In Memoriam: Bernard Joseph Ford, Former APTA President/Chair

Bernard Joseph Ford, 89, died July 24. With 50-plus years in the public transportation industry, he was a strong advocate in Chicago and northeastern Illinois, serving in leadership positions at the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) and the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA). While CTA executive director, he also served as president (that position now being chair) of APTA from 1984-85.

Ford began his career at CTA at the entry level and progressed to management positions. In 1974, he joined the staff of the chairman and in 1975, was named chief administrative officer. After formation of the RTA, Ford took a leave of absence from CTA to serve as special assistant to the chairman and then director of transportation. He was named RTA general manager in 1979 and served in this capacity until 1982, when he was asked by the mayor to return to CTA as executive director.

Ford joined the private sector in 1985 and became principal for public transportation projects at McDonough Associates in 1988. His work at McDonough included developing the multimodal transportation facility over which the Millennium Park was built.

Shortly after Bernard joined McDonough, the mayor asked him to return to CTA again as executive director. He did so as a consultant and served for 16 months while assisting in the search for a permanent executive director. In 1994, he was asked to return to CTA once more and did so as a pro-bono advisor to the chairman and executive director.

He continued to promote public transit in Chicago through his work as chairman of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce Transportation Committee.

For APTA, Ford served on the Legislative Committee and numerous subcommittees. He was asked to join the APTA Associate Member (now Business Member) Board of Governors and was elected chairman of that body in 1996. Ford was inducted into the APTA Hall of Fame in 2009.