Running one of the
busiest transit systems in the Americas is a prestigious job, but
it’s also a huge responsibility -- one that is set to become even
larger. Veteran TTC executive Gary Webster has been appointed the
agency’s new Chief General Manager, formally taking over the
position he has held since predecessor Rick Ducharme left a year
ago. The TTC appears poised to expand dramatically over the next
decade, and Webster must oversee new light rail and subway lines
while keeping an extensive, often-crowded system on track.
Being the lead
bureaucrat of such a heavily used -- and closely watched -- civic
institution can also be a very political job, especially when you
have a difference of opinion with the city councillors who oversee
the commission. Rick Ducharme’s departure last year came during a
very contentious period -- TTC employees had just gone on a wildcat
strike and the commissioners were preparing to make a huge subway
car purchase without an open bidding process. At the time, Ducharme
claimed then commission chair Howard Moscoe was interfering with the
operation of the system, making decisions that should have been the
responsibility of staff.
Webster’s role as
interim chief has been low key compared to the previous holders of
his job. Ducharme was regularly quoted by the media, in the
tradition of his predecessor David Gunn. Gunn is renowned for
shaking up large rail organizations, as well as speaking his mind to
political masters. That attitude earned him both controversy as well
as the endearment of many employees. In the 1990s, at a time when
the TTC was under great strain, decisions on the future of the
transit agency broke out from behind closed doors in a messy, but
revealing, way. At times Gunn, Moscoe and outspoken Toronto Mayor
Mel Lastman could all be seen trying to get their message out in a
brash manner Torontonians rarely see.
Although respected
by many transit observers, it’s not clear how Webster would deal
publicly with controversial issues-- or whether he will even have
to. Current TTC chair Adam Giambrone has since last fall been the
primary voice of the agency, and clearly knows transit. The city
councillors is a close ally of Mayor David Miller and together with
other key members of council, they appear to now be directing the
agency’s long-awaited growth plans. The process for making big
decisions may have shifted away from the TTC administration -- or at
least previously public tussles have retreated behind doors. In any
event, Webster and his staff now have the enviable opportunity of
working on a fleet of projects that could once again put the TTC at
the lead of world transit agencies.