Home MTA Politics Walder says something and nothing as vote looms

Walder says something and nothing as vote looms

by Benjamin Kabak

The Jay Walder confirmation circus hit Harlem on Tuesday. While it seems as though the State Senate will confirm Walder as the new top dog for the MTA, Walder is still speaking in platitudes while offering few glimpses into his MTA strategy.

I unfortunately could not venture uptown yesterday to attend the hearings, but both The Times and amNew York, among other outlets, sent reporters. The tone and substance of the coverage is widely divergent. Michael Grynbaum is skeptical of Walder and his non-answers while Heather Haddon found promises of innovation. We start with The Times:

Based on a public hearing in Harlem on Tuesday, Mr. Walder has already mastered at least one political sleight of hand: the nonanswer answer. Asked about the transportation authority’s much-publicized new labor agreement, Mr. Walder said he had not read the proceedings and could not comment. He said the authority “can do much more with the bus system,” but he was vague on the details, saying he hoped to see more enforcement of bus lanes.

In his testimony, he also said that he hoped to encourage “a new communications strategy with the communities we serve” and to make public information about the system more “comprehensive and comprehensible.” But he declined to be any more specific, leaving the several dozen people attending the hearing with more generic phrases often associated with management consultants, like McKinsey & Company, Mr. Walder’s current employer.

“We need to address the issues of credibility, accountability and transparency,” he said when asked about his goals. “I’m sure we can all agree on that.”

Haddon, meanwhile, highlights three areas of in which the MTA can look to upgrade its system. Walder wants to bring a contact-lass payment system online; he wants to install train-arrival boards with real-time train information; and he wants to beef up the bus operations through consistent ticketing of those who block the bus lanes and an expansion of the city’s nascent bus rapid transit system.

“We walk to the edge of the platform, we look over, we wait to see if there’s a white light. And if we see the white light and hope it’s not a reflection, then we know that the train is actually coming. This is simply not the way to operate a 21st century transit system,” Walder said of the MTA’s technological woes.

It’s hard to argue with either Grynbaum’s or Haddon’s take on the Walder confirmation hearings. On the one hand, Walder can’t really say anything inflammatory during these sessions because he risks losing the support of the State Senate. He can’t bash the labor deal or discuss much about the ongoing legal battle with the TWU — although he could do more than say that he hasn’t read the arbitration award yet. He can’t address the MTA’s real economic short comings right now either without upsetting Senators already antsy about a tax- and fee-heavy MTA bailout plan.

On the other, it always comes back to the money. Walder can talk about technological innovation and our need to catch up with our global transit competitors until he is blue in the face. Without the money, the MTA is stuck spinning its wheels and trying to maintain its State of Good Repair. Walder needs to be confirmed, and he’ll have to be realistic about the MTA’s short- and long-term future. He may have the support of transit advocates, but Walder has yet to show me that he deserves to replace Elliot Sander, the man the Senate and Governor unceremoniously kicked to the curb.

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3 comments

Josh September 9, 2009 - 1:59 pm

It’s just SHOCKING that Carl Kruger is quoted in the AMNY article as being opposed to bus lane enforcement.

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Benjamin Kabak September 9, 2009 - 2:09 pm

The only reason I didn’t mention that in the post is because I might devote a separate post to it. Stunning, isn’t it?

Reply
Nathanael September 17, 2009 - 9:40 pm

Without the money, the MTA is stuck spinning its wheels and trying to maintain its State of Good Repair.

Correction: trying to *achieve* a State of Good Repair. The MTA is far from a State of Good Repair at the moment.

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