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Meet John Andoh!
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John Andoh
Executive Director/CEO
Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority (The COMET)
Columbia, SC
Please describe the public transit agency you run.
The COMET, also known as the Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority, operates 30 routes, provides fixed-route, ReFlex flex service and DART paratransit services, seven days a week, with 13 employees and a fleet of 73 buses. Our service area covers 1,698 square miles in two counties, both urban and rural. |
How long have you worked in the public transportation industry?
Eighteen years, with another seven years as an intern while in high school.
My career of managing rural, small urban and urban public transit systems across the U.S. has included implementing new public transit authorities, consolidating small systems into larger regional ones, implementing new innovative transit services such as flex routes and partnerships with local agencies, businesses, colleges and intercity bus carriers.
In 2007, while I was working for the city of Elk Grove, CA, the system received APTA’s Outstanding Public Transit System Award for agencies providing fewer than four million annual trips.
While in high school, I learned the fundamentals of public transit services such as route planning, scheduling, participating in policy board meetings and shadowing transit planners and transit managers.
When I was 16-17, I helped as the city of Emeryville, CA, transitioned the Emery Go-Round shuttle from a city operation to a non-profit Transportation Management Area. My mentor, Carlos Tobar, with whom I had the opportunity to work in Lodi, Stockton and Elk Grove, invested in me more than 10 years to help me become a successful public transit executive director.
What do you like most about your job?
Being highly passionate in my work, I enjoy riding bus routes daily, to and from the office or when running errands on weekends, talking with customers and learning about how riding our system makes a difference in their lives.
What drew you to a career in public transportation?
When I was 5 years old, I went on a field trip to the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Agency in San Jose, CA, and was fascinated by its operation. This was the year they introduced light rail. I met a service development specialist named Kermit Cuff who stayed in contact with me, taught me the fundamentals of public transit throughout my childhood and supported me in my career growth.
How long have you been an APTA member? What have you found to be the most valuable APTA benefit or resource that helps you do your job?
I’ve been an APTA member for 18 years. I find the association’s conferences very educational and rewarding. I enjoy participating in the seminars and visiting with vendors to learn about innovative products to make public transit exciting.
I have learned about innovative concepts I can bring back to my agency for implementation, as we all learn from each other to make the best possible product for our customers.
For example, at APTA conferences I learned about agency partnerships with colleges and universities, becoming a “mobility agency,” forming partnerships with the municipalities that fund public transit services, implementing innovative services with transportation network companies, transitioning to a green/alternative fleet, working effectively with unions, boards of directors and contractors, FTA compliance and procurement, and advocacy for transportation funding.
You are a member of 24 APTA committees. Can you share some of your committee experiences?
I have been most active in the Membership and Marketing & Communications committees. I can help provide insight on how APTA can reach out to small and rural public transit operators, since I have represented many of them in my career, and have helped with the scoring process for the annual AdWheel Awards. I also follow via emails the activities of the Bus and Paratransit CEO, Access and Small Operators committees.
I would like to become more engaged in APTA and network more with my peers to ensure my continued success in public transit management.
What is unique about your agency? What would readers be surprised to learn?
The COMET is a rejuvenated public transit agency with a highly visible brand in the community. The system was the last in the U.S. to be privately owned (by South Carolina Electric and Gas), before being transferred to public operation in 2002; since then, ridership has grown to 2.8 million annual passenger trips.
In addition, I manage or support three other agencies on a part-time basis: eTrans in Escalon, CA, Manteca Transit in Manteca, CA, and Camel Express in Quartzsite, AZ.
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