Having served 18 years at the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA), including the past five as president/CEO, W. Curtis Stitt announced he will retire Sept. 30.

Appointed to lead COTA on Feb. 1, 2012, Stitt oversaw the transformation of public transit in Central Ohio, including a downtown circulator, an airport shuttle, and a comprehensive redesign of the entire bus network.

“As I look back on my tenure, I’m grateful for the opportunity I’ve had to work with so many great people, and I am extremely proud of what we achieved together,” Stitt said. “We’ve leveraged new technology, innovative thinking, and old-fashioned common sense to make public transit more convenient and efficient, and to meet the needs of more people.”

“Curtis’ strong leadership has brought COTA into a new era of public transit. Under Curtis’ direction, COTA is transforming itself with the current system redesign, implementation of the multimodal bus rapid transit line, and technology advances like Transit App,” said Jean Carter Ryan, chair of COTA’s board of trustees. “On behalf of the board, I want to thank Curtis for his service and dedication, not only to COTA, but to the Central Ohio community. We wish him all the best.”

Prior to his appointment as president and CEO, Stitt served one year as COTA’s sr. VP and COO. Before that, he served 12 years as COTA’s legal counsel, including six years as general counsel and VP, legal and government affairs.

The Board of Trustees will launch a nationwide search for the next COTA president/CEO.