SEPTA General Manager Knueppel to retire at year's end

After a 32-year career at the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), General Manager Jeffrey Knueppel will leave the agency on Dec. 31.

Knueppel is choosing not to renew his contract, which expires at year's end, so that he can retire and spend more time with his family, SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch said this morning.

Knueppel had notified staff last week that he would leave and had been in discussions with SEPTA Chairman Pasquale Deon about his plans for some time.

"After 32 years, he thinks its a good time to move on and spend more time with his family," Busch said. "He has accomplished a great deal here. We were one of the first to implement positive train control, and he was at the forefront of efforts to rebuild the key parts of SEPTA's infrastructure when we finally got some state money to do so. He laid the groundwork for sustainability initiatives and built a foundation for things to happen for years to come."

Knueppel joined SEPTA as an engineer in 1988. He climbed the ranks through the agency to become assistant GM in the late 2000s, deputy GM in 2012 and GM in September 2015.

SEPTA's board will meet in September to discuss the process for choosing Knueppel's successor, Busch said. Considering its actions during past GM transitions, the board is more likely to name a permanent successor prior to Knueppel's departure, he said.