Joseph Smith, Transit’s current senior vice president of the Department of Buses and the president of MTA Bus and Long Island Bus, will retire at the end of the year, the MTA announced in a press release this afternoon. Smith has been with the MTA for 33 years and started his career in 1977 as a bus operator out of the Amsterdam Depot. He was responsible for the consolidation of the MTA’s three bus divisions, a move credited with saving the authority $86 million in 2009.
“Joe exemplifies the hard work, dedication and innovation that exists throughout the MTA,” MTA Chairman and CEO Jay Walder said. “He learned the system from behind the wheel of a bus and took those lessons to create a more efficient, effective and environmentally friendly bus company. Joe has been the driving force behind continuing improvements in our bus system and he will be sorely missed.”
In the release noting Smith’s retirement, the MTA touts progress made on his watch. MTA buses are now fuel-efficient, environmentally friendly and, with the advent of Select Bus Service, faster. The authority will begin a search to fill the position, and the person they find should, among other tasks, be ready to bring real-time bus-tracking technology to the MTA’s bus fleet.
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