[caption id="attachment_1135" align="alignright" width="288" caption="Robin Werre, right, talks during the Capital Area Transit 10th Anniversary celebration in 2014. Werre has submitted her resignation as Transit Director."]
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April 1, 2015 - Bismarck, N.D. – Transit Director Robin Werre has announced that she will retire in July.
Werre is the only Transit Director that Bis-Man Transit has known, as she helped create the door-to-door paratransit system in 1990 and the fixed-route Capital Area Transit (CAT) system in 2004.
“Robin has been the institution for all these years,” said Bis-Man Transit Board President Marge Ellefson. “There is no easy way to count how many lives her hard work has touched on a daily basis, much less after all these years. She is a very special person whose determination and creativity has been a true benefit to our community.”
Al Wangler, a former manager for Taxi 9000, has been named interim director until Werre’s successor is hired. Wangler had worked for Taxi 9000 for more than 23 years, before retiring in June 2014.
“Al is a natural choice to help us with this transition,” said Dean Mastel, President of the Central NoDak board. “He has a depth of experience with the organization that you can’t just go out and find – he gets us and what we want to be able to do.”
Werre will serve as a consultant for Bis-Man Transit until her July 15 retirement. A search for Werre’s successor is set to begin in the coming weeks.
“Robin has been a blessing to our community,” said Bismarck Mayor Michael Seminary. “She was a tireless advocate in her efforts to provide transit opportunities to our region. In her capacity as Executive Director of Bis-Man Transit, she provided great vision in identifying specific user needs and system capacities in addressing diverse public users of our transit system. I consider Robin more than a colleague, she is also my friend, and I will miss working with her.”
Werre began working for Central NoDak Development Corporation in 1984. Central NoDak Development Corporation is contracted by the Bis-Man Transit Board to provide administrative staff for the transit services.
The CAT celebrated its 10th anniversary last year, and provided more than 138,000 rides to Bismarck and Mandan in 2014. The paratransit system is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, after providing nearly 165,000 rides to individuals with disabilities or aged 60 and above.
Werre received an Associate Degree in sociology from Bismarck State College in 1970, and completed her Bachelor’s Degree in social work from the University of Mary two years later. From 1980 to 1983 she completed 27 hours towards a Masters Degree in Public Administration at the University of North Dakota. In 1986, she received certification as a developmental disabilities specialist from Minot State University.