The Triangle’s regional transit agency has chosen a new president and CEO
.jpg "A rendering of the Triangle Mobility Hub, the transit center that GoTriangle plans to build in Research Triangle Park by 2028.")
GoTriangle, the regional bus and transit planning organization, has a new leader.
Brian Smith will become president and CEO on June 1. Smith is currently deputy CEO of Hampton Roads Transit, a bus and light rail agency serving Norfolk, Virginia Beach and the Virginia Peninsula where he has worked for more than 16 years.
Smith comes to GoTriangle as the agency refocuses on its bus operations, which serve riders in Durham, Orange and Wake counties. GoTriangle also led planning for regional commuter rail and light rail systems that failed to materialize.
Smith replaces Charles Lattuca, who was hired by GoTriangle because of his experience overseeing planning and construction of a light rail line in Maryland. When it became clear that the Triangle’s planned commuter rail line would not receive the needed federal support, Lattuca resigned last September.
GoTriangle’s major construction projects now focus on bus riders.
Its downtown Raleigh station, RUS Bus, is expected to open next to the city’s Amtrak station later this summer. The agency also recently chose Hoffman & Associates to develop the Triangle Mobility Hub, a 19-acre mixed-use community anchored by a transit center near the corner of N.C. 54 and South Miami Boulevard in Research Triangle Park.
Smith will oversee these projects as well as improvements to GoTriangle’s schedule, including its first route served by buses every 15 minutes starting soon between Chapel Hill and Durham.
He’s the right person to lead GoTriangle now, said Mary-Ann Baldwin, the former Raleigh mayor who heads the agency’s board.
“Brian impressed all of us with his experience and his emphasis on collaborative leadership,” Baldwin said in a written statement. “With his focus on strategic planning and partnerships, he will do a great job leading our organization as we reinvent ourselves and move forward with big ideas that will better serve our region.”
.jpg "unnamed (15).jpg")
Smith is a native of the Hampton Roads area and served in the U.S. Army as a Stinger missile team chief with the First Infantry Division. He began his transit career at Hampton Roads Transit in 2008 and led several efforts to improve bus service and reliability. He has a doctorate in organizational leadership.
In a statement, Smith said it’s an honor to be chosen to run GoTriangle, where he’ll earn $290,000 a year.
“Thousands of people rely on GoTriangle every day to provide vital connections and get them where they need to go,” he said. “That need is only going to grow in the years to come.”
This story was originally published May 12, 2025 at 10:45 AM.
