Eddie Robar began his career with Metro Transit, Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM), almost 10 years ago as the scheduling coordinator. He has steadily risen through the ranks, serving as supervisor, scheduling and service planning, and manager, Service Development, before recently being named director of Metro Transit.
Robar's accomplishments at Metro Transit speak to his dedication to improving transit service for the citizens of HRM. During his tenure with Metro Transit, the annual service hours have almost doubled; he has been directly involved with the implementation of these service increases.
Robar has provided leadership in the implementation of MetroLink BRT service and the MetroX rural express service, both of which have won national awards. Robar also played a key leadership role in the planning and implementation of transportation services for the 2011 Canada Winter Games, for which Metro Transit received CUTA's National Transit Corporate Recognition Award for 2011.
As director, Robar is responsible for overseeing Metro Transit's $70 million annual operating budget and $30 million annual capital budget. These budgets represent more than 818,000 annual service hours, which are provided by a fleet of more than 300 buses and three ferries.
Outside of Metro Transit, Robar is involved with various groups such as the Transportation Association of Canada (TAC), which approached him to author a paper on right-sizing transit fleets which was presented at the September 2010 TAC Conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Further, Robar was instrumental in bringing the first CUTA Regional Youth Summit to Halifax, and was a key member of the team involved in organizing the event.
In addition to his participation with the CUTA Youth Summit and seeking opportunities to get more people interested in the transit industry, Robar is very supportive of bringing students into Metro Transit on work-terms, allowing them to see what the industry is all about and potentially cultivate future employees.
Providing a Service
“Public transit service touches the lives of so many people in our community on a daily basis; it's an enormous responsibility knowing that the service we provide has such a significant impact on our residents. I most enjoy hearing feedback from customers that they were able to get to work or school on time because of our buses and ferries, or how our operators are friendly and provide great customer service. It's a great feeling knowing that I had a part in making that a positive customer experience."
Transit Family
“This industry is like a family, both within your own organization and among other systems nationwide. You really have to work in public transit to understand the unique challenges and successes that are faced by transit employees at all levels on a daily basis. I like that everyone working in the industry is willing to help you manage all types of issues and share their experiences; the industry is a community in itself and it's comforting to know you have so much support that you can tap into.”
