General Manager John B. Catoe, Jr.

John B. Catoe, Jr. has more than 30 years of experience in public transportation. As General Manager of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro), he oversees the second largest rail transit system and the seventh largest bus network in the United States with more than 10,000 employees, a $1.3 billion operating budget and a $3.1 billion five-year Capital Improvement Program.

For six years prior to coming to Metro, Mr. Catoe was the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. In that capacity, he oversaw the agency's multi-modal operations with more than 2,600 buses, three light rail lines, one heavy rail line and the motorist aid program, including the Freeway Service Patrol and highway call boxes. He also oversaw the LA transit agency's planning, law enforcement, homeless assistance program, safety and facilities.

Originally from Washington, D.C., Mr. Catoe is a product of the local school system. His father was a D.C. cab driver. Catoe started his public transportation career at the Orange County Transit District in the personnel department as an Employee Training and Development Administrator in 1979 and when he left, 17 years later, he was Director of Operations. In 1996 he became Director of Transit Services for the City of Santa Monica (Big Blue Bus), and under his direction, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) recognized the agency as the number one transit agency in the nation in 1997 and 2000. Mr. Catoe has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Redlands in Redlands, Calif.

(Updated July 16, 2009)