APTA: Melaniphy quits; White named interim head

Michael P. Melaniphy has resigned as President and CEO of the American Public Transportation Association, effective April 29. APTA Vice President-Member Services Richard A. White is Acting President and CEO until a permanent replacement is selected.

APTA said, in a statement, that Melaniphy’s resignation “comes after consensus between the APTA Executive Committee and Melaniphy,” who had come under fire after the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority, expressing extreme dissatisfaction with both the organization and Melaniphy, discontinued its Transit Member status.

APTA Chair Valarie J. McCall said Melaniphy’s resignation and the appointment of an Acting President and CEO “mark a new chapter of dynamic leadership for APTA, the premier association for the public transportation industry in North America. The change in leadership will spark and encourage all APTA stakeholders, from APTA members to coalition partners, to step forward with their thoughts and suggestions for improving the association at all levels. APTA will conduct a national search and ensure that this process will be transparent as we work to appoint the next President and CEO. APTA is welcoming constructive input to make the association as transparent and open as possible.”

Richard White previously served as APTA’s chair (2004-2005) and has a distinguished career in public transportation. He has held top management roles at New Jersey Transit, the Bay Area Rapid Transit in San Francisco and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority in Washington, D.C.

Now that Melaniphy is out of the picture, there has been speculation that the New York MTA could return to the APTA fold, provided that several key changes take place. Among the NYMTA’s complaints is that no so-called “Legacy Systems” (NYMTA, NJ Transit, SEPTA, CTA, MBTA, PATH, BART, MUNI, PATCO, etc.) or commuter rail systems have voting representation on the APTA Executive Committee. NYMTA Chairman Tom Prendergast called this “unconscionable.”