Public Transit Technology Strategy and Innovation Consulting

The Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) is the regional public transit provider for Central Ohio, delivering fixed-route, paratransit, and innovative mobility services to residents, employees, and visitors throughout the region. As a publicly funded, safety-critical organization, COTA relies on robust, secure, and forward-looking technology capabilities to support operations, customer experience, workforce productivity, and long-term strategic objectives. Technology continues to play an increasingly critical role in public transit, with rapid advancements in data analytics, cybersecurity, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, connected and zero-emission vehicles, and digital customer engagement platforms. At the same time, public transit agencies face evolving regulatory requirements, funding constraints, and operational complexities that require thoughtful technology governance, strategic planning, and informed decision-making. COTA's Technology Department is responsible for enabling and supporting the Agency's mission through enterprise applications, data and analytics, infrastructure, cybersecurity, and emerging technology initiatives. To ensure the Agency remains resilient, innovative, and aligned with industry best practices, COTA seeks an independent, vendor-neutral advisor to provide strategic insight, benchmarking, and guidance to Technology leadership and executive stakeholders. This engagement is intended to provide an external perspective grounded in public transit and comparable asset-intensive, publicly funded industries, and to support COTA in identifying opportunities to enhance technology strategy, governance, operating models, and value delivery. The consultant will serve solely in an advisory capacity and will not be responsible for implementation or operational execution.