The New Orleans Regional Transit Authority board of commissioners is facing challenges due to a lack of the required number of members to conduct business, which is the second time this has happened this year. This issue stemmed from the enactment of two new laws that altered the governance structure of the agency. Act 402 allowed local governments to withdraw from the RTA, while Act 474 reduced the board’s size from eight members to seven and changed the process for selecting commissioners. These legislative changes were prompted by a contracting scandal earlier in the year when a top agency official approved $1 million in payments to a contractor without board approval.
Following the scandal, several board members resigned, leaving the board without the necessary number of members to operate. Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng appointed replacements, but Jefferson Parish later decided to pull out of the board, utilizing a newly established mechanism provided by a state House bill. This departure, along with the resignation of the board chair, resulted in a board size of only four members, below the legal requirement for conducting business.
As per Act 474, the board should have seven members, with a minimum of five needed to convene a meeting. With the withdrawals and resignations, the board has been unable to meet since August, as replacements have not been appointed by New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell or the City Council. The absence of board meetings has raised concerns among transit advocates from Ride New Orleans, who emphasize the importance of these meetings in providing transparency and opportunities for the community to engage with the agency.
Despite the lack of full board meetings, RTA officials assure that operations that do not need board approval continue to progress smoothly. The agency indicates that its staff effectively plans ahead for board-required items and that daily operations remain unaffected. However, the absence of public board meetings means that transit riders have limited opportunities to address their concerns to the board, as the only public forum available is the monthly Riders Advisory Committee meeting.
The RTA had planned to introduce a new bus schedule with minor service frequency enhancements in September following the implementation of 21 new buses into the fleet during the summer. These upgrades were aimed at addressing reliability issues after a series of bus breakdowns frustrated riders. Despite the disruptions faced by the board, the agency aims to enhance service delivery and maintain effective operations for riders.