Mountain Line appoints 12-year employee as new operations manager

The Missoula Urban Transportation District this week named Jennifer Sweten as its new operations manager for Mountain Line, replacing Jeff Logan who will retire in March.

Sweten, a 12-year Mountain Line employee, began working as a part-time bus operator in 2007 before her appointment to operations supervisor in 2012. She became the lead operations supervisor in 2017.

“Jennifer has served Mountain Line with distinction throughout her entire career,” said Corey Aldridge, Mountain Line's general manger. “Her commitment to safety and service, as well as her experience with our system and the Missoula community make her a perfect fit for this important role.”

After adopting its Zero Fare project, Mountain Line saw ridership top 1.5 million passengers. It's currently working on a new long-range plan to enhance public transit. Last year, it also landed a $2.7 million grant for electric buses.

Sweeten, who steps in at a time of growth, earned the Transportation Safety Institute’s Certification for Transit Safety and Security from the U.S. Department of Transportation in 2017. She was named Mountain Line’s safety and security officer the same year.

She also holds a safety and security director certification from the World Safety Organization.

“I’m thrilled for this opportunity,” Sweten said in a statement. “Missoula is a beautiful community to live and work in, and I look forward to serving our agency and our riders into the future.”

Sweten will begin in her new position on March 18 when Logan retires after 34-years in public transportation.