The new leader of the Triangle's regional transit group says he will focus on improving its core bus services.
Brian Smith was introduced Wednesday as the president and CEO of GoTriangle. The organization's previous CEO, Charles Lattuca, resigned last year after plans for a regional commuter rail line were put on hold indefinitely.
Smith said he's following GoTriangle's recently adopted three-year strategic plan, which calls for immediately beefing up the region's bus services instead.
"Right now, the focus is on building a stable and mature organization and operation, and focusing on services we can deliver here in the near future," Smith told reporters Wednesday. "There will be opportunity for the bigger picture stuff down the road."
GoTriangle plans to open the new Raleigh Union Station bus depot in August.
"Our focus right now is on improving services that can make a difference in the lives of commuters much more sooner than what a rail project might typically do," Smith said.
The strategic plan also includes building a new transit hub for GoTriangle, which is expected to be built along the North Carolina Railroad Company corridor in RTP by 2028. GoTriangle got a $25 million federal grant for that project during the Biden Administration.
Smith said he expects Congress to keep money flowing for local transit projects despite the Trump Administration's record of pulling back federal funding this year.
"When you put a good project forward, typically it will attract the monies that are there. It is very competitive, obviously, but GoTriangle has been very successful with that," Smith said.
Smith was previously the deputy CEO of Hampton Roads Transit in Virginia, where he helped oversee both bus and light rail lines.
