Board Member Profile: Linda Rhine’s Passion and Expertise in Transit

Linda Rhine, chair of Transform’s Board of Directors, wanted to stay involved in promoting transit and active transportation after retiring from a long career as a transportation planner. That led her to join Transform’s board six years ago. We recently spoke with her about the issues she’s passionate about, the things she’s enjoying in her retirement, and what she sees in Transform’s future.

Planning transit policy

“I worked in government for 10 years, and that was good, but I really felt that things moved too slowly,” Rhine said. She moved to Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates, where she became a principal and member of the firm’s Board of Directors. “What I really loved about my career at Nelson\Nygaard is that I got to work at many different kinds of transit agencies,” she said. 

One of her most memorable projects was working with smaller transit agencies on coordinating and consolidating their services. “The key was planning without regard to jurisdictional boundaries,” she said. 

She worked on fare policies, advising transit agencies that had or were considering free or reduced fares. She found it rewarding to dig into fare policy, interviewing riders and looking at the finances of different fare collection options.

Rhine also specialized in accessible transportation and compliance with ADA guidelines. She has continued her passion for providing transportation to people with limited mobility options, serving on the board of The Center for Independent Living in San Mateo County. 

Bringing her passion to Transform

After she retired, Rhine said, “I didn’t want to give up what I felt passionate about, which is transportation.” When she got the opportunity to join Transform’s board, “I really just kind of jumped on it,” she said. “I have a strong social justice perspective, and I thought, ‘What can I do to give back to all the blessings I have had in my career?’”

“Once I got involved with Transform, I saw immediately that the staff was very passionate about their work, and it was inspiring,” Rhine said.

Transform’s Safe Routes work meshes with Rhine’s interest in sustainable transportation and better transportation access for everyone, not just people with cars. “I really respect, admire, and applaud Transform’s long-term management and running the Safe Routes to Schools program,” Rhine said. “I think it’s so important for kids at a young age to learn how to ride a bike, how to get places on their own, to give them a sense of independence.” 

A vision for the future

When asked what she thinks is next for Transform, Rhine didn’t hesitate: “The first thing is we need to pass the regional measure in November. We need money to operate. We need to improve service. We need to provide better frequency.”

She also mentioned the perception of safety on transit. “I don’t think transit’s unsafe, but we need to improve the public’s perception of safety on transit,” she said. “That’s not easily done, but I think Transform can have a major impact in that area.”

Those are short-term goals. Over the longer term, Rhine wants to explore innovative ways to meet people’s transportation needs during odd hours and on weekends when rider density is lower but people still need to get around. She also sees advocacy for housing near transit as continuing in importance. “We need to double down on housing policy that’s going to promote and enhance access to transit service,” she said.

Savoring time off in retirement

When she’s not volunteering for causes she cares about, Rhine gets to spend more time with her grandchildren now that she’s retired. She also loves to travel, especially to places she’s never been. She takes the train when she can to visit friends around the U.S., as well as friends and family in other countries. “I’m very fortunate in that I have friends and family in fun places,” she said. And she spends as much time as she can hiking, enjoying the outdoors.

Rhine also takes pleasure from working with like-minded people on causes she cares about, including the Transform board. “We have a great board with excellent esprit de corps,” she said.