Dr. Robert (Bob) Schneider has been hired as the new executive director of the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission (PRTC). Schneider is currently the executive director of Central Midlands Transit (The COMET) in Columbia, South Carolina.
"The PRTC Board of Directors is excited to announce the appointment of Dr. Robert Schneider as PRTC’s executive director, effective April 3, 2017. Robert brings a wealth of transit experience that will continue our tradition of providing area residents with safe and reliable transit services,” said PRTC Chairman Frank J. Principi.
“Robert will spearhead our efforts to look at introducing new transit services, including bike share, car share, collaboration with Uber/Lyft, employer shuttles, and fast ferry service on the Potomac River," Principi said.
The tenure of current PRTC Interim Executive Director Eric Marx will overlap with Schneider until mid-May to aid in the leadership transition. Marx joined PRTC in 1993 and was appointed to temporarily lead the agency in 2015 following the resignation of Alfred Harf, who served as Executive Director for more than 16 years. Marx did not apply for the permanent job and has not yet determined his next move.
"The Board of Directors extends its gratitude to Eric Marx, a 25-year veteran of PRTC," Principi said. "Eric helped grow the agency from its early years - when it operated a handful of commuter routes — to a fleet of 150 buses taking more than 1 million residents where they need to go."
PRTC provides commuter and local bus services as well as ridesharing services in Prince William County, the City of Manassas and the City of Manassas Park. PRTC also operates the Virginia Railway Express in partnership with the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission.
One of Schneider’s priorities will be overseeing the Strategic Plan currently underway to help guide and determine PRTC’s planning efforts and services over the next decade.
Under Schneider’s leadership, The COMET was recognized by the Federal Transit Administration in 2015 for its innovative transit solutions and ridership growth, and VEOLIA Transportation recognized The COMET’s DART operation in 2013 as the top paratransit service within its U.S. corporate footprint.
Individually, Schneider was named one of the transit industry’s people to watch in Mass Transit Magazine’s Top 40 Under 40 listing in 2013, and that same year he received the President’s Award from the Transportation Association of South Carolina in recognition of special leadership.
Before joining The COMET, Schneider was general manager at ValleyRide in Boise, Idaho and formerly served as director of program administration and chief operating officer for Knoxville Area Transit. He earned a master’s degree in public administration and a doctorate in political science at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and also holds a bachelor’s in political science and history from Western Carolina University.
