New vice chair for Council on Public Transportation

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) has appointed Jean Ruestman administrator for the Office of Passenger Transportation at the Michigan Department of Transportation to a two-year term as vice chair of its Council on Public Transportation. Ruestman has held her current position for five years and has been with Michigan DOT since 1990.

AASHTO’s Council on Public Transportation provides expertise and leadership for advancing public transportation as a part of an intermodal transportation system. It develops legislative, policy, and program recommendations related to all forms of passenger public transportation services including rural, urban, regional and intercity bus, travel demand management and commuter rail.

Ruestman also serves as a member of the Michigan DOT director’s management team and has overall responsibility for the Office of Passenger Transportation’s statewide programs and applicable safety and regulatory functions. That includes the agency’s relationship with the transit industry, statewide intercity bus programs, bus regulatory program, marine passenger services, terminals and facilities and local public bus transportation services under the State Comprehensive Fund and federal bus and marine transit programs under the U.S. DOT.