Director of the Detroit Department of Transportation as of January 13, 2014. Dirks was the general  manager of the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) from 1998 until 2007. After SMART, he ran a transportation consultancy in Louisville, Ky. 

He was appointed by Mayor Mike Duggan. Duggan said he was driving on Woodward Avenue and saw many SMART buses but only two DDOT buses. He investigated further and found that by 8am, DDOT was already two hours behind schedule. He called Kevyn Orr and asked for permission to appoint his own director to DDOT. 

Sources

• Former SMART manager Dan Dirks named director of DDOT. Crains. 10 January 2014.
• Former SMART manager to lead Detroit's bus system. Detroit Free Press. 9 January 2014.