New Face, and Approach, Arriving at Top of Metro
Chief Surprises Workers With Visits
Dan Tangherlini jots down notes after talking with Metro workers at Eastern Market. He says workers "want a chance to talk to the boss."
(By Lois Raimondo -- The Washington Post)
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Thursday, February 16, 2006
The man in charge of the country's second-busiest subway system is driving through the darkness in Northeast Washington, bumping along train tracks, looking for the entrance to the Brentwood rail yard.
It is 4:30 a.m., and Dan Tangherlini presents his Metro badge to the startled guard, who does not recognize him but knows instantly that the wiry man is Someone Important because of the red stripe on the badge.
Tangherlini tells him that as of the next day -- today -- he will be Metro's interim general manager. And he might become the next permanent one.
In a few minutes, Tangherlini is inside the rail yard. He is making an unannounced visit so he can hear gripes and praise from the real Metro workers.
"In my 22 years, this is the first time I've seen a general manager come down here and talk to us, not part of a prearranged visit," says Bruce McDonald, one of the first supervisors he meets. "If this is any indication of what's in store, we'll be in great shape."
It's part of the education of Dan Tangherlini, who left his job as the District's transportation director and Metro board member for the complexities of running a bus and train system that transports 1.1 million commuters each day. He has already dropped in at the Landover bus garage and ridden a route with a driver. Two weeks ago, he accompanied a rider who uses the MetroAccess curb-to-curb van service for those who cannot take the bus or subway. Yesterday, he visited the Brentwood rail yard, where heavy repairs are made to trains. Today, he'll ride the new eight-car trains on the Orange Line.
During three hours at Brentwood, he shakes hands with dozens of workers -- subway car cleaners, station managers, train operators, mechanics and electronics technicians. All are stunned to see the top guy.
Tangherlini, 38, nods, a little embarrassed. He asks questions. He scribbles notes in a small black notepad. The issues are familiar ones: payroll mistakes, inadequate training, the dreaded Metro bureaucracy.
"Keeping positions filled is a real issue for us," one manager says.
"I've been fighting with them for my vacation pay," another worker says.
Joyce Mullins, a station manager at Union Station, returns his handshake with a big smile and asks for his business card. They're not ready yet, so as a joke, she asks for the red stripe on his badge. It is a designation that gives the bearer the highest level of access in the system.
Tangherlini learns the significance of the red stripe later, and for the moment, he has no idea what she's talking about. But without missing a beat, he offers to give her his stripe or put one on her badge.
