Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority names new administrator

In October 2025, the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority (CCRTA) promoted John Kennedy to Administrator, filling the position left by the late Tom Cahir, who served for 16 years.

The title may be new to him, but Kennedy has served the RTA for the past fourteen years as General Manager of Operations. His transition into the agency’s top leadership role brings continuity, institutional knowledge, and a personal commitment to public transportation on Cape Cod.

“I was involved in, or helped conceive of, many of the major and minor initiatives that have been going on here for 14 years,” Kennedy said. “So, the transition into leadership was kind of seamless.”

That continuity matters for an agency as visible and essential as the CCRTA. With 150 vehicles on the road every day across all 15 Cape towns, Kennedy describes his role as both strategic and human-centered. “We spend at least an hour a day workshopping ideas,” he said. “Looking at finances, how we’re treating the people we serve, and how we can improve. That’s the stuff that feeds me.”

Kennedy’s career in transportation began almost by accident. As a teenager, he was approached by someone looking to start a railroad and took on a job rehabilitating rail equipment. That leap led to a decades-long career in rail operations.

For Kennedy, transportation is not just about moving people from point A to point B. It’s about freedom, dignity, and access, a belief shaped by deeply personal experiences.

“My first exposure to the RTA was in 1991,” he shared. After his father suffered a sudden, life-altering stroke, paratransit services became essential. “My dad used the service for 16 or 18 years. It extended his life.”

That experience still informs how Kennedy views the agency’s mission today.

“We’re definitely not a bus company,” he said. “We provide freedom. We provide connectivity. And an ability to engage with the rest of the Cape.”

While the CCRTA serves a wide range of riders, from students and workers to visitors, Kennedy is keenly aware that many riders rely on transit because they have no other option.

“The people who utilize our service, in some cases, desperately need our service,” he said. “That’s a pretty big responsibility, and we take it seriously.”

As Administrator, Kennedy sees one of the CCRTA’s biggest opportunities as education.

“I don’t think there are enough people who know about us,” he said. “I hear over and over, ‘I had no idea you guys did this.’”

From free fixed-route service across all 15 towns, to SmartDART’s $3 door-to-door rides, to express service to Boston-area hospitals, Kennedy believes better awareness will translate directly into better outcomes for residents.

He’s also focused on coordination: bringing together public, private, and nonprofit transportation providers to reduce duplication and improve service.

Kennedy has already begun meeting one-on-one with representatives from each of the 15 Cape towns.

“I want to sit with every board member and every town manager to determine what it is they need that we may not be fulfilling yet,” he said.

That collaborative, region-wide approach is one the Cape Cod Commission knows well—and one that positions the CCRTA as a critical partner in addressing Cape Cod’s transportation, economic, and quality-of-life challenges.

“We’re an economic enabler,” Kennedy said. “Thousands of people rely on us every day just to get to work and get home. I don’t know how those folks would otherwise do it.”

As Kennedy steps into this new role, his message is clear: transportation is about people first, and when it works well, it can change lives.