Former DART Head Gary Thomas joins Jacobs as U.S. transit market leader

Gary Thomas, former president and executive director of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), has joined Jacobs as the U.S. transit market leader. 

Thomas will leverage his rich industry experience to assist clients in developing and advancing transit programs, as well as identifying and attracting the best talent to Jacobs. 

“Gary is a long-time driver of new technologies. His experience will help Jacobs continue providing leading edge solutions in the U.S. transit landscape, especially as our clients strive to roll out green transit programs and meet ambitious carbon targets,” said Ken Gilmartin, executive vice president, People & Places Solutions. 

Thomas brings to Jacobs four decades of engineering experience and transit leadership. Prior to joining DART in 1998, he was a consulting engineer for 19 years. Under his leadership, DART doubled its light-rail system twice to become the nation's longest at more than 93 miles. The agency has been recognized for innovation in developing a progressive clean fuels program for its bus fleet, advancing new models for local bus and paratransit service and customer facing communication technology and service.  

DART is also a recognized leader in the global advancement of Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) with its use of targeted demand response transit service matched with new customer tools for fare payment and trip planning. 

Thomas holds Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and Bachelor of Architecture degrees from Texas Tech University. He served on the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Executive Committee and the Subcommittee on Planning and Policy Review. He is a past chair of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), Rail~Volution and the South West Transit Association (SWTA).