CTA Tattler

Frank Kruesi leaving !Carole Brown actually responded to an item on her blog!Will miracles never cease ?
While Ron Huberman is the resident whiz kid,I was disheartened by his comments.No mention was made of trying to increase ridership or raise money from sources other than begging.

You may watch the entire press conference announcing Frank's resignation and Huberman's nomination here: http://tinyurl.com/2ojwcj

"Carole Brown actually responded to an item on her blog!"
If you are referring to her saying "Yes" at 4/19/2007 6:06 PM, that isn't much.

The funny thing about going through and "cutting costs" is that it seems like "cutting costs" led to a lot of the problem that got Kreusi in trouble. I don't understand the mindset that says, "The system is starved for cash and needs some serious work to be brought up to a state of good repair -- the solution is to cut costs further!" I'd love to see a politician break out of this "scarcity model" for public services.

It's not like Huberman will be able to do anything. He's hamstrung by all the things already in process. He's not a transportation specialist so it's not like he'll come up with exciting ways to make commutes faster or anything. He's probably in well over his head. It's a shame that Daley is sacrificing his "golden boy" to the CTA. He won't get out of there alive.

When Huberman proves that he's a more than just capable administrator, I'll give him credit. As of now, he's just another Daley hack.

The CTA is a mess, and clearly needs a strong, experienced leader. A bus-driving cop doesn't strike me as a transit guru.

No free passes. I hope he proves me wrong, though.

Adam: The question isn't cutting costs in the abstract, but implementing priorities in the manner suggested by the Auditor General's report. Yes, neglecting maintenance is not a proper way to cut costs. On the other hand, costs could be cut without adversely affecting service by, for instance, stop running over Pace routes (such as Harlem Avenue), cutting bureaucrats (such as the bloated spokeswomen department) and workers who do not seem to be doing their jobs (either based on the absentee rate or on observations on this and other blogs about slackers), getting pension costs in line with contributions, etc. As the Auditor General points out, transit may be underfunded, even after that, but, according to the Tribune, even Daley now recognizes that such reforms are a necessary prerequisite to getting the legislature's cooperation.

Someone posted on Ask Carole a story from CBS2 News that Carole is on the way out, too. Link to the CBS story:
http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_110181957.html

Sure, we'll give Ron a chance. There's been a bit of buzz that he's big on the GE management style...which, if I remember right, means you clear out the lowest performers every year.

That would really make things interesting. I don't expect it to happen, but it would make things interesting.

In response to the first comment, the one positive thing that has happened under Kruesi's misrule is increasing ridership. Strongly increasing ridership. Admittedly led of course by the cleanliness of the trains on the line he actually rides (Brown) but showing up elsewhere on the system too despite the filth and grime.

There isn't much more the CTA can do to expand ridership without expanding and rehabilitating the system. That means investment -- investment to make the trains go faster and more reliably and also on new routes, investment to make the trains and stations pleasant and not just smelly, dank ruins -- and it means some hard choices in government -- HOV lanes on Lake Shore Drive and major streets so that "express" actually means express at all times of the day, and a mentality at CTA that is focused on maintaining and cleaning things once you have them rather than letting them go to seed.

"I've seen some comments already dissing Huberman as inexperienced, and not the guy for the job. I say give him a chance. He's a great administrator, and that's what we need at the CTA."

In the real world, people prove themselves before being promoted straight to the top. They prove themselves before being put in charge.

In the real world, a search for the best person for the top job in an organization would center around people who've already proven themselves. It wouldn't go to the first political hack that walks through the door.

If a Fortune 500 company did something like this, their stock would drop 20% overnight.

There are likely a few hundred - maybe even few thousand - people who read this blog who are better qualified to run the CTA. But if they want to run a big city transit system, they're either going to have to prove themselves before having a chance at a similar job in most cities, or kiss a lot more butt to get the job in Chicago.

Let him prove himself *before* getting the job. Meanwhile, a search should be started to find people who've already proven themselves. People with qualifications beyond having kissed the right butt.

While I agree with most of the posts that there should have been a search for the best transit professional, since this is a done deal (the CTA Board has no backbone), the real question will be who Huberman puts in such positions as Executive Vice President for Transit Operations. Kruesi seemed to believe that the main sources of management talent were the City Department of Aviation and City Hall Department of Law (if we believe CTA press releases with appointment announcements). While CTA seemed to be able to generate talent internally (the last example being George Krambles), the current culture seems too inbred with failed ideas (such as having no clue on how to correct bus bunching or allocate buses among garages), thus indicating that some outside insight is needed.