The manager who presided over eight years of phenomenal growth at Squamish and Whistler Transit is calling it quits, saying he plans to take some time to recharge before taking on his next career challenge.
Scott Pass, who started working for the local Transit organization in 1995 and has been manager since 1999, said on Tuesday (July 10) the challenges of the job have been significant at times -last winter being one example that stood out.
"During the winter it was between 70 and 80 hours a week," he said. "I went the whole winter without a day off. It was a little extreme.
"With the budget cutbacks we just don't have the resources that we need to do the job. I stuck it out because of my loyalty to the job and to the system. Now I've got to be loyal to myself."
Scott Burley, who has been assistant manager under Pass for the past three and a half years, has been named operations manager as B.C. Transit, Whistler and Squamish do a bit of shuffling of positions.
Burley spent 12 years with Nanaimo Transit before coming to the Sea to Sky as assistant manager. Pass, who said his last day will be July 20, said he has full confidence in Burley's ability to carry on the Transit's record of success."He certainly knows the business," Pass said of Burley.
Pass started working for Whistler Transit as a driver in 1995. At the time, it had seven buses carrying 715,000 passengers a year.
He became assistant manager in 1996 and manager in 1999. Today, the system he manages - including Squamish Transit, Pemberton Transit and the seasonal Squamish-Whistler commuter service -includes 33 buses and carries more than three million riders per year.
While Pass declined to be specific about his career plans, he said he's staying in Whistler and will remain a member of the Chamber of Commerce board of directors, the Transportation Advisory Group (TAG) and the Whistler 2020 Transportation Task Force.
"My main focus right now is to concentrate on a smooth transition."
