APTA to honor MARTA CEO Parker for 'outstanding' leadership

Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Keith Parker has been named the recipient of the 2015 Outstanding Public Transportation Manager award by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA).

Parker earned the award as a result of his accomplishments at MARTA and his contributions to the public transportation industry throughout his career, MARTA officials said in a press release.

Since joining MARTA in December 2012, Parker has helped the agency stabilize finances, increase financial reserves and improve its credit rating. Under his leadership, Clayton County joined MARTA, which marked the first jurisdictional expansion since the authority was formed more than four decades ago, agency officials said.

MARTA began bus service in Clayton County in March 2015.

"This is a high point in my career and I’m grateful for the opportunities to serve that the public transportation industry has provided me," Parker said in a statement.

Over the next months, MARTA is slated to introduce several customer initiatives, including video surveillance cameras on all rail cars, as well as Wi-Fi availability on buses and trains.

In October, APTA will formally present the award to Parker at its annual conference in San Francisco.