About Robert H. Prince, Jr.

Robert H. Prince, Jr. has been a trusted advisor and mentor throughout his career, playing a critical role in the transportation industry for more than 40 years. Under Foot Prince, LLC, Robert (Bob) provides consultation services that span the industry, including transit operations, state of good repair, human resources and labor relations. Transportation leaders call upon Bob for career advice, problem resolution and everything in-between. Additionally, Bob lends his time as a senior advisor to GannonConsult, a transportation leadership consultancy. At GannonConsult, he provides individual consultation to CEOs and senior leaders, supports capital partnering efforts and works with transit board members across the transportation sector.

Bob started his career as a coach operator at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). Over several years he held over 20 jobs, working his way up to become the first African American to serve as General Manager. As GM he provided the daily operations and administrative leadership for the MBTA. He was responsible for the establishment of all management policies and practices, and set standards of excellence to which all operations, compliance and administrative functions perform. He oversaw the management of over 6,500 employees, and transported over a million commuters each day.

After 25+ years at the MBTA, Bob joined AECOM and served as Vice President of AECOM Transportation. He was involved with national transit issues and focused on state of good repair/capital needs assessments, security analyses, BRT development, and new-system operations start-up.

Until 2015 Bob served as Chairman of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO), where he directed many successful programs and initiatives during his 17+ years with the organization. Under his leadership, COMTO saw significant growth. The 44th National Meeting and Training Conference was the organization’s largest in July 2015, with nearly 1,000 industry professionals in attendance.

Having served on numerous boards throughout his career, including APTA, APTF, TCRP, and COMTO, his achievements have earned him many awards. The latest includes the President & CEO's Award for Excellence.

Additional honors Bob has received include the 2020 Sharon D. Banks Award, which recognizes innovative and successful leadership in people-oriented initiatives in transportation, sustained over an extended period of time, that exemplify Banks’ ideals of humanity and service. Bob has also received the APTA 2017 Hall of Fame Award along with the "Lifetime Achievement Award" by the Council of University Transportation Centers in January of 2017. In 2011, Bob was given the recognition of “National Associate,” which is bestowed by the National Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. Other awards include "The Governor’s Pride and Performance Award,” "The Greater Boston Black Achievers Award,” "The Consumer Affairs Annual Bell Ringer Awards for Excellence for Public Information through the Snow Guide,” the "Heroes Among Us Award presented by the Boston Celtics,” and WTS’s Rosa Parks award for diversity.

He is author of "Everyman: Foot Prince in the Snow," a book describing lessons learned while leading in the transit sector. Read more about his book here.

Bob is married to Dr. Judith Prince and they have two children and two grandchildren. They reside in Jacksonville.