- One word to describe yourself: Dynamic
- Alma Mater: Lane Community College, University of Oregon
- Favorite book: “Ecotopia” by Ernest Callenbach
- Favorite TV show: “Cheers”
- Favorite movie: “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead”
- Favorite hobby(ies): She used to throw pottery and is getting back into it. Swimming, hiking and camping.
- Fun fact about yourself: At one point in her life she had five piercings, but has yet to get a tattoo.
- What is your favorite transit system (outside of the one you work for or have worked for!) and why?: The Zion National Park Shuttle in Utah provides visitors with a convenient 7-minute frequency, propane-fueled, caravan-car transit shuttle to areas that are off limits to cars. Due to congestion and pollution the NPS restricted auto access to the most popular areas and many visitors experience transit in a fun and unique way, plus it helps preserve the park's beautiful mystique.
Paige West started looking at energy conservation projects when in college and started working in transit when she took a position at RVTD as an intern through the Resource Assistance for Rural Environments program at the University of Oregon. She did public outreach and created an event in the transportation options department of RVTD.
She began her career in Transportation Options 14 years ago and has been promoted twice to be in management of an agency of more than 80 employees, 27 fixed-route buses and 23 paratransit vans serving seven cities in beautiful southern Oregon.
As the senior planner and support services manager at a small urban agency, she oversees a diverse range of projects and programs. Being in this position for a decade, she has gained a broad understanding of transit issues in the state of Oregon and across the nation.
West is the FTA liaison, overseeing the grant funding and implementing the federal policies and programs at the regional level. She oversees the transportation options programs, data collection and analysis and is heavily involved in all major procurements and the lead on all project management for the agency.
Most recently West oversaw a major transition in fixed-route service. With a deficit in funds, RVTD cut service in 2015 and in 2016 was able to restore service after a successful tax measure was passed. During the service cuts, she was able to maintain a vision and regain leadership for other staff members who were not as optimistic and with perseverance the team succeeded in getting back on track and even expanding service. Her role as short-range and long-range planner enabled them to collect data on forecasted ridership, do passenger surveys and work with community leaders to gain support for the measure's service package.
During West’s tenure, she has overseen $2.4 M in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) funds completing all the projects on time and within budget. She was successful in receiving a Veterans Transportation and Community Living Initiative (VTCLI) grant, and two state of good repair grants in the last 5 years to keep RVTD’s fleet in good shape.
West has also adopted the Center of Urban Transportation Research (CUTR) Transit Boarding Estimation Tool (TBEST) as one of the only communities in the nation with a robust model so RVTD can plan more effectively. She has also been a part of them implementing automatic vehicle location, automatic passenger counting and automatic stop annunciation systems early on while helping other agencies around the state adopt the technology.
She has also been a part of configuring the One Bus Away open platform for a smartphone app to allow passengers to see real-time bus arrival; launching an account-based electronic fare collection system; and launching a veteran’s travel training individual marketing program.
RVTD is currently working a bill in the Oregon legislature to provide ongoing funding for its urban and rural transit providers and West helped draft the bill language with the Oregon Department of Transportation to include transit development plans and performance measures. She is working with ODOT to prepare a 2040 Transit Master Plan that will be the first to utilize models to forecast and prioritize service enhancements, including bus rapid transit.
West is involved in transit at the local, state and national level through her involvement in the Community Transportation Association of America, the American Public Transportation Association, Association for Commuter Transportation, among others. She is on the Oregon Public Transportation Technical Advisory Committee, the Oregon Transportation Options Policy Committee, the MPO TAC and several government-related committees.
She is on the board and past president of the Transportation Options Group of Oregon and sits on the Jackson County Community Services Consortium, and is in the CTAA Emerging Leaders Program.
“I love that we are improving the quality of life for passengers that we serve on our transit system. The children that we work with to learn safe pedestrian bicycle skills, the older adults that are still able to have their freedom with mobility because they’ve learned that they can use transit. The low income individuals who are still able to have access to work and play and goods and services despite the fact they don’t own a car.”
“I also like the larger benefit to our community who benefits from the environmental benefits of having a transit system available to reduce air quality problems and congestion problems and also being able to have a resource for the economy that really does depend on the mobility available to them.”
“When you’re planning new service, you always actually have to go out on the route and walk the entire route to get the passenger’s perspective. We spend a lot of time planning at our desk doing top route planning mapping, with the tools that we have available, but before we really get a route finalized, myself and another staff person will go out and walk. Sometimes that can take a couple days. It really does give you that on-the-ground experience your passenger will experience. That’s key to make a route that will be attractive for people to use if you see the environment you’re putting them in.”
