Metro Chief Pushes for Independent Oversight

Metro plans to add more eight-car trains, but some riders say they aren't greatly helping to ease crowding. (By Gerald Martineau -- The Washington Post)

Metro's new top executive said yesterday that he wants the transit agency to quickly hire an independent inspector general to improve oversight and track how money is managed.

Dan Tangherlini, Metro's interim general manager, said in a meeting with reporters that an independent inspector general would monitor and review the transit agency's work to "ensure the highest level of integrity," a step he hopes will rebuild a "sense of trust and faith in the system."

He said he would like the position to be added to the budget for the fiscal year that begins in July and hopes to present a proposal to the board next month. Metro has a $1 billion annual operating budget and nearly 10,000 employees.

Tangherlini, who has been in the job a month, said that he found his new work rewarding and that he would like to stay in the position permanently. As part of his priority on customer service, he wants practical improvements that "customers can see, feel and touch every day." By this summer, for example, he wants bus passengers to have some way -- perhaps by telephone or computer -- to know when their next bus will arrive. Tangherlini, who gave his Metro-issued Dodge Durango to the transit police, said he now rides the D6 bus to work from his Capitol Hill home and wants senior staff to ride the system more.

By the end of the year, Metro also plans to expand the use of eight-car trains, he said. Although some riders have complained that the eight-car trains on the Orange Line have not eased crowding, the move has been "largely successful," Tangherlini said.

He promised that the MetroAccess service for disabled riders will continue to improve, and he said the agency is looking into providing same-day service. Currently, riders must schedule trips one day in advance.

He also said the recent move from hot, catered lunches for board members to cold sandwiches reflected a commitment to efficiency.

Tangherlini was named interim general manager after Richard A. White was forced out of the chief executive's job.

A series of articles published in The Washington Post last year detailed how Metro mismanaged nearly $1 billion in rail car and escalator contracts. The newspaper's investigation also found that Metro ignored safety warnings and failed to effectively manage MetroAccess.

Tangherlini said he had worked with inspectors general in federal agencies and in the District government, where he headed the city's transportation department before moving to Metro. At a time when local governments are weighing whether to provide a new, steady source of funding for Metro to help pay its mounting capital and operating costs, Tangherlini said it was important for Metro's partners to know that "money is being handled as efficiently and carefully as possible."

Metro Board Chairman Gladys W. Mack said the directors support such a move. "The board believes an inspector general would be a good addition to the oversight of Metro," she said.

Rep. Albert R. Wynn (D-Md.), who has also called for creating such a position, praised Tangherlini for his willingness to "take the bull by its horns," a move he said would be welcomed in Congress as a "showing of good faith."

If the board moves forward to appoint an inspector general, it would be out front on the issue. Last year, Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.) introduced legislation to create an inspector general at Metro but only if Congress gave $1.5 billion to the transit system and local governments agreed to create a dedicated source of funding for Metro. Virginia's House of Delegates this year rejected a bill to provide such funding. The Maryland General Assembly and the D.C. Council are considering finance proposals.

Metro has an auditor general who reports to the chief executive, but the auditor general has historically focused on Metro's contracts. Most federal agencies are overseen by inspectors general who are appointed and are independent of agency executives. They audit programs and operations, recommend changes to detect and prevent fraud, investigate allegations of wrongdoing and report to the public about deficiencies.