Southeast Missouri Transportation Service (SMTS) is celebrating a half century of providing public transportation service to southeast Missouri. Starting with a single van in 1973, SMTS is now the second largest rural transit provider in the nation, with 175 employees and a fleet of 200 vehicles covering 21 counties in Missouri. SMTS is a non-governmental, non-profit general public passenger transportation service, providing a wide variety of door-to-door passenger transportation services to all age groups.
SMTS is funded in part by Federal Transit Administration 5311 grant dollars. These grant dollars must be matched with local funding, which includes state investment in transit.
In addition to transit service, SMTS staff frequently participate in local civic projects, events, boards of directors, and volunteer with human service organizations that help make a difference in the communities they serve.
SMTS Executive Director Denny Ward recently announced his retirement. Starting with SMTS as the company’s controller in 2006, Denny was promoted to assistant executive director in 2010 and executive director in 2014. Denny is credited with tripling the company’s budget and doubling its fleet and employee base during his tenure, as well as implementing two new Deviated Fixed Route Services and increasing the footprint of the STMS service area. Denny’s successors will be Tracy Jones, SMTS’s current Director of Finance to the position of Chief Executive Officer and Ginny Smith, current director of Operations to the position of Chief Operations Officer.
Congratulations to Denny on reaching this milestone and for all you’ve done to promote the independence and improve the quality of life by meeting the transportation needs of those in Southeast Missouri.
For more information about SMTS, please visit their website by clicking the link here.