RTD Tries to Land Official With a Big-City Track Record

Hoping to improve the RTD’s battered image, the transit agency’s board is trying to recruit big-city public transit chiefs with tough, reformer reputations to succeed the much-criticized former general manager, John Dyer.

The Times has learned that a preliminary, confidential short list of candidates includes transit chiefs from Boston, Houston and Chicago--all cities with large commuter bus or rail systems that have emerged from scandals or financial and operational chaos in recent years.

Two Chicagoans on the list said in telephone interviews that they have withdrawn from the running, but others who appear interested include Boston’s James O’Leary and Houston’s Alan Kiepper. Both have enjoyed generally favorable reviews from transit analysts and major hometown newspapers for improving transit service and controlling costs.

The choice of a permanent successor to Dyer’s $119,000-a-year job is seen by board members as crucially important to restoring public confidence in the $800-million-a-year transit system, which has been rocked by allegations of waste, mismanagement, deteriorating bus service and criminal investigations of theft and insurance fraud.

The new transit chief will be expected to streamline management and improve bus service, as well as to take charge of construction of the $3.8-billion Metro Rail subway. Politically, the selection of the new transit chief and the progress he or she is able to make in the next several months could help determine the survival of the agency. Irate state legislators nearly succeeded in abolishing the RTD, along with the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission, last year and some are trying again this session.

“I’m watching who they select,” said Sepulveda Democrat Richard Katz, chairman of the Assembly Transportation Committee and one of the driving forces behind last year’s vetoed bill. “I’m also watching the attitude and the authority they give to the (new general manager) to make changes . . . whether it is just window dressing or it is real.”

Sources stressed that the list of candidates could change after the first round of personal interviews with board members next week. But all those being considered have had experience in overhauling large and troubled transit systems.

Only days after taking over management of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in 1981, Boston’s O’Leary earned public praise for an unusual act of courage: exposing bribery payments to his boss, the transit board chairman, who ultimately went to jail.

O’Leary, a 38-year-old native of Boston, is a lawyer who keeps a low profile but is known for an aggressive management style. He won respect for steering the city’s rail and bus system out of a financial and operational crisis. Before O’Leary took over, the system regularly ran out of money and service was terrible. The entire system shut down briefly in 1980 because it went broke.

Under O’Leary, the system has lived within its budget and one Boston-based independent transit analyst said the “the efficiency of the MBTA has changed dramatically.” Last summer, the Boston Globe reported that a private research group found that 81% of riders were satisfied with the frequency of service, up from 54% in 1981, and 79% believed that service was improving.

Some critics say Boston transit service still is not good and that O’Leary and the MBTA give themselves too much credit. They contend that he has benefited from management tools his predecessors did not have: increased funds from the pro-transit administration of Gov. Michael Dukakis and a landmark law passed during the 1980 crisis that gave management a far freer hand in dealing with union workers. O’Leary declined to be interviewed or to comment Wednesday.

Houston’s Kiepper has also received high marks for turning around that city’s all-bus system after he arrived in 1982. With a high accident rate, an epidemic of bus breakdowns and on-time performance less than 50%, Houston’s transit system was “the doormat of the industry,” said Paul N. Bay, Houston Metro’s assistant general manager.

On-time service is now 98%, breakdowns are well below the industry average and ridership has increased from 47 million to 74 million in five years.

Kiepper’s name is the one most often mentioned to succeed Dyer and he has been publicly promoted by Los Angeles County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn.

In a telephone interview, Kiepper said he is not actively seeking the Los Angeles job, but acknowledged that he may meet a third time with the RTD board’s recruitment representatives.

Kiepper, 59, has a reputation as an able, hands-on manager. “(He is) a very good administrator,” said one Houston transit activist, who has sometimes been at odds with Kiepper. “He knows the fundamentals; he hires good people, and he’s not too creative. Creative people don’t make good administrators.”

Other observers, including some RTD executives, said it would be hard not to be a hero, given the money Kiepper has had available from a 1% sales tax for transit. After a major system rebuilding program, the agency still has a $380-million reserve. Houston’s 60-cent fare only has to cover about 25% of operating costs, compared to RTD’s 85-cent fare, which must cover 40% of costs and is likely to be raised soon.

While he is most noted for his work on the Houston bus system, Kiepper would prefer to build rail systems, some of his hometown observers believe--a factor that may make the RTD job attractive. “It’s exciting,” Kiepper said of Los Angeles rail building plans.

Two Chicagoans on the preliminary list told The Times they are no longer interested. They are former Chicago Transit Authority chief Bernard Ford and Chicago’s cost-cutting transit czar, Theodore Wiegle Jr., regional transportation authority director.

Wiegle said part of his concern about coming to Los Angeles is the uncertainty surrounding the continuing transit reorganization debate here. Because the RTD is seen as a “high-risk” career move, attracting top talent may require an unusually favorable “golden parachute” bailout provision in the new general manager’s contract, some sources said.

Also, earlier hopes of reaching outside of the limited pool of big-city transit chiefs and recruiting an experienced, top level private business executive are fading. “It meant . . . much more money than we could reasonably pay as a public agency,” said one RTD board member.

TWO TOP CONTENDERS FOR RTD POST

Alan Kiepper, 59 general manager Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority.

While in Atlanta, he helped develop a commuter rail system. In Houston, which has an all-bus system, he cut costs and improved service.

James O’Leary, 38 general manager, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

He earned public praise for exposing that his boss was taking bribes. Also has improved train service and increased efficiency.