Photo by Samer Farha.

John Catoe, the much-reviled former general manager of Metro who resigned from the position in January under immense pressure, has returned to the transit agency. Well, sort of. Adam Tuss reports that Catoe has taken a strategic adviser position with MV Transportation, Inc., the contractor that operates WMATA’s MetroAccess service for elderly and disabled riders. After leaving WMATA, Catoe returned to California (where he once worked at the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority) and started the Catoe Group, a transit consulting firm. Catoe will reportedly assist MV with “developing long-term business plans and growth initiatives” — in addition to MetroAccess, MV also operates service in 24 states.

So to break it down in the simplest possible terms: Catoe is coming to D.C. from California in order to take a advising position for a service whose ridership is growing, but has historically struggled mightily with issues of reliability and safety. Please, stop us if this sounds at all familiar.