MBTA Announces Finalists for GM position

According to the Massachusetts State House News Service the MBTA has finally narrowed their field of General Manager finalists down to two candidates.

It looks as if both finalists have good amount of experience in the transportation field, most of which was spent together at the same transportation authority. That being The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA).


Finalist one is Beverly Scott. Scott is the CEO and General Manager of MARTA and has held the position for the past five years. The Second finalist is Dwight Ferrell, who is the deputy General Manager and Chief Operating Officer at MARTA and he has held that position for the past four years.

Beverly Scott
Courtesy: MARTA

MARTA is the nations ninth largest public transportation system. The system consists of four rail lines connecting 38 stations as well as 132 bus lines which serve about 500,000 people daily. This is in contrast to the MBTA which is the nations fifth largest transportation system. According to Secretary Davey MARTA is very similar to the T. “It’s not as big but it’s close. It has bus and subway and some of the same financial challenges that the T does,” Davey said.

Dwight Ferrell
Courtesy: MARTA

When Scott was appointed GM of MARTA she became the first woman to ever hold the position. This will also be the case if she is chosen as the MBTA's new GM. Scott has also worked and held various positions at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York as well as the transportation systems of Philadelphia and Sacramento. Ferrel has held pervious positions in the transportation authorities of New Orleans, Philadelphia, and Austin, Texas. 

The search process started a little over a year ago when then MBTA General Manager Richard Davey was appointed Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation and MassDOT CEO.  Two weeks later the MBTA's Chief Financial Officer, Jonathan Davis, was named interim General Manager and he has held that position ever since.

According to the State House News Service, the Search Committee, which consisted of Secretary Davey, MBTA Board Chairman John Jenkins, and former board member Elizabeth Levin, interviewed over 100 potential candidates for the position over the past year. 

Whoever is chosen as the MBTA's new General Manager will be inheriting a system that is in the midst of a serious financial crisis as well as showing signs of its old age. The MBTA General Manager Screening Committee is said to be interviewing the two candidates and making their final decision this week. Who ever is chosen as the new GM could be at the helm of the T as early as next month.