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'MTA GETS NEW BOSS'

 
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Mr. Linsky
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Location: BRENTWOOD, CA. - WOODMERE, N.Y.

PostPosted: Wed Jul 15, 2009 12:15 am    Post subject: 'MTA GETS NEW BOSS' Reply with quote

Man Who Lifted London Transit Picked for M.T.A.

Ozier Muhammad/The New York Times Published: July 14, 2009

He put computer chips in the wallets of commuters in London, charged a fee to drive in the center of the city and helped lure the next Summer Olympics there.

Jay Walder, the public transportation expert who helped turn London’s aging transit system into an (albeit expensive) envy of the globe, wants to take his brand of high-tech transit reform to the city where he got his start, New York.

Mr. Walder, 50, was nominated on Tuesday as chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the nation’s biggest transit agency, which was on the brink of financial collapse just two months ago.

Gov. David A. Paterson said he chose Mr. Walder because he was an independent leader who would bring efficiency and accountability to a notoriously unwieldy agency.

Mr. Walder said he planned to “restore the public trust and confidence” in the authority, a perennial target of the city’s collective kvetching.

Still, a vote by the State Senate on the confirmation of Mr. Walder is unlikely to happen for months, until it returns from its summer break. And he did not elaborate on his plans if he is confirmed, except to say he expected “to make difficult and sometimes unpopular decisions.”

“I certainly go in with my eyes open,” Mr. Walder said at a news conference. “I’ve been away for nearly 15 years, and I’ve certainly got a lot of catching up to do.”

A native of the Rockaways who rode the A train as a child, Mr. Walder began his career in public service in the darker days of New York’s transit system, when graffiti and crime were rampant. He helped lead the transportation authority out of a financial black hole in the mid-1980s and held several leadership positions, including chief financial officer, before moving to London in 2001.

His experience there, as the planning and finance director of Transport for London under Robert R. Kiley, his former boss in New York, offers hints about what might lie in store for New Yorkers.

Mr. Walder led the introduction of the Oyster card, a “smart card” that uses a computer chip to track riders’ fares and account balances. Unlike the MetroCard, with its familiar swipe, the thicker Oyster requires no contact: it is waved over a sensor.

In a report presented to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority last spring, Mr. Walder — in his capacity as a consultant at McKinsey & Company, where he has worked since leaving the London transit system in 2006 — said that elements of the smart-card plan would be feasible for New York. The transportation authority has started a pilot program involving fare cards that do not require contact.

At the news conference Tuesday, Mr. Walder spoke highly of the Oyster card but stopped short of saying he would import the program. And he did not address the issue of fare increases; in London, subway rides start at $2.60 but can rise above $20, depending on the length of the ride and the time of day.

Mr. Walder also was instrumental in starting the program to charge drivers in central London, where it initially incensed drivers but eventually was welcomed as a way to reduce congestion. A similar plan, advanced by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, was scuttled by the Legislature last year.

The governor’s announcement came less than 24 hours before the State Senate was to reconvene, and lawmakers said they did not expect a vote soon.

“This week? That’s ludicrous,” said Carl Kruger, a Brooklyn Democrat who laughed when asked whether the committee he chaired would review Mr. Walder in the next few days.

“This is the M.T.A.,” Mr. Kruger said. “It’s not as if we’re confirming somebody to be game warden of the Adirondack Park.”

Many top officials, including Mr. Bloomberg, had yet to meet with Mr. Walder before the governor made his announcement.

The board of the transportation authority had its first talk with the nominee in a hastily arranged meeting on Tuesday morning, hours after Mr. Walder flew in from London, where he lives with his wife and three children.

Several board members said they were impressed with Mr. Walder’s credentials, but they added that the half-hour discussion did not delve into many details.

“Trying to have a deeper conversation with someone that jet-lagged is a little silly,” said H. Dale Hemmerdinger, who has been leading the authority since Elliot G. Sander resigned as chief executive in May.

If confirmed, Mr. Walder will have to navigate a political minefield where he must consider the competing interests of state, city and county groups, while balancing a multibillion-dollar budget that nearly forced drastic service cuts and fare increases this year.

“He’s taking on being the head of the M.T.A. at the time when its finances are the worst they’ve been in at least a quarter of a century,” said Gene Russianoff, staff lawyer for the Straphangers Campaign, an advocacy group for riders.

