Golden Empire Transit District elects new chair

Golden Empire Transit District elects new chair

 

The Golden Empire Transit District, (GET) Board of Directors re-elected Howard Silver, Board Chair for the 2012 year. Silver was appointed to the GET board in 1984 by the Bakersfield City Council. This is his fifth stint as chair.

 

Locally Silver also works closely with the Kern County Council of Governments, (KernCOG) serving on the Kern Council of Governments Transportation Planning and Policy Committee, the Kern High Speed Rail Committee and the Kern Transportation Foundation. From 2005 to 2007, Silver served as the Chair of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). APTA is an international transit organization of more than 1,500 transit systems and transit product vendors based in Washington, DC. In addition, he has served on numerous committees for APTA.

 

“2012 will be a hallmark year for GET as the agency prepares to launch a new system in the fall,” Silver said. “We believe the new system will meet the needs of our customers now and well into the future with faster and more frequent service.”

 

Kathleen Ashland was re-elected Vice Chair. Ashland has served on the GET board for 25 years. She has served as Vice Chair four times in the past.

 

 

Golden Empire Transit District (GET) was formed in 1973 and serves the Bakersfield Metropolitan area which is 160 square miles.  GET has a fleet of 88 compressed natural gas buses equipped with wheelchair lifts and bike racks. GET services 19 routes, most of which operate 7 days a week and transport approximately 7 million passengers each year with its fixed route buses.  In addition GET operates 19 compressed natural gas GET-A-Lift buses.