Golden Empire Transit announces new CEO
New leadership will take the helm of the Golden Empire Transit District, the largest public transit system within a 110-mile radius that includes Bakersfield city limits as well as surrounding unincorporated areas.
GET’s board of directors selected Michael Tree as the new chief executive officer. Starting Feb. 20, he will succeed Karen King, who plans to retire.
“We hate to see Karen King retire, but we look forward to the possibilities that Mr. Tree will bring to the district in the coming years,” board Chair Cindy Parra wrote in a statement.
King, who held the CEO position for 15 years and also served as chair of the California Transit Association’s executive committee, will be succeeded in that role by Sharon Cooney, CEO of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System.
According to a news release, Tree has a “vast background” in public transportation in California and Montana. More recently, he served as the CEO and general manager of the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transportation District. From 2018 to 2022, he was simultaneously the executive director of the Tri-Valley-San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority and Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority in Livermore.
A Porterville native, Tree said his first position was with the public transit system in his hometown, which is 50 miles north of Bakersfield.
“The CEO of GET at that time, Steve Ruggenberg, noticed how green I was in the industry and took me under his wing and became my mentor for several years,” Tree recalled. “So, returning to GET several decades later to lead the agency is very gratifying and exciting.”
He returns to the Central Valley with goals of growing ridership, bolstering ride services for the elderly and disabled, and further converting the authority’s bus fleet to zero-emission vehicles.
“I’m hoping to meet with GET employees, board members, political and opinion leaders, and the GET customers over the first couple months to learn about the most important issues and opportunities in the community,” Tree said.
GET has 21 compressed natural gas On-Demand buses, 10 hydrogen fuel cell buses and 90 compressed natural gas buses equipped with wheelchair lifts and bike racks, which operate along its 16 service routes that transport more than 3.5 million passengers per year.
“My initial impression is that improving mobility and ridership is a strong goal of the agency, which is where the emphasis should be for a public transit agency,” Tree said. “But I’m also sensing that the agency can play a more strategic role in transit-oriented development that includes affordable housing, as well as a continuing leadership role in protecting the environment through zero-emission vehicles and other efforts.”
Parra said the board is fortunate to have found a new CEO of Tree’s caliber.
“He brings vast experience in transit and a unique knowledge of our community having grown up in Porterville,” Parra said.
According to Tree, public transit works when it’s “fast, frequent and reliable.”
“If transit can provide that type of service in key corridors,” he said. “(Then) it can be an easy to use, attractive, and a livable mobility option for everyone, which creates a healthier community.”