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Last week, the two boards representing regional transit and bus services in the Phoenix area named Stephen Banta to lead the Valley Metro Regional Public Transportation Authority (RPTA) and Valley Metro Rail (METRO) as the single chief executive officer.

Banta has been serving as METRO’s CEO since January 2010. He will begin serving as chief executive of both transit agencies on March 1, Valley Metro officials said in a prepared statement.

Banta was an optimal candidate because of his current knowledge of the Valley’s transit environment, and his extensive rail and bus experience at agencies such as the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon and Port Authority of Alleghany County, said RPTA Chairman Ron Aames.

“The METRO Board has long been an advocate for a single CEO,” said Dennis Kavanaugh, METRO’s vice chairman. “It is the best business decision for how we advance transit in the valley and in this economy.”