Steering Metro On To A Different Track

"He's never won elective office, doesn't answer to voters and, until six months ago, it's likely that no one at the 10,000-employee Metro transit system had heard of him. But today, Robert J. Smith assumes one of the most powerful positions at Metro when he becomes chairman of its board of directors. And he's charting a new direction for the transit system, which carries more than 1.1 million passengers a day on its buses and trains. Smith, a 44-year-old Gaithersburg Republican, says the transit system should scrap plans for new kinds of service: Shelve the $4 billion rail expansion to Dulles that Virginia wants, and put on hold the light rail in Anacostia proposed by the District. Instead, Smith wants to focus on the existing rail and bus system -- and find the money to maintain it."

Thanks to Richard Layman