TransitCenter has obtained a copy of a memo circulated last week to MTA staff by the agency’s new chairman, Joe Lhota. The memo acknowledges that the agency faces a crisis and does not currently deserve the public’s trust.
In the memo, Lhota affirms news reports that he will conduct a “top to bottom” audit of the agency’s structure in the next 30 days. Lhota would do well to borrow liberally from the 10 point plan for organizational change we’ve laid out, as well as recognize that there are no silver bullets.
What appears to be new information is that in 60 days, Lhota wants the MTA to debut a customer-facing dashboard that will enable New Yorkers to see how the agency is performing and hold it accountable. Hopefully the dashboard will include information on key projects to improve subway service, such as ongoing and pending signal projects, subway car procurement as well as elevator outages. The dashboard should rely on the kind of legible, rider-focused performance metrics we’ve championed, such as excess journey time. Additionally, the dashboard will be monumentally incomplete if it omits performance of city buses.
Lhota’s memo is here.
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