New Guy on the Bus

John Catoe has managed L.A.'s MTA system for the past 5 years, capping a 26 year career in transit. The MTA is the third largest public transit system in the country by ridership, and by most accounts is bigger than Metro. Bus and rail lines serve almost 1.6 million people a day, the system employs 9,200 workers and operates with a $3 billion annual budget for 2007. In addition to its bus and subway service, MTA also partially oversees sixteen municipal bus systems, three light rail lines, several commuter rail, and bike and pedestrian paths.

Back in D.C., Metro’s unique problems and combative regional governance means that whoever runs it must be a Renaissance man of sorts. A long-term vision is needed to accommodate massive growth predicted for the Washington region, but Metro's chief must also be savvy enough politically to convince two states and a city to share it. While progress has been made, Metro is still plagued by various problems that demand a reformer who is willing to put new ideas on the table. An ability to connect with both rank-and-file workers and upper level managers (with upper-level egos) will also be key, along with the financial knowledge to deal with Metro’s shaky fiscal situation.

Though L.A. offers a different transit challenge than D.C., Southern California's notorious car culture presents an equally uphill battle to the top brass at MTA. During his time there, Catoe was primarily in charge of L.A.'s bus system, which consists of nearly 200 routes carrying 4 times more daily riders as Metrobus. As second-in-command, he racked up some impressive accomplishments. The progress L.A. made due to several of Catoe's creative service changes helped win MTA the American Public Transportation Association’s award for the country's number one transit system in 2006.

As MTA's CEO told the L.A. Daily News, "John's work has been essential to Metro's many successes, and I give him great credit for his role in helping the agency win this year's APTA award...".

So what were this guy's bright ideas? Catoe realized MTA's sprawling route system, extending though 88 cities in L.A. County, was too centralized and inflexible. He divided bus operations into five service areas under a loose governing council, and gave localities greater control of routes. He also helped push differentiation of service types. MTA now operates three different types of bus service, each distinguished by the color of the bus. Local buses are painted orange and make frequent stops. Red buses are Metro Rapid Service, and offer less-frequent stops along bigger arterial corridors. Blue Metro Express buses offer premium service along freeways, taking advantage of designated lanes to break through gridlock. Catoe also oversaw the beginning of a fundamental restructuring of bus service, converting a grid-based layout to a hub-and-spoke system focused on activity centers.

As the Washington region continues to change, similar innovation could help Metro adapt. WMATA will soon begin experimenting with streamlined bus service along routes such as 16th Street and Georgia Ave. Metro is also in the process of restructuring several bus routes - and clumsily at that. Catoe’s experience will be invaluable in helping to make these ideas work. Possible expansion of this concept to other routes, and introduction of other changes to bus service will help to increase the role of Metrobus as a transit option, a shift that is sorely needed.

But Catoe's potential extends beyond Metrobus to the whole Metro system. Working with limited options in L.A., one of Catoe’s greatest accomplishments was the integration of different types of service. Pegging together L.A.’s three light rails, subway, municipal buses, commuter rail, bike and pedestrian paths, and various city bus services was no easy task. As any Metro rider who uses more than one form of transit can attest, connectivity is not one of WMATA’s strong points. Plans to more closely align services like Ride-On in Maryland, Northern Virginia’s various bus lines, MARC and VRE, not to mention the city’s future light rail and streetcar plans have been frustratingly slow. Catoe's past success shows his potential to help speed this process up, making transit in the D.C. area more convenient and seamless. Moreover, it shows that Catoe understands how to work with existing resources in new ways to tailor service into the most useful possible system - critical to Metro's future.

Catoe also earned fierce respect at MTA as a fair and pragmatic manager. He successfully negotiated a 35-day transit strike in 2003 with a low-key approach that garnered praise from unions and managers alike. As one MTA board member told the Daily News, "One of the great things about John is that all the employees respect him and like working with him. He is an operations guy and understands this business top to bottom." This certainly puts him on par with Dan Tangherlini’s famed knowledge and rapport with employees.

Of course, all this potential is only that - potential. We are excited to see what kind of manager John Catoe is, and how quickly and aggressively he will begin implementing reforms and innovations. With all the challenges it faces, Metro sorely needs bold vision guided by a steady hand. We hope that Catoe's roots in D.C and passion for well-run transit will translate into the system Metro can and should be.