Passenger Trains > WMATA Gets New BOD Chairman - Downs Replaced

From a Progressive Railroading release:

Mortimer Downey III has been elected chairman of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) to succeed Tom Downs, whose two-year term as chair expired Jan. 22.

Downey, who was deputy secretary of transportation in President Bill Clinton's administration, joined WMATA's board in 2010. He served on the Transportation Policy Committee for Barack Obama's presidential campaign and during the 2008-09 presidential transition. He was appointed leader of the Department of Transportation Agency Review team. Additionally, he is vice chairman of the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Freight Transportation Advisory Committee.

Downey was executive director and chief financial officer of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York City for 12 years. He also previously served the U.S. House Committee on the Budget, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

"This new board leadership will remain focused on maintaining a spirit of governance that is both cooperative and collaborative, as we seek to select a new general manager/chief executive officer and secure adequate funding for [WMATA's] future," Downey said in a press release.

Going forward, the board's governance should provide for public accountability and build confidence and trust in the WMATA system, he added.

Downey's appointment comes as the agency and the National Transportation Safety Board investigate a deadly incident on the WMATA system near L'Enfant Plaza earlier this month. One person died and 80 others were injured in the incident, which investigators believe was caused by an electrical event involving cables that power the train's third rail.

Meanwhile, the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 yesterday called on WMATA to "commit itself to a safety culture now." The union represents WMATA's operators, maintenance and clerical employees.

In a website post, union officials said that WMATA "has failed to invest in the emergency training that all employees need on a consistent basis" since the 2009 Red Line accident that resulted in nine fatalities.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/27/15 14:14 by hazegray.

Let's hope Downey somehow transforms WMATA into a safe, reliable system.
It desperately needs professional, kick-ass LEADERSHIP!

The Washington Post has had a number of articles about the lack of a safety culture over the decades. Considerable blame to go around.

--Management choosing to bypass purchasing requirements intended to assure the integrity of track warning systems
--Exceptionally difficult to discipline employees who repeatedly don't know / don't care about rules
--Unwieldy board of directors and internal "interference" from District political leadership
--Unstable funding arrangements with three different, often feuding eneitites

In the case of the NY MTA, for example, even though the board is similarly unwieldy, the NY governor controls the board. And the agency has dedicated funding from bridge and tunnel tolls, fare box, a surcharge on income taxes (does DC even have an income tax?), a surcharge on property taxes, and a surcharge on sales taxes. That goes a long way toward renewing equipment, track warning systems, training, etc.