Gary Thomas Inducted into Texas Transportation Hall of Honor

Gary Thomas, national transit and rail market director, H.W. Lochner, Inc., has been inducted into the Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s (TTI) Texas Transportation Hall of Honor.

For 70 years, TTI has addressed complex transportation challenges and opportunities. Its Texas Transportation Hall of Honor “recognizes the visionary leaders responsible for the outstanding multimodal transportation system in the state that supports economic development and provides Texans with a high quality of life.”

Thomas is former president and executive director of Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART)—a position he held for more than 20 years. He served as APTA chair from 2011-2012 and was inducted into the APTA Hall of Fame in 2022. In addition, he is a past chair of Rail-Volution and the South West Transit Association and served on the Transportation Research Board Executive Committee, Transportation Cooperative Research Program, Texas Transit Association and the McKinney Avenue Transit Authority.

“All the recognition Gary has received, it takes an extraordinary human being to be able to do that,” said APTA President and CEO Paul P. Skoutelas at the induction ceremony Oct. 16. “And that’s the Gary Thomas I know. He has mentored dozens of people in our industry, and he’s always willing to talk; always willing to share. He’s able to blend together the technical know-how, the expertise and the diplomacy to bring it all together, and he’s done that masterfully, year after year.”

Currently for APTA, Thomas is a member of the Commuter Rail, Rail Transit, Legislative and Mobility Management committees, among others.