Keith Parker
Age: 46
Residence: San Antonio
Education: Bachelor's degree in political science and master's degree in urban and regional planning, Virginia Commonwealth University; master's in business, University of Richmond
Professional experience: CEO of VIA Metropolitan Transportation Authority in San Antonio (2009-present); CEO of Charlotte Area Transportation system (2007-2009)
Steve Bland
Age: 51
Residence: Sewickley, Pa.
Education: Bachelor's degree, public affairs, transportation planning and management, Indiana University; master's degree, public finance, Indiana University
Professional experience: CEO of Port Authority of Allegheny County (2006-present); executive director, Capital District Transportation Authority, Albany, N.Y. (2002-2006); executive director, rabbittransit, York, Pa. (1994-2002)
ATLANTA
Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority
Size: Covers 1,963 square miles
Budget: $435 million
Employees: 4,500
Annual ridership: 146 million boardings
Fares collected annually: $108 million
Rail: Heavy rail
SAN ANTONIO
VIA Metropolitan Transit
Size: Covers 408 square miles
Budget: $177 million
Employees: 1,700
Annual ridership: 42 million boardings
Fares collected: $23 million
Rail: No. A streetcar is scheduled to open by 2016.
PITTSBURGH
Port Authority of Allegheny County
Size: Covers 775 square miles
Budget: $371 million
Employees: 2,500
Annual ridership: 66 million boardings
Fares collected: $89 million
Rail: Light rail
MARTA board members are on the cusp of choosing a new general manager who will be tasked not with simply running a troubled transit system but with salvaging it.
They have two finalists for the job, who if they could be merged into one would be precisely the right man for MARTA.
The next general manager will have to stop MARTA’s hemorrhage of red ink but also soothe riders still smarting over fare hikes and service cuts. There’s a political balancing act, too: He has to placate both a GOP-dominated Legislature anxious to force MARTA to privatize many functions and Democratic activists who believe the transit board kowtows to Republicans.
Both finalists run smaller systems than MARTA, yet each brings skills that could help turn MARTA around. Steve Bland, who runs the system around Pittsburgh, has had success in dealing with unions and legislators. Keith Parker built a reputation as a diplomat as he ran systems in Charlotte and now San Antonio.
Bland is viewed as a top analyst who recently rescued 550 employees at a light-rail and bus system from being laid off and its service from being decimated through tough negotiations with labor, as well as political skill that persuaded anti-transit legislators to ante up more money.
He could fill a natural niche at a financially struggling MARTA, which an audit released last week said was spending tens of millions of dollars more than necessary in administrative and labor costs.
“We are one of the most efficient transit agencies in the country right now because of his leadership,” Steve Palonis, who heads the Amalgamated Transit Union in Pittsburgh, said of Bland. “He made some tough changes, but he is a man of his word. If you are looking for someone to make the system more healthy, I think you would be getting a good guy down there, I really do.”
Parker hasn’t been as bloodied in cost-cutting battles, having earned his reputation in Charlotte and now in San Antonio, where there was a push to expand transit and where ridership has grown. But Parker has the reputation of someone who will be an ambassador for MARTA, the type who would do 200 meetings a year with patrons, politicians and the public, who could win over skeptics and motivate employees
He could be a natural to change the image of MARTA in a car-dependent region where voters and legislators are often outright hostile to MARTA. Conservatives in the Legislature resist assisting MARTA financially despite it being the only transit agency of its size in the country without state assistance, yet the state has put restrictions on how MARTA can spend its money. The authority relies on a sales tax in Fulton and DeKalb counties for the bulk of its funding.
Bill Coxe, who was the transportation planner for Mecklenburg County, N.C., which includes Charlotte, for two decades, said Parker was a skilled politician but in a region with more political support for transit.
“Keith is just a super guy and smart as a whip,” said Coxe, now the town planner for Huntersville, N.C. “There is a spirit of regional cooperation here that is enviable … so when he was here, Keith didn’t operate in such a fractious environment, but I have a sense he would do well in one.”
Barbara Babbit Kaufman, who chaired the MARTA board search committee, said communication and relationships, both with employees and politicians, are key characteristics the board is looking for in the next general manager as well as someone who is good with numbers.
“The person you hire doesn’t have to be hands-on, the best operational person,” she said. “They have to be a great leader who can get a great operations person.”
The board is expected to make the choice this week. Friday marked the end of the 14-day grace period that the board had to wait before making a decision.
Parker’s office said it would be premature for him to comment. Bland also declined to comment.
Whoever is picked will land in what is both a plum job and a tremendous headache. MARTA is the ninth-largest public transportation system in America — much larger than Pittsburgh and San Antonio. MARTA General Manager Beverly Scott’s total compensation is more than $370,000 a year. Parker made $310,000 with his bonus this year, and Bland’s base salary is $185,000 currently.
Parker and Bland were among seven candidates interviewed by the board search committee from a short list compiled by the executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles.
But MARTA is an organization with monumental challenges. A new management audit done on behalf of the board describes an institution that could benefit strongly by privatizing many functions and renegotiating labor contracts to rein in benefit costs — moves that could wipe out its $33 million operating deficit in its $435 million operating budget but involve a process fraught with difficulties. Auditors also concluded high absenteeism among MARTA’s 4,500 employees cost about $11 million a year.
Conservatives in the Legislature contend the unionized MARTA’s spending runs amok, a view the audit will strengthen.
Moreover, a customer survey found that while MARTA was recapturing “choice riders,” those who have alternate transportation, especially for work commutes, it found that customer satisfaction had fallen substantially. Board Chairman Frederick Daniels last week told the staff the trend was unacceptable.
“I assume they know what they are getting into,” Michael Walls, a former board chairman, said of the finalists. “It is a tougher environment than most places.”
Former General Manager Ken Gregor, who was viewed as having a contentious relationship with labor before he left in 1994, said the next general manager would have to persuade employees he represented their interests while being a tough budgetary analyst who challenged spending and made the system more efficient. That could breed conflict with employees.
“Most of the money at MARTA is tied up in salaries and fringe benefits,” he said. “All transit agencies have financial problems, but MARTA, I think, is in particularly dire straits.”
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