David Scorey is CEO of Keolis North America. Scorey began his career in transportation as an apprentice mechanical engineer, moving up to a variety of supervisory and managerial positions in the industry for British Rail, Intercity West Coast, Virgin Trains, and Alstom before joining Southern Railway in 2004. In the fall of 2016, Scorey took over as General Manager of Keolis Commuter Services (KCS) in Boston, MA. At KCS, he led the operation and maintenance of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s (MBTA) commuter rail system, which carries more than 127,000 passengers daily throughout the Greater Boston area. Under his leadership at KCS, the commuter rail surpassed its ten-year average for on-time-performance by two percent and increased revenue and ridership – a testament to effective leadership and commitment to riders.
The Role of the Private Sector in Building Back Better Transit
In the first two articles of this series, I discussed what can be done to make public transit Americans’ first choice for getting around. I also shared how transit agencies can be effective with the windfall from the CARES Act and the bipartisan infrastructure deal. A common thread between these two ideas is the assistance provided by private industry — particularly transit operators like Keolis.