CTA President Dorval Carter to retire as head of transit agency

He has been criticized for his response to CTA safety concerns and complaints about reliability

Leah Hope Image
Tuesday, January 14, 2025
Dorval Carter to retire as head of CTA
CTA President Dorval Carter announced he will retire as head of the Chicago transit agency at the end of the month.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- CTA President Dorval Carter, Jr. announced Monday he will retire as head of the transit agency at the end of the month.

"The City of Chicago is grateful to President Dorval Carter for his decades of service with the Chicago Transit Authority," Mayor Brandon Johnson said. "His leadership reimagined the movement of our city. His stewardship of the Red Line Extension project is just one of the notable achievements in his historic career."

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Carter began his career with the CTA as a staff attorney, and worked for the CTA for a combined 26 years, with stints as acting president, executive vice-president, chief administrative officer and several legal roles. Carter also spent nearly 15 years in senior leadership roles with the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Transit Administration.

He was the first African American to lead the agency.

"President Carter is an internationally recognized and highly respected leader in the public transit industry, and CTA has been fortunate to benefit from his leadership and vision over the past decade as president," Chicago Transit Board chairman Lester Barclay said. "Since I became chair in 2021, I have seen firsthand his unwavering commitment to equity and his passion for this agency, which is exemplified through transformative projects like the Red Line Extension. His legacy will leave a lasting impact on CTA, and we are grateful for his dedicated service."

The CTA said Carter has overseen $11 billion in projects that were either completed, begun or announced during his tenure, including the $5.7 billion Red Line Extension.

Carter will be assuming a role as president and CEO of St. Anthony Hospital on Chicago's West Side, where he has been a board member and where his father served as chair of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department for many years.

He has been criticized for his response to CTA safety concerns and complaints about reliability.

"My office has consistently received complaints about public safety and reliability on CTA. So, seeing President Carter step down, I think it's time for him to step down," 34th Ward Alderman Bill Conway said.

Some aldermen backed a resolution calling for Carter's resignation last year.

"We want somebody who is passionate, who rides the buses and trains. That would be a large improvement," 40th Ward Ald. Andre Vasquez said.

Carter's announcement came days after he and other officials celebrated new federal funds to expand Red Line service to 130th Street.

"I think he leaves a legacy that's not all bad; he helped with the extension of the Red Line, secured the funds," 25th Ward Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez said.

"We don't want to discount the work that has been done just because it's been tough the last couple of years, but we are really grateful now there is an opportunity for new leadership," 40th Ward Ald. Andre Vasquez said.

Three years ago, Fabio Gottlicher co-founded Commuters Take Action.

"The service remains quite erratic on some lines. So, if the schedule says the Blue Line is coming every five minutes, it should come every fives on the dot. But, what we see is 20-minute gap followed by three trains," Gottlicher said. "He really lacked the everyday rider experience to run a system like that."

RTA Chairman Kirk Dillard said in a statement, "CTA President Dorval Carter, Jr.'s retirement bookends an era of historic investment and resilience through crisis for Chicago's public transit system.

"This region has benefited from President Carter's passion, experience, and determination to provide the best and most equitable transit service to CTA's riders.

"President Carter's legacy can be seen in significant rebuild projects, like the Red Purple Line Modernization and landmark station reconstructions at Wilson and 95th Street, but also in securing federal dollars for the largest grant in CTA's history with the Red Line Extension project. The region also benefited from his leadership with CTA's nationally recognized All Stations Accessibility Program, which became the model for grantmaking to enhance accessibility in the federal Infrastructure and Jobs Investment Act. Further, under his watch, the CTA was named the best transit agency in the U.S. by the American Public Transit Association for its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, during which it was the only transit operator in the country to continue 24-hour service through the worst months of the pandemic.

"I am grateful for President Carter's years of service and wish him all the best in his future work at Saint Anthony Hospital."

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