The Capital Area Transit System has tapped as its new chief operating officer an executive who spent a dozen years with the Port Authority of Allegheny County in Pennsylvania, and has created a new chief revenue officer position for former COO Bill Deville.
Donald Palmer has been on the job for about a week, CATS says in a news release. He comes to Baton Rouge from Pittsburgh, where he served as director of road operations for the area’s port authority. He has a dozen years of experience in public transit with the agency, CATS says, having begun his career as a bus operator. In Pittsburgh, he helped oversee a transit system that included about 1,100 operators delivering service on 97 fixed bus routes—or about three times as many as there are in Baton Rouge—as well as light rail system with three lines. The Pittsburg system serves about 200,000 passengers daily.
“Right now I am immersing myself in learning the intricacies of CATS’ operations so I can work with the employees here to improve how we serve Baton Rouge,” Palmer says in a statement issued by CATS.
In that same statement, CATS CEO Bob Mirabito says “we are confident that Don will help move us forward by finding operational efficiencies that will allow us to better serve our current customers and expand our ridership.”
The move comes as CATS’ two-year, $1.39 million contract with Dallas-based MV Transportation to manage the system is set to expire at the end of the year. CATS has said it will not renew the contract and is bringing management in-house.
In his new role, Deville, who served as COO since December 2013, will focus on managing and diversifying revenue streams for CATS, the agency says. CATS’ total budget for 2015 is $27 million. In July, CATS officials said they will need to generate as much as $11 million in additional funds through the end of next year to implement the goals contained in a new strategic plan, which include replacing 11 buses, constructing four new transit hubs and building additional bus shelters.
Palmer and Deville both will be paid $125,000 annually in their positions. This spring, Mirabito was given a three-year contract renewal with a salary increase. Mirabito now earns $175,000 annually, plus benefits, up from $147,000 per year under his former contract.
—Steve Sanoski
