Metro names new CEO

Metro named its next CEO to step in after Paul Wiedefeld retires at the end of next month.

What’s happening: Randy Clarke, who’s coming to WMATA after leading Cap Metro in Austin, Texas, takes over as the agency faces steep pandemic-induced profit losses and a safety investigation that has sidelined over half of Metro’s railcar fleet for six months and counting.

Details: Clarke worked for Boston’s transit authority for six years — including a stint as chief safety officer — and spent two years as a VP at the American Public Transportation Association, a trade group based in the District.

• WMATA salary: $485,000 (10% annual bonus eligibility).
• Start date: Late summer.
• Employment term: 5 years.

Track record: Clarke will go from overseeing a $318 million operating budget in Austin to Metro’s $2 billion operating budget.

• His top achievement in Texas involved the effort to get a multi-billion-dollar transportation expansion project — including new light rail lines — approved by voters.
• After starting there in 2018, much of his tenure involved navigating the pandemic and the steep ridership drop that followed. 

Similar to D.C., pandemic staffing shortages and subsequent route changes have frustrated Cap Metro riders this year.