Metro News Release

For immediate release: November 4, 2006

John B. Catoe Jr. to head Metro

John B. Catoe Jr. has been selected by the Metro Board of Directors to lead the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro) as its next General Manager in January 2007.

Catoe has 26 years of experience in the transit industry. Since 2001, he has been the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. He will take over as the eighth permanent General Manager in Metro’s history and will oversee the activities of nearly 10,000 employees, a $1.2 billion annual operating budget and a $3.3 billion six-year Capital Improvement Program. The exact terms of Catoe’s contract have not yet been finalized.

"John’s enthusiasm for customer service and his proven record of success in transit is consistent with the Board’s commitment to meet the region’s transit needs," said Gladys Mack, Metro’s Board Chairman. "The Board is pleased that John has accepted our offer."

As the Deputy Chief Executive Officer for the Los Angeles County Metro, Catoe currently oversees 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 callboxes. He also oversees the LA transit agency’s planning, law enforcement, homeless assist program, safety and facilities.

Originally from Washington, DC, Catoe is a product of the local school system and his father was a D.C. cab driver. He 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. When he left Orange County Transit he went on to head the transportation department in the City of Santa Monica.

Catoe will replace Metro’s permanent General Manager Richard A. White, who left in February 2006. Dan Tangherlini, served as Interim General Manager for nine months, and did not compete for the permanent position. Jack Requa, Metro’s Chief Operating Officer for Bus, has been serving as the Acting General Manager since Tangherlini’s departure earlier this month.

Catoe has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Redlands in Redlands, CA. In 2004, he was elected Chairman of the California Transit Association for a two-year term.

News release issued on November 4, 2006.