WTS-Boston April Luncheon Seminar: “Putting Riders First: Rethinking Bus Service Across Massachusetts”.
Bus service planning is evolving rapidly across Massachusetts, driven by new technologies, changing travel patterns, and a growing focus on rider experience. Join WTS-Boston on Tuesday, April 28th as the Programs Committee hosts a panel discussion focused on how different agencies, from the MBTA to regional transit authorities, municipalities, and transportation management associations, are rethinking bus service to be more reliable, flexible, and rider-centered. Panelists will share practical examples of innovation at different scales, highlighting what's working, whats transferable, and how cross-agency lessons can strengthen bus service statewide.
The event will be held at the Wyndham Boston Beacon Hill Hotel. Registration opens at 11:30 AM and the program begins at 12:00 PM.
Registration for this event will close on Tuesday, April 21st, or earlier once the venue reaches capacity. This event is Non-Refundable and no shows will be billed. When registering, please note Member pricing is for Individual Memberships, not Company Sponsors.
Panelists:
Alex Hallowell (MBTA)
Alex Hallowell (she/her) is the MBTA’s Director of Transit Priority where she leads a team of talented Project Managers who work with municipal roadway owners to plan, design and implement bus priority improvements. Alex joined the MBTA in 2022 after serving a decade in various roles at Muni in San Francisco. A resident of Cambridge and mom to two, she’s passionate about building a safer and more equitable future for all those who make Greater Boston home.
Becca Wolfson (MBTA)
Rebecca "Becca" Wolfson is the Director of the Better Bus Network at the MBTA, leading a team of Project Managers delivering the service improvements outlined in the Bus Network Redesign. She previously served as a Project Manager for Transit Priority, where she managed the planning and implementation of projects with bus lanes, queue jumps, and transit signal priority—all work central to the MBTA’s broader Bus Transformation efforts to improve service, frequency, and reliability across the region, allowing people to more easily rely on the bus to get around. Before joining the MBTA, Becca spent more than seven years as Executive Director of the Boston Cyclists Union. She is motivated by a vision of thriving, livable cities where people have safer, greener, and more joyful and equitable mobility options.
Jim Nee (MWRTA)
Jim Nee is the Administrator of the MetroWest Regional Transit Authority, where he leads regional public transportation initiatives focused on service expansion, operational improvement, and long term capital planning for the MetroWest region. Jim has built a public transit career spanning more than two decades since starting as a bus driver at UMass Transit in 2003. He later became a supervisor, trainer, and member of the MIS Student Management Team while earning his degree in Medieval History from UMass Amherst in 2011. After college, Nee joined First Transit’s management program and later served as assistant general manager of operations at the BWI Airport Shuttle. He returned to the public sector in 2014 as assistant general manager of shuttles at the University of Maryland, College Park.
In 2015, he became a transportation manager at MASCO (Longwood Collective) in Boston, where he oversaw a 37 vehicle shuttle system moving about 12,000 riders a day, managed transportation contracts, improved service reliability, and led a major scheduling overhaul. After later being promoted to senior transportation manager and completing graduate studies in public policy at Northeastern, he went on to become Administrator of the MetroWest Regional Transit Authority, serving 16 communities in MetroWest Massachusetts. Since taking on the role, he has worked to strengthen mobility while advancing major projects involving fleet modernization, facility development, and innovative clean energy infrastructure. Known for his strategic operations deployments, policy expertise, and strong advocacy for riders and member communities, Jim brings a practical, forward looking approach to the challenges facing public transit. He is passionate about building systems that are more reliable, more sustainable, and better connected to the needs of the people they serve.
Karen Winger (Longwood Collective)
Karen Winger, AICP PMP TDM-CP CCTM, brings a quarter century of public transportation experience spanning planning, operations, private sector business development, and executive leadership. She began her career as a student bus operator at UMass Amherst, then built her planning foundation at the Old Colony MPO, where her Human Services Coordination Plan became a national model and her work on the South Coast Rail Corridor earned recognition from the Massachusetts APA. She later served as Transit Director in Gwinnett County, GA, leading the state's first app-based microtransit pilot, achieving a 10% ridership increase, and earning multiple Georgia Transit Association awards including Most Outstanding Transit Manager. Before joining the Longwood Collective, she served as Zero Emission Lead at WSP, guiding transit agencies and municipalities through holistic fleet decarbonization strategies. She now serves as Director of Transportation Planning for the Longwood Collective, overseeing one of Boston's first Transportation Management Associations and leading the planning, outreach, and implementation of transportation programs serving the Longwood Medical and Academic Area. She is an alumna of the Eno Transit Senior Executive Program and has been recognized by Engineering Georgia as one of the state's Top 100 most influential women.
Andy Reker (City of Cambridge)
Andy joined the City of Cambridge in 2018 as an assistant planner supporting the City in developing the transit program. Since 2022, he has been the City's Transit Program Manager. This has meant collaborating with many partners on better streets for bus riders, inclusive community engagement, and streets that prioritize sustainable transportation. As a young person, Andy would often daydream about railroads, trains, and street designs. He finds it marvelous that he gets to now work with communities to change streets to serve everybody.
How to get to the venue?
- By car: Self-parking is available in the Charles River Plaza Parking Garage adjacent to the hotel. Additional parking is available at the Fruit Street Garage, the North Grove Street Garage, and the 60 Staniford St. Garage.
- By transit: The Hotel is a 5 minute walk from Charles/MGH Station (Red Line), a 7 minute walk from the Bowdoin Station (Blue Line), a 10 minute walk from North Station (Commuter Rail, Orange Line, Green Line - B, C, D, E), and a 10 minute walk from Government Center (Blue Line, Green Line - B, C, D, E)
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