Research Triangle Park, N.C. - The Triangle Transit Authority (TTA) today announced that John Claflin has resigned as general manager. The agency also announced that two area leaders, Sig Hutchinson and Jeff Merritt, have joined the Board of Trustees, replacing two departing members whose terms have expired.

John Claflin’s departure from the position of General Manager comes as the result of a mutual agreement between Claflin and TTA’s Board of Trustees. Wib Gulley, TTA General Counsel, and Saundra Freeman, Director of Finance and Administrative Services, will temporarily divide the responsibilities of General Manager while a search is conducted for an interim replacement.

“In light of the Triangle Regional Rail Project’s recent shift in direction, I feel that this is the appropriate time to appoint new leadership to pursue TTA’s mission,” said Claflin. “TTA has an excellent management team and talented employees to meet the growing transportation needs of our community.”

TTA recently announced its decision to remove the Triangle Regional Rail Project from the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) New Starts Process. TTA is now exploring new options with the community to develop a transit system that best meets the needs of the Triangle.

“We extend our sincere thanks to John for his hard work and dedicated service over the past four years,” said TTA Chairman of the Board Carter Worthy. “Under John’s guidance, TTA’s regional bus service has achieved record ridership, and ridematching and vanpooling have enjoyed unprecedented success. We are eager to build upon the strong platform that is in place to enhance the network of transportation options in the Triangle.”

Claflin joined TTA as General Manager in 2002. Prior to joining TTA, he was employed with Denver’s Regional Transportation District in senior management positions, including assistant general manager and chief operations officer.

Two New Leaders Join TTA Board of Trustees

Sig Hutchinson, appointed by the Raleigh City Council to replace Thomas Hilliard III, is publisher of the Raleigh Downtowner, and is the producer and host of a local program called RTP TV, which focuses on the entrepreneurial and technology community within the Research Triangle Park. He also helped transform the region by successfully leading three bond referendums since 2000 totaling $88 million dollars for open space preservation, parks and greenways and has been acknowledged as a “Tarheel of the Week” by The News & Observer.

Jeff Merritt, appointed by the Wake County Commission to replace Lewis Hannah Jr., is KB Home’s Eastern Regional Director for Government and Public Affairs. Before joining KB Home in 2003, Merritt spent more than five years as Vice President of Government and Community Affairs for the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce. At the Chamber, he oversaw a number of initiatives designed to address critical regional issues such as transportation, growth and sports development. Those initiatives included development of the Regional Transportation Alliance, the Community Success Forum and the Sports Council.

Hutchinson and Merritt were sworn in at last week’s board meeting.

Worthy said, “I am excited about the future of TTA, and I am confident that the addition of our two new board members strengthens an exceptional leadership team that will pursue new opportunities and deliver the best transportation solutions for the Triangle.”

TTA is a regional public transportation provider, offering a wide variety of transit and vanpool services to North Carolina's greater Triangle Region and outlying counties. Bus service is available to Apex, Cary, Chapel Hill, Durham, Garner, Hillsborough, RDU International Airport, RTP and Raleigh.  The Triangle Transit Authority also provides commuter resources and hosts GoTriangle.org, the on-line resource for the public transportation information in the Triangle.  

TTA is the implementation agency responsible for carrying out a regional plan to construct a rail transit system with stations connecting Durham, RTP, Cary and Raleigh, with shuttles linking RDU International Airport and RTP.

For more information, visit www.rideTTA.org or call (919) 549-9999.