How can transit agencies make electrification work in the real world?

As transit agencies move toward electric fleets, they must consider far more than the vehicles. Depot electrification affects power supply, maintenance, scheduling, facility design and day-to-day operations — requiring careful planning and close coordination across technical teams, utilities and stakeholders.  

For more than three decades, Susan Bartlett has worked with transit agencies to deliver complex infrastructure programs that move people efficiently and sustainably. As a senior project manager and civil engineer at Jacobs, she connects technical excellence with collaboration, guiding clients through the challenges of bus depot electrification, transit corridor upgrades and large-scale design-build delivery. What matters most to Susan’s clients is simple: staying on schedule, integrating the right technology at the right time and empowering teams to deliver results that are both practical and visionary. 

In this Q&A, Susan discusses what it takes to keep complex electrification programs moving as designs evolve and requirements change. 

What leadership strategies do you use to keep a large, multidisciplinary team aligned while delivering the technical and schedule requirements of bus base electrification? 

The key is creating a truly integrated team as there are myriad subconsultants and countless moving parts, from civil and electrical design to sustainability certifications and permitting. My job is to connect all those threads, ensuring not only that stakeholders are aligned on evolving technologies, but also that schedule and budget are maintained through clear, consistent communication and early risk tracking. 

Electrification is a major shift for transit agencies. How do you guide clients through this transition? 

It’s truly a transformation. Electrifying a depot affects every part of how a fleet operates — power supply, maintenance, scheduling — even how drivers move through facilities. I lead agencies through that shift and build teams that can turn it into a workable, phased plan. We make the transition less daunting by focusing on collaboration and clarity, bringing operations, design and utilities to the same table early. 

How do you engage diverse stakeholders, from maintenance crews to municipal leaders, and build the trust and alignment needed to deliver successful design solutions? 

I’ve found that good collaboration starts with understanding everyone’s perspective, whether that’s a civil engineer, an electrician or a maintenance supervisor. Each brings a different kind of expertise. My job is to make those voices work together. On large projects like King County Metro’s electric base or Sound Transit’s Bus Rapid Transit lines, I always start by identifying shared goals. That enables everyone to see how their work forms part of the bigger picture, which creates momentum and trust across the team. 

Electrification technology is evolving quickly. How do you keep teams aligned as new technologies and requirements emerge? 

We’re often designing around technologies that are still advancing, like pantograph charging systems — overhead arms that connect buses to power at depots and stops. The key is flexibility. We build in communication checkpoints and document every change in real time. It’s about managing expectations as much as design: making sure clients and teams know that innovation means adaptation. When people feel informed and heard, they’re more confident navigating the unknown. 

What does successful collaboration look like to you on a complex infrastructure project? 

Collaboration is about more than coordination — it’s about connection. When every person, from an electrical engineer to a city planner, understands how their role contributes to the larger system, the project runs more smoothly and the outcomes are stronger. Success happens when clients, design teams and stakeholders feel ownership of the result. That’s how we both deliver projects and build long-term client relationships with trust and shared achievement as the foundation.