• NEWS HEADLINES
• APTA COMMITTEE PROFILE
• AROUND THE INDUSTRY
• COMMENTARY
• PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Who's Doing What in the Industry

Editor's Note: This version of the story does not include graphics that appear in the print edition. To see these graphics, click here.

Babbitt, McDonald Transit President, Retires
FORT WORTH, TX—Robert (Bob) Babbitt, president of McDonald Transit since 2002, announced his retirement effective Oct. 31. He will work as a consultant to help ensure a smooth transition to new leadership.

Babbitt joined McDonald Transit in 1977 as a management intern and worked his way up in both operating and administrative positions including general manager of the Abilene Transit System, manager of administration for Fort Worth Transportation Authority and a decade as executive director of the ­Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority. He was appointed chief financial officer of McDonald Transit in 1981. When McDonald Transit entered into an agreement with RATP Dev America in 2009, Babbitt led the firm’s recapitalization and modernization of the company’s technology. He is a member of numerous APTA committees.

Ken Fischer, senior vice president of business development, will serve as interim president while the company carries out a search for a successor. He has 37 years of public transit experience.

SAGINAW, MI—Glenn Steffens, site manager for Saginaw Transit Authority Regional Services (STARS), is overseeing operations at the system after longtime General Manager Sylvester Payne stepped down.

TAMPA, FL—Katharine Eagan, chief executive officer of the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority, was named 2016 Business Woman of the Year in the Economic Development category by the Tampa Bay Business Journal.

The annual award celebrates women who have made a notable impact on their communities.

Eagan, who joined HART in 2014 as chief operating officer, has 19 years experience in transportation. She has also worked for the Maryland Transit Administration, Dallas Area Rapid Transit and the city of San Angelo, TX.

LOS ANGELES—Macy Neshati, senior vice president of BYD Heavy Industries, has been named to a two-year term on the Transit Research Analysis Committee of the Transportation Research Board. He will help assess future public transportation needs that could benefit from federal investment and advise FTA on federal research programs. Neshati has more than 35 years of transportation experience.

JACKSONVILLE, FL—The Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) has appointed Carter R. Rohan vice president of construction and capital programs management.

Rohan has more than 37 years of experience in architecture, engineering, program and construction management. He joins JTA from Parsons International Ltd., where he served as vice president and project director of the Riyadh Metro Transit Consultants Joint Venture in Saudi Arabia and worked in Qatar. He was formerly a deputy executive director of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.

HARTFORD, CT—First Transit has named Cindy Jones assistant general manager for procurement and capital projects for Connecticut Transit in Hartford, responsible for purchasing, capital planning and capital projects management for the Hartford, New Haven and Stamford divisions of the state-owned public transit system.

NORFOLK, VA—Jamie Jackson has joined Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) as director of transit development. She comes to HRT after serving as deputy executive director for the Williamsburg Area (VA) Transit Authority.

« Previous Article Return to Top