Robert Foy’s career has been a very long ride.
The Atlas Township resident and former general manager for the Flint Mass Transportation Authority (MTA) was one of six people inducted into the Michigan Transportation Hall of Fame on Wednesday. His plaque will be on permanent display in the Van Wagoner Transportation Building in Lansing. From its inception in 1971 to this year, the Hall of Honor has recognized 83 men and women for their contributions to all facets of transportation in Michigan.
A Flint native and 1949 Flint St. Mary’s High School graduate, Foy attended the University of Detroit before serving 20 years in the United States Air Force where he flew 129 combat missions in Vietnam. He joined MTA in 1975, serving as general manager for 26 years before retiring in 2012.
Under his leadership, MTA grew from a small city transit system into a regional network serving a five-county area.
‘When I started, the MTA system was just in the City of Flint,? said Foy, 83. ‘I realized we had to start dealing with the long term viability of mass transportation. So we expanded to include the whole county. The multi-county MTA now incorporates Genesee, Lapeer, Oakland, Saginaw and Shiawassee counties. The need for the shift was due to the changing nature of the Flint market, so many people were coming into the suburbs’they needed a way to get to work.?
‘The other big shift was due to the Great Lakes Crossing outlets in Oakland County’a lot of people from Flint shop and work near Auburn Hills. When the auto business sagged in the Flint area they needed a way to get out of Flint and to work. They needed affordable transportation. Thus, we expanded countywide. Flint was dwindling while outside the city was growing.?
Foy understood that MTA serves those who have few transportation choices and the need for a diverse set of services.
‘Another big challenge was accommodating customers with disabilities,? he said. ‘The senior population was growing as people now live longer. But, some are less able to drive so they turn to MTA. In addition the demand from dialysis patients is always increasing. We transport people each day to local hospitals for treatment’the numbers just keep getting higher that depend on a ride.?
Foy also said college students and those attending charter schools also have added to the demand on MTA in the county.
MTA became a leader in alternative fuel technology with Foy at the helm.
In 2007, MTA launched five hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in a research partnership with Kettering and Michigan State universities, reducing MTA’s diesel dependency by 50 percent. Foy led an effort to build an alternative fuel cell facility – one of the first in Michigan – that provides several alternative fuels to MTA and other customers. The first phase of the $5-million fueling station was completed in 2012 and now generates hydrogen and fuel hydrogen, compressed natural gas, and propane vehicles. Fuel cells do not burn the fuel they use, but combine hydrogen with oxygen from the air to produce electricity. The vehicles emit only water vapor, MTA said in a news release.
‘We built it in Grand Blanc Township and started making hydrogen for a fuel source,? said Foy. ‘Right now natural gas is a reasonable price? it’s not only cleaner, but it’s also far more cost effective then diesel fuel.?
‘The MTA is not just Flint transportation,? he added. ‘We are really a countywide organization. The result is we have had great financial success over the years. We have never lost a millage proposal for MTA.?