan. 1. Before that, Otterstrom held positions with King County Metro and the Federal Transit Administration.

Though he had qualms with the candidate selection process, Zack Zappone, Spokane city councilman and STA board member, said he supports Otterstrom for his commitment, knowledge and experience.

“Karl is a highly qualified candidate and will be a highly qualified CEO to bring the region together to support transit and achieve STA’s vision of connecting everyone to opportunity moving forward,” Zappone said.

A Spokane local, Otterstrom grew up using the city’s transit systems. Now, describing himself as a “regular bus rider,” he said he has always been inspired by the ability of public transportation to connect people “in ways that, frankly, an automobile can’t do.”

“Cities are best built around people, and the more people you have, the more constrained the space is to devote to automobiles,” Otterstrom said. “And so, transit allows cities to grow without having to accommodate as many cars as would otherwise be required.”

Otterstrom, who was waiting for a bus to his 2 p.m. meeting when he took a call Friday from The Spokesman-Review, said that elevating the customer experience is one of his top priorities.

“We know from every survey we do of our customers – our riders – we hear them say they want more service, they want to connect later in the evenings, they want to go to more places,” he said. “And so, delivering more service is important. That’s ultimately up to the community and the appetite for bus service, but we can do our best in providing a good quality service at a cost-effective rate.”

Otterstrom said he plans to continue investments into a number of projects, including rapid-transit corridors and potentially a type of mobility service to dispersed neighborhoods “similar to Uber or Lyft.”

“I’m excited. I feel honored. And this is about serving the community,” he said. “It’s being mindful and respectful of the taxpayers’ dollars and doing the best to respect our customers and our employees.”