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Metro CEO Plans to Retire After 43 Years in Public Transit
It's time for new blood and possibly a fresh approach to public transit in Los Angeles. Metro CEO Roger Snoble announced today that he will retire once someone is hired to replace him.
“After 43 years of public service in the transit industry, I think this is an opportune time to move on and pass the baton to another executive who will insure the implementation of Measure R,” Snoble said today in a statement. “I did a lot of soul-searching and decided it’s in the best interest of the agency to have an executive on board soon who can commit the next four to five years in guiding the development of dozens of critical transit and highway projects that will be funded by the new sales tax, which will be collected starting next July.”
Snoble served as the head honcho at Metro for the past seven years overseeing the opening of the Orange Line, construction on the Gold Line extension and Expo Line, Rapid Bus expansion and much more. It's not been a perfect run by any means--public transit is never one subject to go without controversy--but he has been a strong leader for garnering funding. Operations, however, were not his strong point.
But he is highly praised by fellow politicians. One of his biggest fans, LA County Supervisor, Zev Yaroslavsky: "Roger Snoble has led Metro to new heights in the delivery of expanded, quality public transportation to the citizens of Los Angeles County. What was a troubled and moribund agency more than 10 years ago is now recognized as one of the highest performing bus systems in the nation."
Before coming to Los Angeles, he worked for transit agencies in Dallas, San Diego and Ohio.
Photo by Metro Library & Archive via Flickr
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