Traffic & Transit
WRTA Will Discuss Search For New Administrator
WRTA Administrator Dennis Lipka's contract is up in 2023, and the WRTA board will meet soon to discuss a search for his replacement.
WORCESTER, MA — The Worcester Regional Transit Authority board this week will begin discussions about finding a new leader for the agency — although that doesn't mean Administrator Dennis Lipka will be leaving anytime soon.
On Friday, the WRTA board's personnel committee will meet to talk about hiring a search firm to find a replacement for Lipka, whose contract expires at the end of the fiscal year on June 30.
"The process [of finding Lipka's replacement] necessarily begins by researching and selecting a consultant to run the search. In these times of criticism of public transit service, finding an experienced, capable and creative Administrator will be so important to us," WRTA Board Chair Gary Rosen said via email.
Although Lipka's contract is up soon, there is a clause in it that would allow him to stay for another year. Lipka said the addition of another year on his contract may be necessary due to how long it takes to find candidates, and because he's in the middle of several initiatives that will go beyond June 30 — primarily, making a plan to transition WRTA to an all-electric bus fleet, and finding a way to sustain the agency's fare-free policy.
Lipka said finding a search firm could take up to four months, with the search for a candidate taking months after that.
The WRTA board hired Lipka, 73, in 2018 as an interim administrator after former leader Jonathan Church stepped down. A nationwide search landed on finalist James Moulton, a Vermont transit leader, but Moulton withdrew his name from the running. Lipka has been in charge ever since.
The WRTA board in late 2021 moved toward searching for a new administrator, but ultimately decided to extend Lipka's contract until June 2023.
WRTA provides bus and paratransit service in 37 Worcester County cities and towns, with a central fixed-route bus hub in downtown Worcester. The WRTA board includes representatives from cities and towns the transit agency serves.
