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New boss vows lean CTA
Staff cuts, service upgrades part of bid for state money, he says
By Jon Hilkevitch
Tribune transportation reporter
Published May 2, 2007
New CTA President Ron Huberman said he will launch a major management shake-up tied to a reform effort to convince state legislators that the transit agency is cutting waste and deserves a funding bailout this year.
Huberman, whose City Hall nomination to the post was approved 7-0 Tuesday by the transit agency's board, said everyone from top managers down to bus drivers and rail station janitors will be given a chance to prove there is a place for them at a leaner, more efficiently run and customer-focused CTA.
But pink slips will be handed out, Huberman said in a Tribune interview on the eve of his appointment to succeed Frank Kruesi. The Chicago Transit Authority will be transformed into a performance-based organization, starting with changes in management, he said.
"We will be doing a lot of slashing," said Huberman, who has served as Mayor Richard Daley's chief of staff for the last two years. He previously directed the city's 911 center and worked on technology and policy issues in the Police Department. As CTA president, he will earn $198,000 a year, according to agency spokeswoman Noelle Gaffney.
"There will be changes in the CTA management team...
. I want people who are willing to give me very long days and weekends," Huberman said.
"Those who meet the goals we will be looking to promote. Those people who can't perform -- it doesn't matter who they are and who they know -- simply will not be able to stay on the bus, so to speak," he said.
CTA Chairwoman Carole Brown said Tuesday that she looked forward to Huberman's "fresh perspective" on solving the agency's problems. Brown denied reports of a personality conflict between her and Huberman and said she would stay on as chairwoman for as long as she remained effective.
Borrowing an idea that retail businesses have used to measure customer satisfaction, Huberman said teams of people posing as commuters will be launched in an expansion of the city's "mystery shopping program." The tool has been used to gauge how quickly city departments respond to complaints ranging from potholes to contracting practices.
"Mystery shopping" will be used at the CTA to help determine how well the agency is serving riders' needs, Huberman said.
"We will be getting on buses and trains, walking up to customer service counters and measuring the experience, then taking corrective action wherever we find problems," he said.
Huberman said his priority will be improving customers' experience of riding trains and buses by focusing on consistent service, cleanliness and courtesy.
He said Daley made it clear those are the agency's top goals when the mayor invited Huberman to dinner a few weeks ago to ask him to straighten out the CTA.
After that meal, Huberman said he hung up his car keys and has been riding buses and trains to commute from his North Side home.
Huberman, 35, appeared undaunted when reminded by a reporter that Kruesi's mantra to CTA employees for 9 1/2 years was to provide service that is " on time, clean, safe and friendly" -- a standard that Daley made clear to Huberman has not been achieved.
Huberman said that like Kruesi, he will ride the system regularly.
But Huberman, who favors a military-style haircut and power neckties with his suits, as opposed to Kruesi's trademark yellow jacket and Dennis the Menace coiffure, said: "Do not expect to see a CTA map on my tie" -- a reference to the other staple of Kruesi's wardrobe.
Huberman said his lack of a transit background or familiarity with the CTA are positives that will allow him to come in with a fresh perspective and introduce a dramatic overhaul without flinching, changes he expects will be applauded in Springfield.
"I don't really know the story behind the story on why certain things are the way they are, which I think is really healthy," he said. "It gives me the opportunity to see things exactly how our customers see them."
He vowed, starting this week, to go through the CTA budget line by line and "cut costs wherever possible in significant ways."
His first trip to meet lawmakers in Springfield is already set for Wednesday, Huberman's first full day on the job.
The CTA faces a $110 million operating shortfall this year if new state funding is not provided. Agency officials said they are preparing service cuts and possible fare increases that could take effect as early as July.
The CTA system also has unmet capital-improvement needs of $5.8 billion.
Huberman said Tuesday that his primary focus will be to cut costs internally -- starting with the layers of CTA administrators -- before considering raising fares.
"We need to put together a package for Springfield that shows there are internal management reforms that are going to happen," Huberman said.
However, he said the CTA cannot manage itself out of the problem of inadequate funding. He said the CTA, as well as Metra and Pace, still need more money to maintain the current system, improve operations and expand the regional transit system for future growth.
But he is talking the talk that officials in Springfield haven't heard enough of from the CTA.
"There is a lot on the management side that we plan to do to improve consistency across the line," Huberman said. "It is not purely dependent on capital and operations funding increases."
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jhilkevitch@tribune.com
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune
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