he changes in management at Metro should not come as a big surprise to anyone other than to those negatively impacted by them. Interim General Manager Dan Tangherlini is trying to eliminate some of the many layers that have been built into the management at Metro since the day it was first born — and that should be a good thing. Those responsible for the day-to-day operations of things like buses, trains, policing, safety and MetroAccess will now have less trouble getting the ear of the general manger’s office.
The offices and managers being eliminated by choice or by process are where a large part of the process and Metro’s perception problems to the public have been located. Parkingand MetroAccess have been two high-profile problem areas and both have been overseen by one person. That person has seen her office eliminated and her former assistant take over her responsibilities. This would have seemed to have been a pretty clear sign to move on, but she is moving into a different office instead.
The man in charge of building Metro the past few years was brought in by the former general manager and he has had a fair share of problems with the board (unfulfilled promises) and with staff (a harassment lawsuit). In addition, the only thing that Metro is building is the Dulles Rail extension and the management of that won’t require a person with the same portfolio.
The other manager to leave, reportedly on his own, was the liaison between Metro and the labor force. This issue has been a constant negative undercurrent to many of the things that have gone on at Metro the past few years, especially as regards the topic of elevator and escalator repairs. Metro’s board hired a blue-ribbon panel to make recommendations for improving the way things get done, but the panel’s major recommendations couldn’t be fulfilled because of the overly generous and restrictive collective bargaining agreements the system had signed with labor.
Will these changes make things better? Probably not immediately. It will take years to see any changes in the labor situation at Metro, if any are made at all. The construction of the Dulles Rail project is a long-term project that is also being jointly managed and overseen by the agencies in Virginia that are paying for it. Metro’s parking issues have for the most part been resolved, although there is still some work to be done in terms of making the system easier to use and more customer-friendly.
The end result of the hiring of a new contractor for MetroAccess won’t be known for a while — at least until the next budget cycle or whenever the contractor releases usage and cost information.These are the right places to start. The next areas of concern that need to be put under the spotlight are safety and plant maintenance. I’m sure that my buddies Fred Goodine and Dave Couch who oversee these areas are dotting all the “I’s” and crossing all the “T’s” as we speak.
Questions, comments, random musings? Write to Steve@ SprawlandCrawl.com
