After more than six years leading the D.C. region’s transit agency — two during a pandemic — Metro General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Paul Wiedefeld is retiring.

Wiedefeld, 66, will leave his position in six months, Metro Board Chairman Paul C. Smedberg announced in an unexpected statement Tuesday afternoon.

Smedberg said he learned of the general manager’s plan for retirement within the last day.

“I was surprised,” he told DCist/WAMU. “Paul has been doing a great job and has really transformed the organization. But it was his decision. … He thought he should move on.”

Recruitment efforts for the new general manager will begin immediately, according to Smedberg. The WMATA board meets next week, and members will spend the week thinking of what qualifications they want in the next leader.

“Forty-plus years in transportation teaches you that there is no set mile marker for this decision, but given the seismic shifts happening in transit and the region, Metro needs a leader who can commit to several years of service and set a new course,” said Wiedefeld in a statement.

Before coming to Metro, Wiedefeld served as the CEO of Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and director of the Maryland Transit Authority.

He was named the new general manager in 2015, during a particularly challenging time in the WMATA’s history. Before Wiedefeld came on, a woman died and dozens more were hospitalized after smoke filled the L’Enfant Plaza station. The transit agency’s finances were in disarray and customer satisfaction had plummeted.

Wiedefeld was tapped by the board unanimously and the announcement of his hire was literally greeted with a standing ovation.

In his early months, Wiedefeld made a series of difficult decisions — including the unprecedented closure of the entire rail system over a safety concern and the implementation of a massive year-long infrastructure plan known as Safe Track — that earned him begrudging respect.

When the transit agency was hauled before Congress to explain itself, DCist reported at the time: “The only things that people seemed to agree on are that new-ish General Manager Paul Wiedefeld is doing well, and that Metro needs to fire people.”

(Perhaps at the height of his popularity, Wiedefeld’s image cropped up on “In Paul We Trust” apparel — t-shirts and hoodies with text on the back that read: “Doors opening. Step back to allow bad managers to exit” and “He’s on fire, so Metro doesn’t have to be.”)

Wiedefeld managed to secure dedicated funding from area jurisdictions — a major feat — and reliability generally improved. (In 2018, he earned a raise to $435,000. A Metro spokesperson says Wiedefeld does not have any retirement bonuses or other perks associated with retirement in his contract.) But the transit agency also continued to grapple with safety issues, ethics issues with former board member Jack Evans, continued cuts to service, crumbling infrastructure, and a series of fires on trains and stations so frequent that someone made a Twitter account to track them.

The pandemic added enormous new challenges, which have been shared by other major transit agencies around the country. Ridership plummeted dramatically, threatening WMATA’s finances and long-term stability (the transit agency saw its worst budget projections in its 50-year history in late 2020). While ridership has rebounded, it still remains below pre-pandemic levels.

Meanwhile, Metrobus had to significantly reduce service this month amid rising COVID-19 infections and a significant number of unvaccinated employees. And rail service remains hobbled by the removal of the newest fleet, following a train derailment in October. Wiedefeld announced recently that the 7000-series wouldn’t return until April at the earliest. Safety officials have been critical of WMATA’s handling of the issue that led to the original derailment.

Despite the challenges, Smedberg says Wiedefeld had a successful tenure, crediting him for ensuring dedicated funding for WMATA and improving rail safety and reliability.

He and others have described Wiedefeld as a good partner, particularly as the general manager navigated the challenges of running an agency that spans three state-level jurisdictions and numerous counties.

“Paul was an incredible asset to D.C. because he was an effective regional leader in building a coalition willing to strengthen WMATA,” Tracey Hadden Loh, one of D.C.’s members on the Metro board, told DCist/WAMU.

Virginia Sen. Mark Warner also heralded Wiedefeld in a statement as “the right person for the job at the right time.”

Metro’s largest union, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689, issued a mixed assessment of Wiedefeld’s tenure, noting that it was marked by multiple moments of strife. Unionized workers voted to strike over working conditions in 2018, one of several significant labor disputes (the union also called for his termination over his handling of a white nationalist rally that year). But things have improved since.

“Despite this history, we’re proud to say that over the last two years we have had a productive working relationship that has allowed us to resolve many of these disputes amicably before they rose to the level of open conflict,” the union said in a statement. “We still disagree on a variety of issues, but we’re confident in saying that the open line of communication that GM Paul Wiedefeld has maintained with us over the past two years has helped avoid problems and deliver better service to the riding public.”

The union urged the board to “find a suitable replacement” and for the next general manager to learn from Wiedefeld’s time helming WMATA, particularly his “early days.”

At a Tuesday press conference, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said it will take a transformative leader to wrangle Metro.

“It’s an enormous job, and trying to find the right person to transform and turn Metro around is going to be a big challenge,” Hogan said. “We look forward to finding somebody that will continue to make some improvements.”

This post has been updated with additional information about Wiedefeld’s tenure. Martin Austermuhle and Jordan Pascale contributed reporting.