The Transit Riders Council will host the newly appointed president of NYCT, Thomas F. Prendergast, at its December 17th meeting. Mr. Prendergast joins NYCT from Vancouver, where he was the CEO of the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority, known as TransLink. Prendergast, 57, brings more than 30 years of transportation experience to NYCT. He began his career at the Chicago Transit Authority and worked at the Federal Transit Administration before joining NYCT in 1982. He rose through the ranks, eventually running the subway system from 1990 to 1994. He then served as President of MTA Long Island Rail Road from 1994 to 2000. He joined TransLink in July 2008 after working in the private sector for eight years. During his time in the private sector, Prendergast worked in the engineering and construction management consultation sector and was directly involved in the delivery of transportation infrastructure and construction projects.
Prendergast holds a B.S. in Socio-Technological Systems Engineering from the University of Illinois and is a graduate of the Harvard Program for State and Local Government Executives.