DRPT Names Chief of Public Transportation

Agency director Thelma Drake announced that Robert H. Wilson will serve as the chief of public transportation for the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT).

Wilson will oversee the state’s public transportation, human service transportation and transportation demand management programs. He will also guide strategic planning for the transit and transportation demand management areas to ensure that the agency’s programs provide congestion relief, deliver public benefits and incorporate land use considerations in transportation planning.

Drake said, “Mr. Wilson’s demonstrated leadership skills and extensive knowledge of all facets of the transit industry make him a perfect candidate for chief of public transportation. His well-rounded experience will help ensure that DRPT can deliver comprehensive transit and transportation demand management solutions for Virginia.”

Wilson has 20 years of experience in transportation, the last 13 of which as a chief executive for three separate agencies. Prior to accepting the position as chief of public transportation for DRPT, he served as executive director of the George Washington Regional Commission (GWRC), the planning district commission for the city of Fredericksburg and the counties of Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania and Stafford. In this position, Wilson oversaw rural transportation planning programs; operation of GWRideConnect, the region’s rideshare and transportation demand management program; operation of three federal telework centers; and urban transportation planning activities for the Fredericksburg Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, the federally-recognized transportation-planning board serving Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania and Stafford.

Before joining GWRC, Wilson served as executive director of the South Western Regional Planning Agency in Stamford, Conn., which conducts land use and transportation planning in the New York City suburbs of Fairfield County. He has also served as president and CEO of Long Island Transportation Management, Inc., an organization that facilitated ridesharing and provided transit-support services for the residents of Nassau and Suffolk counties in New York. Wilson holds a master’s degree in regional planning from the State University of New York at Albany, as well as a bachelor’s degree in communication and journalism from SUNY College at Cortland.

Wilson will begin at DRPT on June 10, 2011.