August, 2011: The Federal Transit Administration presented a Transportation Manager of the Year to Ray Friem, Chief Operating Officer of Metro in St. Louis the largest transit provider in the State. This award recognizes Mr. Friem’s dedication to providing quality public transportation to the citizens of the St. Louis metropolitan region and his many achievements in the area of public transportation including an internationally recognized vehicle maintenance program which has significantly reduced costs while improving greatly service reliability to transit customers.
The Federal Transit Administration in conjunction with the Missouri Public Transit Association presented a State Leadership award to Linda Yeager, Executive Director of OATS, Inc. This award recognizes Ms. Yeager’s support of the Missouri Public Transit Association and her leadership in communicating the needs of transit riders and advocating for rural and urban public transportation at the state and national level. Ms. Yeager also serves as the Midwest Regional Director of the Community Transportation Association of America, a national organization advocating for community transportation services.
Brian Weiler, former Multimodal Operations Director for the Missouri Department of Transportation, was honored with the long-standing Friend of Transit award for his contributions and support of public transportation during his tenure with the department. Other awards included the Federal Transit Administration’s acknowledgement of several Missouri transit providers in both the rural and urban areas of the state. Rural recipients included Southeast Missouri State University with a 20.23% ridership increase; Scott County Transportation System with a 17.73% increase, and the City of Bloomfield with 12.71% increase in ridership. In the urban category, the City of Columbia was recognized for achieving a 5.5% increase in ridership from 2009 to 2010.
MPTA President, Mark Huffer, Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, remarked that “The demand for reliable, affordable transportation service continues to grow in Missouri. This is an opportunity to acknowledge the dedication and leadership of those who continue to work to meet this demand and to improve public transportation to assure personal mobility and independence for all who visit or live in our State.”