So here’s a little bit of intriguing industry news: Joseph Smith, the former Senior Vice President of Buses with Transit, has been named interim CEO of the DesignLine company. Smith stepped down from his MTA post in late 2010 and had been consulting with Cyan Partners, the arranger of DesignLine’s recent debt and equity capital raises. Now, he’ll have the opportunity to right the DesignLine ship on an interim basis.
To me, this is an intriguing bit because of DesignLine’s tortured history with its delivery of buses and its lack of recent success. DesignLine ran a 2007 pilot in New York City, and although customers gave high marks to the vehicles, Transit eventually determined that the vehicles were not robust enough for New York City. At around the same time, the city of Baltimore issued a similar announcement concerning DesignLine buses, and many in the transit production industry questioned the long-term viability of the company.
So now Smith will take the reins. He served as the head of MTA Bus, the president of MTA Long Island Bus and most recently as the SVP with Transit overseeing buses. He was well-respected at the MTA and can take his insider perspective to a company that needs the help. A shift like Smith’s from buyer to vendor is not a rare one within the transit industry. It’s a tight-knit community that often can’t shake its “inside baseball” reputation. We’ll see now what future awaits these DesignLine buses.
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