Jul. 29—The organization that runs Missoula's free public bus system has a new leader.
Jordan Hess, a former Missoula mayor and longtime transportation director at the University of Montana, was named the CEO and general manager of the Missoula Urban Transportation District by the agency's board of directors on July 25. The agency runs Mountain Line, the zero-fare public bus and van system.
Hess spent nearly a decade as the director of transportation at the University of Montana, which was the first college campus in the United States to purchase and operate modern, fast-charging battery electric buses. Hess also served on the Missoula City Council for nearly a decade and was appointed by the city council to be the city's 51st mayor after the death of former mayor John Engen.
In an interview Monday, Hess said he'll join the organization sometime in August.
"I'm really excited about transit," he said. "I have been my whole career. You know, transit is the only mode of transportation that gets better the more you use it. You would never say you need to get more people in cars on Reserve Street and it will get better. Transit is the opposite."
He said when ridership increases on public transit, it justifies increased service to those users. And once transit gets more frequent, more people see it as useful.
"Transit plays a role in solving a lot of a community's challenges," Hess said. For example, he said public transit has the ability to make housing more affordable by allowing developers to build dense projects near a stop that would otherwise require an expensive parking addition. He also said a robust, electric public transit system in Missoula can increase the community's health by reducing harmful pollutants and traffic snarls.
"Mountain Line's been a leader in fleet electrification and a lot of the country has followed suit," Hess explained.
The air stagnates in the Missoula valley, especially in winter, and Mountain Line has been pushing hard to electrify its fleet. Recently, four new electric buses will be delivered later this summer to replace aging diesel vehicles. These buses will make the fixed-route fleet 55% electric, which Hess said is part of Mountain Line's commitment to a zero-tailpipe emissions fleet by 2035.
The fact that the entire system is free for all riders is critically important, he added.
"It's important for a lot of people for whom having a dollar in exact change is an inconvenience," he said. "It's important for someone for whom that fare is really a financial barrier. It's important for the operation of the system because it's more efficient. It's safer for the drivers and eliminates fare disputes. It's a much cleaner operation all around. Missoula's been a leader in that."
The agency has been working on figuring out where to build a new headquarters and what it will look like, and Hess said that while the "direction is fairly well set" by the board's work over the last few years, he may play a role in the process going forward.
"The team at Mountain Line is doing so much great work, and I'm excited to join them," Hess said. "Public transit has immense power to make lives better, and I'm honored to become part of such a committed staff to work on something I'm passionate about in a place I love."
The Missoula Urban Transportation District's board said they selected Hess after conducting a national search to fill the position.
"The board values Jordan's deep knowledge of Missoula and his experience running a transit system, and we are eager to welcome his expertise and vision to this role," said board vice chair Amy Cilimburg, who was involved in the search committee for the new leadership. "We're also profoundly grateful to interim general manager Jennifer Sweten for deftly stewarding Mountain Line through this transition."
Sweten has been serving as the interim leader since previous CEO Corey Aldridge departed in April. Sweten will resume her role as director of operations once Hess joins the staff in the coming weeks.
Cilimburg said the change comes during a busy season for Mountain Line. The public transit agency has partnered with the Missoula Metropolitan Planning Organization for a strategic planning process to update the city's Long-Range Transit Plan and develop a new Transit Strategic Plan that will account for changes in the transit industry and ridership habits in recent years. The last strategic plan was completed in 2018.
The Missoula Urban Transportation System was founded in 1976 and also operates a paratransit service. The bus system operates seven days a week.
Mountain Line was recognized as the top public transit agency of its size in North America in 2021 by the American Public Transportation Association and named System of the Year in 2023 by the Montana Transit Association.
David Erickson is the business reporter for the Missoulian.
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