Derek Muench first ran Maritime Metro Transit (MMT), a small transit operation in Manitowoc/Two Rivers, Wisconsin. He oversaw an operation that had great success with its ridership increases and he was also largely responsible for bringing a state-of-the-art transfer point to MMT.
Muench later moved on to Shoreline Metro in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, as an operations supervisor and recently became director. He has brought his knowledge of things that work in Manitowoc to Shoreline Metro, including having a staff office to assist riders at the downtown transfer point and expanding public transit in Sheboygan’s downtown district. Routes were reconfigured through a Transit Development Program (TDP) process under his supervision at MMT and at Shoreline Metro, with great success in terms of ridership. He also has prepared great newsletters for the benefit of his operations' customers.
Since he started working for the city of Manitowoc, he has found working for the community a fantastic and rewarding way to give back to the community. While public transportation wasn’t something he planned on while in high school, he got into it as a way to give back and enjoys working with other city officials to build a community.
Muench has also provided regional and state leadership on transit issues, serving on the Northeastern Wisconsin Regional Access to Transportation Committee, as well as being active in the Wisconsin Urban and Rural Transit Association (WURTA) and its Paratransit Committee. While at MMT, Muench hosted a successful WURTA annual conference in Manitowoc.
“I love making the community better whether it’s through enhancing and building a public transit system that is effective in the community and enjoyable by our customers or assisting with the development of public parking that works for the downtown. Sheboygan has so much to offer and I’m glad I can say I’m a part of what’s happening here and what’s to come in the future.”
“I love being able to give back to the community; it’s a service. I got into public transit as a way to give back to the community. I didn’t plan on it, nor did I foresee it. However, I have a strong network of transit peers combined with a great community in Sheboygan, public transit is a perfect fit for me.”
“I have always had strong connections to the disabled community. I saw what was important to them and their daily needs; public transit is essential to them. We enjoy bringing smiles to thousands of customers a day. I’m just happy to be a part of it!”
“My goal for public transit in the next 10 years is sustainable funding. It’s difficult as a transit professional to build a strong network of public transit options for your community when funding is in flux all the time. I’d also like to see public transit viewed as a positive economic driver for communities. So often we hear that systems are a burden on the local government or public transit is not used but in reality, it’s as important if not more important to the lives of thousands of individuals as many other things. It all starts with funding. From there, we as transit professionals can build strong, sustainable and well-supported public transit systems for our communities.”
