Scott Smith, CEO of Valley Metro, the Valley’s public transit authority, announced Wednesday that he plans to retire in 2022, when his contract expires.
Smith has served as CEO of Valley Metro for five and a half years. His contract is scheduled to expire at the end of the fiscal year, and he will not seek to renew it, he told the Valley Metro Boards of Directors.
“As an organization, Valley Metro is as healthy and strong as I’ve ever seen it,” Smith said in a statement. “Over the past few years, we have obtained hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grants for our rail system, have several significant projects under construction and have weathered the storm of the pandemic to provide safe and efficient transit to our region. I’m ready to move on to the next chapter in my life and turn the keys over to new leadership.”
During Smith’s time as CEO, Valley Metro completed the Gilbert Road extension of the light rail in Mesa and an accessibility enhanced rail station at 50th and Washington streets. The organization has also received approvalof a $530 million federal grant for the South Central light rail extension and downtown hub, and construction is underway on the northwest Phoenix extension.
