Transit officials also have found themselves having to defend the actions of their employees. A Metro police officer arrested a woman who had downed the last bite of a candy bar in a station; a pregnant woman was arrested for talking loudly on a cell phone; and a station manager screamed at another pregnant woman and pushed her husband after they asked about a stopped escalator.
There is a familiarity to the challenges facing White. When he came to Washington eight years ago from his spot atop California's Bay Area Rapid Transit system, Metro was dealing with the effects of a crash that was blamed on system failures and questionable management decisions. The public was concerned about safety and service. And local leaders were searching for a reliable source of transit funding.
"I need to see and feel and experience what the customers see and feel and experience," Richard A. White says.
(Bill O'leary -- The Washington Post)
|
Richard A. White
Career: Came to Metro in August 1996, after serving as general manager of the Bay Area Rapid Transit District in California. He has spent 30 years in the transit industry.
Job description: Responsible for the operation of Metrorail, Metrobus and MetroAccess paratransit service. One of the largest transit systems in the nation, Metro employs nearly 10,000 people. It has a $1 billion annual operating budget and a six-year capital improvement program worth $3.3 billion.
Accomplishments: Has overseen the completion of the original 103-mile rail system; three stations will be added by the end of this year. New rail cars have been purchased, and the fare and fee collection system has been modernized.
Challenges: As White tries to build public support for financing service improvements, Metro management and staff have been the target of complaints about poor service. The transit agency has increased fares twice in two years.
|
| |
|
White was the man who would bring a business approach to the agency, bust Metro's entrenched bureaucracy and heal Metro's relationship with the public.
And he did, he and others said. The normally low-key, low-profile manager instituted "Dear Fellow Rider" and "Meet the Metro Manager" programs, spent time with employees and held the line on fares until last year.
Even among detractors, there is agreement that White has achieved a lot. In his first year, he settled a dispute over the future of bus service and kept the buses running. He has simplified fare collection, added high-tech upgrades and operated under budget several years.
White also brought an executive look. He's fit, stands straight, wears well-tailored suits and crisp shirts with his initials on the cuff, and he never seems to have a hair out of place. He changed his title from general manager to chief executive and started referring to passengers as customers. His contract, which expires in 2009, provides for compensation this year of $317,088.
His reputation grew locally, on Capitol Hill and in his field. Last month, he rose to the prestigious position of chairman of the executive committee of the American Public Transportation Association.
Nonetheless, White has been at the center of Metro's operational, managerial and image problems.
"I look at him as almost two individuals," said Gordon Linton, a Metro board alternate representing Montgomery County. "There was a time period where he was going to platforms, meeting with customers and was making a concerted effort to reach out to riders. Unfortunately, the challenges of finances diverted attention from doing those things, and we have to get back to that."
David Gunn, chief executive of Amtrak and a former general manager of Metro, said the leaders there "need to put together a good get-well program and then be really, really very public about it. If you get very specific about what it is you need to do, [people] tend to support you."
Some leaders wonder whether White can do that.
"Communications is probably his weakness," said Charles Deegan, who represents Prince George's County on the board. "He tends to be a little aloof."
But Deegan said he supports White, whom he described as an "extremely smart man."
"Dick's finally got it," he said. "It took awhile."
D.C. Council member Jim Graham, who represents the District on the board, said that "it's going to require him moving away from what has been a remote and distant manager toward becoming a leader of a workforce and an agency that is seriously troubled. This is not the Dick White we have seen. The question is whether he can rise to the occasion."
