New L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s transportation team took shape on Wednesday as he named a transportation deputy and appointed three prominent Angelenos to the board of the county’s transit agency.

Villaraigosa named Jaime de la Vega as deputy mayor for transportation, responsible for crafting and implementing the mayor’s goals of reducing gridlock and expanding the regional public transit system. Vega served as senior transportation advisor to former Mayor Richard Riordan and also served on the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Most recently, he has been budget director for City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo.

Villaraigosa also appointed three people to serve with him on the MTA board: City Councilman Bernard Parks; former Assembly Transportation Committee chair Richard Katz; and prominent attorney and San Fernando Valley civic leader David Fleming. Villaraigosa himself will serve as the MTA board chair for the coming year.

“No one person can tackle the challenge of transportation alone,” Villaraigosa said. “You have to bring the best and the brightest to the table, begin to plan for the future and confront the challenges we face head on.”

Villaraigosa announced the appointments at a press conference at Union Station Wednesday morning after disembarking from a Metro Gold Line train he rode from near his home in the Mount Washington area.