Profile Of L.A.'s New Transit Boss

Roger Snoble, 56, who succeeded 74-year-old Julian Burke on Oct. 1 as the new CEO of the $2.7 billion agency, said technologies now available can alert people -- via Palm Pilots and dashboard message panels -- about upcoming accidents and propose alternative routes. Then traffic systems can turn lights green to allow people to get on their way quickly... Possibilities include smart transportation systems, smaller vehicles serving localized areas as alternatives to buses, more rail lines, more car pooling and, in the future, maglev high-speed trains, said Snoble, who won awards for innovations at the Dallas Area Rapid Transit District and is now Los Angeles County's highest paid public official at $295,000 a year plus $52,000 in benefits. He has chosen John B. Catoe, the director of the award-winning Santa Monica's Big Blue Bus, as his deputy chief executive officer, starting today at a salary of $220,000.