Eulogy of a Public Transit Pioneer (Dinah Van Der Hyde)

Dinah Van Der Hyde, a pioneer in the public transportation industry, passed away on December 19, 2017, after battling cancer for several years.

Dinah was a passionate advocate for public transportation in Oregon and nationally. Before she worked in transportation, she had a successful career in social services in Alaska and Washington. She retired from the Oregon Department of Transportation at the end of 2016, after more than twenty five years at the agency. She was a cornerstone for transit in the State, creating the first program implementing state funding for transit in the late 1980s. Dinah’s tenure at ODOT Rail and Public Transit Division was characterized by her heart and her leadership that enabled ODOT to implement programs in a way that preserves local ownership of public transportation programs.

Dinah was always a mentor and activist for those who needed a voice, and was passionate about passing on her knowledge to others. She was responsible for the first Oregon Public Transportation Plan, adopted in 1997, and for the nation’s first statewide Transportation Options Plan, adopted in 2015. Dinah managed the legislatively-funded Oregon Streetcar project to bring streetcars built by Oregon Ironworks to the state. Her work resulted in better connected public transportation services and opportunities for people to use non-single occupancy vehicle alternatives.

Dinah was well regarded in both state and national public transportation circles, and was actively engaged in public transit research, serving as Oregon’s representative on AASHTO’s Standing Committee on Public Transportation, and AASHTO’s sister committee, the Multi-State Technical Assistance Program. She also was active in the federal Transportation Research Board’s Transit Cooperative Research Program and the National Cooperative Highway Research Board Program. Her participation in these and other initiatives spanned the entirety of her tenure and influenced and improved many practices in the transportation industry. Dinah’s strong voice will live on in the industry and work she helped set in motion.

The ODOT Rail and Public Transit Division is collecting condolence and sympathy messages and will forward them to Dinah’s family. If you would like to send cards or messages, please send them electronically to pt@odot.state.or.us, or mail them to the ODOT Rail and Public Transit Division office at 555 13th St. NE, Salem, OR 97301.