Joseph Lhota will start work as the new Chairman and CEO of the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) on Monday. His significance and background might not mean very much to most, but in short, Lhota will be responsible for the safe transport of millions of riders in multiple counties and states, over seventy thousand employees, and thousands of stations, bus stops, buses, and trains. Click here to read the MTA press release.
Lhota has many challenges ahead that will make his job difficult, not the least of which is the MTA’s $10 billion deficit. They will also shortly begin contract negotiations with workers represented by the TWU (Transit Workers Union). Mind you, the TWU is the same union that went on strike back in 2005, crippling transportation in New York City. Many have suggested that the MTA will ask workers represented by the TWU to forgo pay raises for three years. To outside observers, as a result of the massive deficit, it’s clear that the MTA will have no choice but ask its workforce to not take a pay raise, which will likely create major unrest within the union.
Some of the other major problems that Lhota will need to address quickly include:
- The aging fleet of trains and buses.
- Dissatisfied Metro North customers on the New Haven Line because due to:
- The aging infrastructure of the line.
- Equipment that dates back to the 1970s.
- Various capital improvement projects that will take years to complete.
- Aging New York City Transit stations in the outer boroughs.
- A delayed East Side Access project which was slated to bring LIRR customers directly to Grand Central by 2016. This would save Long Island passengers up to 40 minutes of commuting time to the East Side. Completion of this project has been delayed until 2018; the delay is rumored to be the result of the repair work being started by Amtrak on its East River tunnels which lead to Penn Station.
- A delayed 2nd Avenue Subway line which would relieve overcrowding on the Lexington Avenue (4, 5 and 6) lines.
My suggestions for Lhota are as follows:
Pages: 1 2
