L.A. Metro CEO Phillip Washington is stepping down from the public transportation agency he has led for the last six years.
Los Angeles Mayor and Metro Chairman Eric Garcetti announced Wednesday, Feb. 3, that Washington has decided not to extend or renew his contract when it expires in May.
“Phil Washington has been a visionary leader, reimagining our transit network and steering our region toward an era of generational growth and lasting progress,” Garcetti said in a statement. “With Phil at the helm, Metro had a clear direction, strong steward, and champion for Measure M. He leaves this agency much better than he found it, with an expanding public transportation system that remains a force for sustainability, equity, jobs, workforce development and shared prosperity across the L.A. area.”
Washington joined Metro in 2015 after working for Denver’s Regional Transportation District for more than a decade. At Metro, he led the nation’s third-busiest transit agency, with an annual ridership, prior to COVID-19, of 1.2 million passengers, a fleet of 2,200 buses and six rail lines. His responsibility included a $7 billion annual budget and $18-$20 billion in construction projects, according to Metro.
Washington notified Metro’s board of his decision to step down in a letter Wednesday morning.
“It has been my distinct pleasure and absolute honor to serve and lead Metro’s nearly 11,000 employees for the last six years,” Washington wrote in the letter. “I leave with great satisfaction knowing that, working together, we have improved mobility and increased access to opportunity for all residents of LA County, and weathered one of the most devastating health crisis of the past century. We have indeed quickened the pace of public service and left the County better than it was.”
Washington declined a request to comment.
He has not disclosed his plans post-Metro but some believe he may be headed to a federal position. Washington hinted that his next role may interact with Metro in letters to the board and staff Wednesday.
“I look forward to continuing to advocate and advance the mission of Metro in my next endeavor,” he wrote.
Recently, Washington led President-elect Joe Biden’s transportation transition team in November and December. Although Biden picked former South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg as his transportation secretary, transit watchers speculate the soon-to-be former L.A. Metro leader could be headed elsewhere on Biden’s team.
“Everything is re-jiggering,” said Bart Reed, executive director of The Transit Coalition, a nonprofit that follows transit in Los Angeles. “He’s run transit in Chicago, Denver and Los Angeles. The next step in his career would be the Federal Transit Administration.”
The FTA, a part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, provides financial and technical assistance to local public transit systems, oversees safety measures and assists in technological research.
Reed said Washington most likely wanted to wait until his contract was up before leaving his job. It’s unclear if he was a candidate for the cabinet post, but heading up the FTA would be a plum assignment, as would undersecretary of transportation.
“I would be shocked if that is not what is happening,” Reed said.
L.A. Metro’s board of directors has not voted yet on a specific process for replacing Washington, but the board is expected to conduct a nationwide search, according to a press release.
Most likely, Washington would have a say in picking his successor. He is known for his networking among leaders in the transportation industry.
“Washington will work to make sure there is a professional who will come in,” Reed said.
Those in other agencies said Washington and Garcetti had a broad vision for transportation, and unlike their predecessors, they believed in expanding rail lines to the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys.
“It was kismet we had both Mayor Garcetti and Phil Washington who had the same view, that all 88 cities in the county should come together in sharing solutions to this problem,” said Habib Balian, chief executive officer of the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority, the independent agency overseeing a portion of the expansion.
Balian said Washington helped the Authority get approval from the Metro board and extra funding from the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments to extend the Metro rail Gold Line, now called the “L Line,” from Azusa to Pomona.
The full,12.3-mile project is mapped out to reach Claremont and cross into Montclair in San Bernardino County, for a total cost of $2.1 billion. But rising steel and labor costs left about a $450 million funding gap that board members hope can be filled by the new administration in Washington D.C.
“He was a big believer in that project and in bringing the whole county together,” Balian added.
During his tenure, Washington joined forces with Garcetti to pass Measure M, a half-cent sales tax measure for Metro rail, bus and highway projects. He also helped the agency secure $9 billion in grant funding over the past five years.
Besides the Gold Line extension, Washington’s administration includes these projects under construction:
Projects planned for the San Fernando Valley include a rapid bus line from Pasadena to North Hollywood, a Van Nuys Boulevard light-rail project and transitioning the Orange Line from dedicated bus line to rail line.
Though his tenure was largely without controversy, Washington has been criticized in recent years for delays in the building of the Crenshaw Line and for scaling back public transportation options during the COVID-19 outbreak. At a recent board meeting, the board overturned a staff recommendation and voted to add federal dollars into restoration of some bus lines curtailed or reduced because of the pandemic.
Ridership across buses and trains nearly halved from 1.2 million daily riders in 2019 to 650,500 daily riders in 2020, according to Metro’s estimates. In his letters, Washington said he believed Metro’s management of the pandemic would help Metro “emerge from this health crisis stronger and more resilient.”
A recent initiative made it so Metro riders can use their smart phones instead of tap cards when boarding public transportation.
In a statement, Los Angeles County supervisor Hilda Solis, the first vice chair on Metro’s board, praised Washington’s leadership during a tumultuous period.
“Phil Washington has provided exemplary leadership for Metro throughout his tenure, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Solis stated. “The past year brought a myriad of challenges for the agency in terms of budget, operations and capital projects — and Phil met the moment every time.”