T general manager walks the walk

A very admirable move. I can't wait until he's late for major meetings/events. =)

With the exception of Sen. John "Liveshot" Kerry in the 80's-90's, has there been a bigger publicity-hound / self-promoter in these parts than this Richard Davey character? In addition to today's self-congratulatory Globe piece, the Sunday Herald cover story reports two plain clothes Transit police officers from the "Internal Security Unit" have now been assigned as executive protection for Davy because, out of his numerous public appearances, he has been confronted twice (TWICE!) by folks disgruntled with the T. The Herald makes it sound like the bodyguards were the idea of the Transit Police, not Davey. Count me as skeptical. As one Herald commenter wrote, "It's like the stories Kevin White used to float to the media 'off the record' that he was the target of "assassins!"

And Adam, Davey didn't just "ditch" his car as your post says. Much like Robin Hood, he "donated it to charity" according to both papers. Similarly to the bodyguard idea, the decision to announce the charitable donation supposedly wasn't Davy's either, it was the T spokesman who "outed" him. With the T facing a projected $1.1 billion deficit (at least) over the next five years, Davy should tone down the "Me Tour" and get to work on looming T disasters. There are plenty.

This is good PR. I'm not to sure if this is just PR or if there's real motive behind Davey doing this. One can remember in the not so distant past that this sorta PR worked well for Dukakis in the 70s and 80s when he was governor. The T at the time was horrible (okok and to some degree still horrible), but he rode it anyways. It was a way for Dukakis to reconnect with the fellow citizen. Much like this may allow Davey to reconnect with the riders.

But times have changed since the days of Dukakis, and like Adam, I agree, there's a ton of nutty folks that ride the T, and Davey just would be a moving target for some of these macadamias. I wonder the cost effectiveness of this is, but hey if he wants to ride and prove a point, then he can do it. (Although I wonder if the staff already knows which trains he's on so they can't mess up service).

I'd love for this to go a step further and require ALL T employees to ride. Many already do, but I see too many cars parked in bus loops at stations (Lechmere is the worst). I think if the employees were required to ride, then service might improve a bit. (okay wishful thinking)

I also agree with his plugging of zipcar, like others have posted other modes of transit that compliment the T's service are very applicable here. Many zipcars are parked at T stations, so making that transfer of modes seemless. (I've booked many cars b/c of their proxmity to a T station). Zipcar and the T really go hand in hand. Davey knows the T doesn't go everywhere, and in some cases the T just doesn't make logistical sense (like big grocery trips, or car trips to locations out of the T's service area), so they compliment each other very well. (along with other modes, like taxi's, walking, bike sharing, etc).

Personally I'd love to see Davey's bill. I havent owned a car since 1998 (just by choice, really) and I do the zipcar thing. It can get pricey for longer rentals or repeat rentals. (whereas traditional car rental makes better economical sense), and seeing Davey's bill would be an indication of how much he really rides the T.

But I digress, unfortunately I have to disagree with Adam in saying "they guy can't win". He can't. The GM position at the T has always been the 'fallguy' position. I can go down the list of former GMs and really can't pinpoint that the T's failure was them or not, or an organizational issue.

Dan G was a good case of this, over at the Registry he worked wonders. Any long time employee of the registry can tell you that they miss Dan G. And if you've been to the registry since he left, you know its gone into the toilet. When Dan went to the T, he realized that the issues with the T are with the organization itself, not one person or department. Its just riddled with issues. And unlike the Registry which had a different, less vocal union, the T has a very vocal one. Changes are harder to make. Combined with being handed the T's debt, and just an antiquated system that has been neglected for decades. (Unlike the RMV where it had few of the same problems the T has).

I've always said this about the T, its not the GM's fault usually, but they are always found to be the scapegoat. Ideas are great and are in abundance, just ask any T rider and I am sure they have an opinion. But its the act of getting it done that is always the problem, AND keeping up on it (aka maintenance) is always the hard hurdle to overcome.

PS - Sorry to grandstand, I didnt see this post until today, but I had to comment. (I'm a transit nut)