The City of Culver City is pleased to announce that Rolando Cruz will be the City’s next Chief Transportation Officer. He is currently the Chief Operations Officer of Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus.
Rolando began his career in public transportation in 1995 at Long Beach Transit, working in Finance. Three years later, he became the Fleet’s Maintenance Manager. In January 2008, he was named Executive Director and Vice President of Maintenance and Infrastructure. In November 2016, Rolando joined the City of Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus as the Chief Operations Officer.
Rolando is a CPA and holds an M.B.A. and a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Texas. He is a graduate of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) leadership program in 2008 and is involved in multiple committees with APTA and California Transit Association. He is currently serving as a mentor in the APTA Emerging Leaders Program and teaches classes with the National Transit Institute on Transit Asset Management and Safety Management Systems.
It is anticipated that Rolando will begin by the end of July. He assumes the position following the retirement of Transportation Director Art Ida, who retires this month after serving 11 years in the position.
Rolando will take over control of the 7 major routes that the Culver City Bus Line uses to cover the city. He will also be responsible for planning service; securing adequate local, state and federal revenues; preparing the annual budget; recording service statistics; providing staff for city-wide committees or task forces; participating in public transit industry activities; and providing general oversight to the municipal bus operations, the equipment maintenance division and equipment replacement program.