Public faith in the agency is also low. “Any long-term solution to funding requires us as the M.T.A. to show people we are using funding as efficiently and effectively as possible,” Mr. Walder said.

One board member suggested that even if he was confirmed, it might take some time for Mr. Walder to bring about changes.

“He’s going to do a lot more listening than talking in the next six months,” said Mitchell H. Pally, a board member from Suffolk County. “People in the system need someone to yell at.”

Simon Akam contributed reporting.

COMMENT BY MR. 'L'; $20 a ride? - in his dreams!

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, NY


Jay Walder, the choice for M.T.A. chairman, with Gov. David A. Paterson on Tuesday.
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RailBus63
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Joined: 16 Apr 2007
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 15, 2009 8:38 am    Post subject: Re: 'MTA GETS NEW BOSS' Reply with quote

Mr. Linsky wrote:
COMMENT BY MR. 'L'; $20 a ride? - in his dreams!



Some of the London Underground lines are quite long - I know that Heathrow Airport is located almost 15 miles from the central city. I'm not sure if I agree with a $20 fare, but travelers should definitely pay more for a direct connection like that.
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HwyHaulier




Joined: 16 Dec 2007
Posts: 932
Location: Harford County, MD

PostPosted: Wed Jul 15, 2009 10:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mr "L" -

"...Jay Walder, the public transportation expert who helped turn London’s aging transit system into an (albeit expensive) envy of the globe, wants to
take his brand of high-tech transit reform to the city where he got his start, New York..."


Oy, Vey! Everyone in sight crying the busted budget, short of cash blues, too. This guy with a record of going for the gold, and instrumental in
establishment of Tiffany's or Nieman-Marcus levels of service? Lotsa' Luck!

.....................Vern...................
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upperharlemline4ever




Joined: 26 Oct 2007
Posts: 60
Location: New York State

PostPosted: Wed Jul 15, 2009 4:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is apparently the same guy that gave London a Westchester County style bus operation, ie. public ownership of the vehicles and operated by a private company. Do you want to see that happen to MTA bus operations? Don't think so. But wouldn't be surprised if that's whats in the cards for the MTA bus operations if this man gets in. That's basically what we had in NYC with the private operators in the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn.
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JA




Joined: 16 Apr 2007
Posts: 30
Location: Brooklyn, NY

PostPosted: Wed Jul 22, 2009 3:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

upperharlemline4ever wrote:
This is apparently the same guy that gave London a Westchester County style bus operation, ie. public ownership of the vehicles and operated by a private company. Do you want to see that happen to MTA bus operations? Don't think so. But wouldn't be surprised if that's whats in the cards for the MTA bus operations if this man gets in. That's basically what we had in NYC with the private operators in the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn.


MTA Bus is a private operator. Don't be fooled by who owns it. There are many fewer restrictions on Bus than NYCT. Privatization is already happening.
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Mr. Linsky
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 16 Apr 2007
Posts: 5071
Location: BRENTWOOD, CA. - WOODMERE, N.Y.

PostPosted: Wed Jul 22, 2009 10:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

JA,

I must have been out of the room during the last class on MTA Bus, and I would ask that you excuse my ignorance, but exactly what private operator owns MTA Bus if not a state political subdivision?

I'm not being sarcastic here but this comes as news to me.

Please enlighten me.

Thanks.

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, NY
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HwyHaulier




Joined: 16 Dec 2007
Posts: 932
Location: Harford County, MD

PostPosted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 8:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mr "L" -

Same here! They can mask it all they want with expedient, separate corporations, which are actually mere "fronts" and alter egos for the Same Old Crowd...

.................Vern.................
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upperharlemline4ever




Joined: 26 Oct 2007
Posts: 60
Location: New York State

PostPosted: Fri Jul 24, 2009 11:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Could someone please explain how MTA-Bus is a private entity? It is owned and operated by a subsidiary agency of the MTA and the people who work for them are employees of MTA-Bus, a public benefit corporation of New York State, not XYZ Bus Company. These employees are public employees. If I worked for the state of New York or one of it's political subdivisions and I retired from such entity and went to work for MTA-Bus, I would not receive my pension because I have returned to public employment. They are public employees in the same vein as Metro-North, LIRR, SIRT and MaBSTOA employees are. The vehicles are owned by the MTA, not by ABC Bus Company.

If you are saying that some former supervisors from the private companies are still supervisors at MTA-Bus, that's something else. AND the employees are NOT Civil Service as are none of the employees of the agencies named above.
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