The North County Transit District (NCTD) Board of Directors appointed Matthew Tucker as the agency's Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer in December 2008. In his role at NCTD, Mr. Tucker provides the strategic direction and oversight necessary to deliver transit service within the agency's 1,020 square mile service area. NCTD's family of transit services include COASTER commuter rail, SPRINTER light rail, the BREEZE bus system, FLEX specialized transportation, and LIFT ADA paratransit services. NCTD has operational responsibility and control over the San Diego Northern Railway and hosts Amtrak, Metrolink, BNSF, and PAC Sun Railroad operators. NCTD has an operating budget of approximately $127 million for fiscal year (FY) 2020. Transit ridership across all modes is projected at approximately 10 million passengers for FY 2020. Prior to coming to NCTD, Mr. Tucker served as the Director of the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT), a position appointed by the Governor of Virginia. As the director of DRPT, he managed an annual budget of over $624 million that leveraged an overall program of $1.55 billion in rail and transit initiatives. DRPT supports public transit agencies, human service transportation providers, transportation demand management agencies, and collaborates with privately owned railroad companies to support increased passenger and freight rail. Prior to his role at DRPT, Mr. Tucker was the Chief Operating Officer for the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) in San Jose, California. As Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Tucker was responsible for six functional units including: bus operations; rail operations; protective services; service and operations planning; operations support services; and operations engineering. Mr. Tucker was also the Assistant General Manager at the Greater Richmond Transit Company in Richmond, Virginia and served as the Deputy Public Transit Director for the City of Phoenix. Mr. Tucker holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science with a minor in Military Science, and a Master's Degree in Urban and Regional Planning — both from Virginia Commonwealth University. Mr. Tucker serves on the APTA Board of Directors as the Interim Vice Chair and Chair of the Commuter Rail Committee.