Owusu, Pierre

Pierre Osei-Owusu (BA, MA, MS, DM)

Office:
Phone: (919) 274-8861
Email: Poseiowu@uncfsu.edu

Educational Prospectus 

  • Graduated from the University of Phoenix - Doctor of Management (DM) with Organizational Management concentration (May 2009).
  • Graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, in 1989 in Transportation Planning and Engineering concentration -Master of Science Degree (Dec 1989).
  • Graduated from the University of Georgia, Athens, GA, majoring in Urban Planning/Transportation Geography-Master’s Degree (May 1987).
  • Graduated from the University of Ghana in 1980, majoring in Transportation Geography-Bachelor of Arts Degree (May 1980).

 Work/Transit-Related Experience & Activities

  • Planning Analyst - Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA, Bus and Rail system) 1989-1992. Responsible for service monitoring of select fixed route contracts. I was a member of the team that extended MARTA’s rail system to Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport.
  • Transit Planning Director - Greenville Transit Authority in Greenville, South Carolina, 1992-1996. Responsible for fixed route, Paratransit and Handicapped Vanpool planning, funding, setup, and management. 
  • Transit Manager - Greenville Transit Authority in Greenville, South Carolina, February 1996. 
  • Senior Transportation Planner & Assistant Transit Administrator - City of Durham, North Carolina from 1996-2014. Managed daily transit operations of 100+vehicles system (fixed route & paratransit), of the City’s transit system. Responsible for system planning; route reviews and updates, system technology updates. In charge of several federal grants program administration. Serving as the system’s representative on the MPO technical committee for the past 15 years. Responsible for the introduction of 25 BRT style (Hybrid electric) buses to Durham, the largest fleet type in the state of North Carolina. 
  • Transit Administrator - GoDurham (2014-2022), managing 3 separate contractors (TTA, First Transit and DCTC) who currently run the fixed and paratransit systems for the City of Durham. Responsible for general oversight and system administration including all major procurements, asset management and budgeting. was involved in regional efforts toward consolidation of several systems including the Durham-Orange light rail initiative. Responsible general oversight of both fixed for system operation, procurement, asset management and budget control
  • Adjunct Professor of Transportation - North Carolina Central University (NCCU) in Durham from 2005-present, teaching Transportation Planning, Operations & Management, Transportation Planning, Economic Policy courses at the Public Administration Department at NCCU.  
  • Adjunct Professor of Transportation - Fayetteville State University (UNCFSU) 2014 to present teaching online courses in Public Transportation Planning, Operations and Management; Environmental Literacy, and Principles of Geography at the College of Humanities and Social Sciences-IGPH Department.

Other Transportation Activities

  • Transit-site visits (2000-2012 to Bogota (Columbia, South America), Hong Kong, Bangkok (Thailand), Sydney (Australia), and Accra (Ghana), sponsored by the US Federal Transit Administration (FTA) as Technical Advisor for the FTA and for ITDP and the Government of Ghana. 
  • Member of several USA and international transport organizations including Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), American Public Transportation Association (APTA), North Carolina Public Transportation Association 
    (NCPTA)
  • 2018-2022: Member of the National Transit CEO committee of the America Public Transportation Association (APTA). Responsible for making key transit decisions for all transit systems in the Country.

Transportation-Related Activities overseas

  • February 2004: Instrumental in arranging high-level meetings between the FTA and the Government of Ghana in Washington DC, to begin bi-lateral technical assistance program to improve Ghana’s mass transit system via a BRT initiative.
  • 2006- Present: Travel annually to Ghana to conduct mass transit training workshops to staff of the Ministry of Transport in Ghana. Continue to organize on-site visits and training opportunity for senior staff members from Ghana’s Department of Urban Roads in Ghana here in the US.
  • January 2019 –Present: Applied for and received federal (competitive) grant in the amount of $4,500,000 for the procurement of electric buses for the City of Durham. Built the first electric bus system in the Triangle Region oof North Carolina. 

Award and Publications:

  • Best Research Paper Award: Association of American Geographers, Southeastern Division, Atlanta, GA. 1987. Research on Ghana’s Transportation network. 
  • Author: Highway Interaction among Major Urban Centers in Ghana, Southeastern Geographer, May 1990.
  • Urban Public Transportation System in Ghana: Ensuring Sustainability through Mass Transit. International Conference Proceedings – ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers), 2004, Reston, VA.
  • Author: Automatic Passenger Counters and Electronic Farebox Data Integration. US Department of Transportation (FTA) UMTA:GA-060019-88-1
  • Co-Author: Repeat Drunk Driving and the spatial distribution of transit service in the Research Triangle Region of North Carolina. Presentation at Ottawa, Canada –International Conference on Alcohol and Alcoholism, June 2002.
  • Author: Leadership, Workforce, Technology and Bus Transit Performance: A Synthesis of Select Transit Systems in North Carolina. Doctoral Dissertation Research, University of Phoenix, SAS, May 2009