Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez has appointed Harpal S. Kapoor to the permanent position of director of Miami-Dade Transit (MDT).

Kapoor had served as MDT’s interim director since March 2007. He has 22 years of experience in public transportation. He first joined Miami-Dade Transit in 1985, rising through the ranks to become assistant general superintendent before leaving MDT in 1999 to join the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, where he served as assistant manager of bus engineering for six years.

Kapoor rejoined MDT in February 2006 as deputy director of operations, and was responsible for developing a preventive maintenance program that resulted in $1.3 million in annual savings.

Upon his appointment as interim director, Kapoor was charged with achieving a number of efficiencies throughout the department while implementing a transportation improvement plan funded by the voter-approved half-penny sales surtax.