The Texas Transit Assoc. (TTA) has named VIA Metropolitan Transit President/CEO Jeffrey C. Arndt as their 2017 Outstanding Public Transportation GM in recognition of his work to deliver exceptional contributions to the transit industry and the State of Texas.

Arndt joined VIA in 2012, after a 25-year career at Houston METRO where he achieved the position of sr. VP, Operations/COO. Since being named VIA president/CEO in 2013, he has led the development of multiple innovations in the form of service products, enhanced passenger amenities, and strategic partnerships to advance transit throughout the region. Recent notable initiatives realized under Arndt’s leadership include:

• An aggressive program to install 1,000 new bus shelters over a three-year period. By the close of 2017, 95 percent of all VIA boardings will occur at sheltered locations.

• Implementation of free 4G LTE WiFi on every VIA vehicle and at every major facility. The program’s launch in late 2015 earned VIA the distinction of being the first major transit agency in the nation to offer system-wide WiFi service.

• The completion and opening of Centro Plaza at VIA Villa, a state-of-the-art transit center that offers modern passenger amenities, environmentally sustainable design, and transformative development to the historic West Side of San Antonio. Opened in November 2015, Centro Plaza saw an estimated 1.1 million passenger trips in 2016, its first full year of service.

In addition to his service as CEO for VIA, Arndt serves locally on the Boards of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce; the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; Visit San Antonio; San Antonio for Growth on the Eastside; and Centro Alliance. He also serves on the Board of the Texas Transit Assoc. and is VP of the South West Transit Assoc. He has previously been recognized as a CEO Champion of Diversity for the Texas Diversity Council, and received the inaugural Secretary Ray LaHood Award from the San Antonio Chapter of the Women’s Transportation Seminar for advancing the careers of women and minorities in transportation.