Boards and Commitees

Get Involved

How to get involved

Public transportation affects everyone in Polk County, not just those who use the bus system. It is true that without transit many of our seniors, low-income, and disabled would not be able to get around on their own, but transit also plays an important role in all of our lives. Transit provides access to jobs and education, promotes economic development, and plays a vital role in hurricane readiness. Transit also extends the life of our roadways by mitigating congestion, thus making the money spent on roadways go a lot further.

For all of those reasons and more, active public involvement is a major part of the transportation planning process. Your opinion about public transportation is important. Please share your ideas, comments and questions with us. We are eager to help you learn more about transit and we will always listen to your suggestions. The following sections provide a few suggestions for how to get involved.

Attend Meetings & Workshops
All Board of Director, Committee, and Public Workshop meetings are open to the general public and news media.

The following Board of Directors and Committees all provide a forum for discussing public transportation issues in Polk County. Click on the following links below to view a calendar of upcoming meetings.

• Polk Transit Authority
  • Citizens’ Transit Advisory Committee
  • Strategic Planning Committee
• Lakeland Area Mass Transit District
• Winter Haven Area Transit
• Polk Transportation Planning Organization

Board Members

Polk Transit Authority Board of Directors

The Polk Transit Authority Board of Directors consists of nine members and one non-voting member.

*This Board member position is rotated between the City of Bartow and the City of Auburndale.
**This Board member position is rotated among the following cities, determined by population size in descending order:  Fort Meade, Lake Alfred, Mulberry, Dundee, Frostproof, Eagle Lake, Davenport, Polk City, Lake Hamilton
***This Board member position is rotated between the City of Haines City and the City of Lake Wales.

Citizens’ Transit Advisory Committee

The Citizens’ Transit Advisory Committee consists of 23 members.  There is a position for a representative from each municipality in Polk County, four at-large representatives, a wheel-chair representative, and a sight-impaired representative.

Current Members

City of Lakeland Leo Auger
City of Winter Haven Rachel Besso
City of Eagle Lake Peter Gardner – Vice-Chairman
City of Davenport Douglas McIntyre
City of Fort Meade Marcella Nelson
City of Lakeland Cindy Pendarvis
City of Bartow Emmitt Purvis
City of Winter Haven Leviticus Reed – Chairman

Polk County Ralph Riera
Polk County Venita Saunders
City of Haines City Paul Senft
City of Auburndale Dennis Shultz
Town of Lake Hamilton Marlene Wagner

Polk County Denise Watts
Town of Hillcrest Heights Albert Welch

Strategic Planning Committee

Current Members

Meeting Minutes and Agendas

Coming Soon