SORTA appoints CEO/GM of Metro transit system

The Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority appointed Terry Garcia Crews as CEO/ General Manager of the Metro transit system in Greater Cincinnati, effective Nov. 1, 2010.

Garcia Crews is currently GM/President for Star Tran Inc., which provides services to the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority in Austin, Texas. In this role, she is responsible for almost 400 fixed-route and paratransit vehicles, a $98 million budget, and a workforce of 1,000.

A transit professional with more than 20 years of experience in both the private and public sectors, Garcia Crews previously served as general manager & CEO of LexTran in Lexington, Ky., and as assistant general manager for SunTran in Tucson, Ariz. 

As a national transportation consultant, she formulated strategic plans and awareness programs for transportation systems across the U.S. She has experience leading multi-dimensional organizations to achieve financial sustainability, improve service, effect cultural change, improve labor and employee relations, and foster stakeholder support.

“Terry Garcia Crews has a proven track record of success, and we feel confident that her executive experience will be an asset to Metro,” said William Mallory Sr., Vice Chair of the SORTA board and chair of the board’s personnel committee that led the search for a new CEO. 

“Throughout my career, I’ve been committed to providing the best transit service possible. I’m eager to work with the SORTA board, Metro’s community stakeholders, and the Metro team to move transit forward in Greater Cincinnati,” said Garcia Crews. 

Garcia Crews will be employed by Professional Transit Management, which provides Metro’s CEO and other professional services under contract to the SORTA board.

She has been actively involved with APTA as a regional board director and a member of several key committees. Of Hispanic heritage, Garcia Crews also has served on APTA’s Diversity Council, and she was selected to serve on the Transit Cooperative Research Program oversight and project selection committee that awards funding for transit research. 

Garcia Crews holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Arizona, with a double major in Finance and Marketing. She is married and has two children.

Metro is a non-profit, tax-funded public service of the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority, providing about 19 million rides per year.