Benton County hired Maya O’Neal as its first in-house coordinator for Benton Area Transit, the county announced. O’Neal began her new role on April 1.
O’Neal comes to the position with a background in local government transportation work. She most recently served as public parking coordinator for the city of Corvallis, where she focused on optimizing and revitalizing the city’s parking system over three years.
Prior to her work in Corvallis, O’Neal worked in the transportation department in Fresno, California — a city with a population of more than 540,000. Her duties there centered on logistics, scheduling and routing.
She also brings experience in reviewing and applying federal statutes, legal regulations and compliance guidelines, which the county identified as essential skills for the transit coordinator role.
While O’Neal said she enjoyed her time working in parking for Corvallis, she took the opportunity to return to transit when the Benton County position opened.
“Maya is exactly the person we were looking for to support Benton Area Transit,” Public Works Director Gary Stockhoff said in a statement. “Her skills check every box in the job description, and her infectious enthusiasm and can-do attitude are even more than we hoped for.”
The hiring comes as Benton Area Transit, known as BAT, has been the subject of an ongoing discussion at the Benton County Board of Commissioners regarding the future of county transit services, including the Dial-A-Bus program.