Norman L. White
Norman L. White is the Director of the Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT), the largest public transit provider in Michigan, operating over 1,300 miles of routes, with vehicles traveling 18,000,000 miles annually. In March 2004, Detroit Mayor, Kwame M. Kilpatrick, appointed White to take the helm as transit leader for Detroit. With ten (10) years of experience in key transit operations and managerial roles, White receives high marks for his campaign to transform and elevate transit standards for Detroit and Southeast Michigan.
Under Mr. White’s leadership, DDOT’s ridership increased by 10 %. White aggressively pursued and received Congressional approval and funding for eleven (11) discretionary TEA-21 Reauthorization Capital Projects for buses and transit facilities improvements. White procured 121 new ADA compliant heavy-duty low-floor (ramp style) 40-foot New Flyer buses, which allow easy accessibility for wheelchair-bound and special needs passengers.
As head of DDOT, White works relentlessly to champion projects and initiatives to respond to transit needs of a large urban metropolis. Recognized as a visionary, White has the foresight to understand the global, economic and societal value of investing in, and reinventing Detroit’s transit system.
White is leading the development of the Rosa Parks Transit Center, a modern, centrally-located facility for transit service in downtown Detroit that will connect to the Detroit People Mover and is ideal and suitable for terminus and intermodal links for potential light rail and rapid transit lines along major corridors. Other initiatives proceeding under White’s leadership include the installation of the Automated Vehicle Locator (AVL) to monitor fixed routes and manage service, and installation of Genfare Farebox Media, a transaction based system that provides flexible fare operations and the ability to provide fare media options to both passengers and DDOT operations.
White strategically developed a comprehensive transit plan to accommodate residents and visitors during Super Bowl XL; successfully moving more than 800,000 people ---- the equivalent of moving almost the entire population of Detroit in a four-day span.
Known throughout the industry as a transit advocate, White is committed to the advancement of transit, and uses every opportunity to promote the need for a world-class transit system in Southeast Michigan; most recently, taking the first step in the Federal funding process to initiate a highly collaborative study, known as the Detroit Transit Options for Growth Study (DTOGS). The study identifies and evaluates options to improve access and mobility in the Detroit area. White engaged community stakeholders in the DTOG Study, soliciting the values and opinions of the public, businesses and other community participants for feedback on what a rapid transit network should look like, and to give input on rapid transit modes and potential corridors for rapid transit service in the Detroit area.
Active in many professional organizations, White is a member of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) and the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO). White is a Board Member of the Michigan Public Transit Association, and serves on Mayor Kilpatrick’s Front Line Executive Committee. White is the recipient of many awards and honors, including being the first person in transit to be recognized by a disability advocacy group and receive the Detroit ARC – Public Official Award.