CapMetro announced its Board of Directors has selected Dottie Watkins as its permanent president and CEO.

The announcement comes on the heels of the first CapMetro Rail Red Line improvement project completion under Project Connect, according to the company's news release.

Watkins began her permanent role as president/CEO on Jan. 30, 2023.

“As a board, it was crucial that we selected the right leader for this position and for our community,” said Jeff Travillion, CapMetro board chair. “We interviewed multiple qualified candidates for this position, and we wanted to make sure the person we selected had a stellar professional reputation, a proven track record of getting things done, and most importantly, was someone the community could trust and their staff could respect and also have confidence in. Dottie meets all those qualifications and I’m confident we made the right decision selecting her as the next president and CEO.”

Watkins is an Austin native and began her career with CapMetro as a part-time bus operator in 1994 while she pursued her degree at The University of Texas. She has held multiple leadership roles within the agency, including deputy CEO, CCO/COO, and VP of bus operations and maintenance.

“I am honored, humbled, and ready to serve as CapMetro’s president and CEO. I want to thank the board for selecting me to serve in this capacity and for their vote of confidence,” said Watkins. “I’ve gotten to watch firsthand as CapMetro and our teams grow into what I consider to be among the best transit agencies in the nation. Delivering safe, reliable, and customer-oriented service for our customers is a priority to me. Central Texas has a lot to look forward to when it comes to public transportation, and I can’t wait to continue collaborating with our stakeholders, the CapMetro staff, and our community members on the future of CapMetro. We work hard, and will continue to do so, to be an agency that delivers service that everyone is proud of and takes care of everyone in our community.”

Watkins has served as the interim president/CEO of CapMetro since June 2022, following the departure of Randy Clarke. Clarke announced in May that he was accepting the position of GM/CEO of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority in Washington, D.C.