CIRTA Names New Executive Director

John Seber (photo courtesy of the Central Indiana Regional Transportation Authority)

The Central Indiana Regional Transportation Authority Board of Directors has named John Seber as the organization’s executive director. CIRTA says Seber has worked with transit authorities throughout the country while based in Indianapolis during his 28-year career.

Seber replaces Ehren Bingaman, who served as interim executive director since 2019. CIRTA Board Chair Bill Ehret says Seber is an ideal fit to lead the 10-county organization.

“We considered 72 candidates from Indianapolis and beyond, and John rose to the top,” said Mark Richards, search committee chair. “We were impressed with his combination of high-level and in-the-weeds knowledge of transit, as well as his ability to build partnerships and his close familiarity with the Federal Transit Administration.”

Seber has worked for IndyGo as director of vehicle and facility maintenance as well as Dallas-based MV Transportation, a passenger-transportation contracting firm.

“For the last 20 years, I’ve been in regional roles serving as a director and vice president and have been engaged in helping other cities develop and improve their transit service,” said Seber. “I’m excited to utilize what I’ve learned through that process to help my own community’s transit services grow and improve.”

With its new leadership established, CIRTA says it wants to close the job access mobility gap that exists within the region. Citing its own data, the organization says decentralized job growth has led to an increased need for regional transportation to job centers in suburban counties.

The CIRTA board says it plans to focus on four priority areas. They include increasing taxpayer value by reducing overhead and direct dollars to service, increasing community value by generating performance that justifies investments in transportation, improving mobility outcomes by focusing on solutions that address local mobility needs and improving customer experience developing accountability to ensure customers are provided a great service for their investment.