A former bus driver who rose through the ranks of several mass-transit agencies has been named the first general manager of TCAT, the Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit system. The appointment of Rodney Ghearing is effective today (July 8).

Ghearing comes to Ithaca from Lansing, Mich., where he was assistant executive director of the Capital Area Transportation Authority (CATA). He is credited with integrating all countywide public-transit services in Michigan's state capital into a seamless, regional transportation network.

Barbara Blanchard, a member of the Tompkins County Board of Representatives and chair of the operations committee of the Ithaca-Tompkins Transit Center, said Ghearing was involved in all phases of the transit authority's day-to-day operations.

"Not only was he active in service development, marketing, ride sharing, and other aspects of CATA, but it was in a community that is the home of a major educational institution. Ghearing's accomplishments there over the last 11 years will serve us well in Ithaca and Tompkins County," she said.

Ghearing earned an AB degree in biological sciences (1973), and an MBA degree in Urban Transportation Management (1977), both from Indiana University. While in college, and afterward, he operated a bus for the Bloomington, Ind., and Indiana University transit systems. Since then, he has held a series of operational and management positions with transit systems in Norfolk, Va., and Birmingham, Ala.

TCAT consolidates the routes and services of Ithaca Transit, CU Transit and Tomtran, and operates from the Ithaca-Tompkins Transit Center on Willow Avenue in the City of Ithaca. Gadabout, the paratransit service provider for the elderly and disabled, also operates out of the center.