MTA’s New Leader Says He’s Ready for Challenge

Roger Snoble, who won praise for turning Dallas’ mass-transit agency around, ventures into a more vexing world Monday when he takes over as chief executive of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Snoble, 56, succeeds Julian Burke, the 74-year-old corporate turnaround specialist who ended four years in charge of the MTA last week.

Snoble, who went to Dallas in 1994 after 14 years as head of San Diego’s bus system, arrives in Los Angeles as one of the nation’s most well-regarded transit administrators. Three years ago, the American Public Transit Assn. named him its transit manager of the year.

In Dallas, Snoble ran an agency similar to the MTA, responsible for bus routes, railways and freeway improvements. Yet for all of his accolades and experience, he will be tested by one of California’s most powerful and heavily funded public agencies.

The MTA’s budget is $2.7 billion, four times as large as Dallas Area Rapid Transit. And little can prepare an administrator for the challenge of dealing with an agency that, until Burke came aboard, suffered from a nationwide reputation for costly missteps, mismanagement, infighting and a highly politicized board of directors.

The MTA is still operating in the shadows of a 5-year-old federal court settlement to boost bus service, an agreement that could force the agency to scale back plans for rail and highway projects.

“It’s a big task, but I’m ready,” said Snoble, whose $295,000 salary will make him the county’s highest paid public manager. “This agency can do so much to improve lives. That’s what I’m focused on.” Snoble said his early experience in Dallas prepared him for dealing with a difficult bureaucracy.

When he took over as president of Dallas Area Rapid Transit, the agency had foundered for years. As Dallas’ rapid growth caused increasingly clogged traffic, DART was paralyzed by an ineffective board, petty squabbling among the 13 cities it served and a skeptical public. New buses had not been bought in years. The community was polarized over plans to build rail systems linking Dallas’ downtown and its suburbs.

Snoble began making inroads within three years. He oversaw the Dallas area’s first 20 miles of light rail and first modern commuter railways, both within budget and on time. The agency bought scores of new buses and synchronized their routes with trains. It also added carpool lanes to the freeways.

“Transportation planning before Roger got here was just chaos, just complete disarray,” said Jeran Akers, the mayor of Plano, one of Dallas’ largest suburbs. “He came here and absolutely got us on track, financially, in terms of vision and planning. Everything.”

Snoble said quick development of a 20-year transit plan blending rail, bus and freeway improvements was key to his success. It gave the agency a definitive guide to work by and be judged on, he said. The fact that Dallas voters overwhelmingly approved a $2.9-billion transit bond issue in 2000 was proof of his agency’s increased credibility, he said.

Snoble said one of his primary goals here will be gaining the same respect, proving to the public “that this is an agency capable of building big projects and doing them well.” He said he already is working on how to efficiently build the proposed downtown-to-East Los Angeles light rail line.

Most transit observers say Snoble’s biggest challenge, like Burke’s, will be keeping the agency’s often disjointed board in line. For much of the agency’s eight-year history, the 13-member board has earned a reputation for infighting and tending to back projects that appeal to board members’ individual constituencies rather than the entire county.

Snoble promises to give the board a precise set of goals and present it with honest financial figures. “I am going to work on developing a common vision,” he said.

Snoble also will have to decide whether to continue the agency’s resistance to a court-approved settlement that committed the MTA to continue boosting its bus service. The agency signed the agreement in 1996 to settle a lawsuit by advocates of bus riders, who contended that low bus service levels violated the civil rights of the agency’s largely minority ridership.

The agency agreed to add hundreds of buses to its fleet of roughly 2,000. But it has consistently balked at implementing the agreement, appealing to a federal judge, a court-appointed mediator and, just two weeks ago, to federal district court.

Complying with the settlement could have a great impact on Snoble’s MTA. Fully implemented, it could put a damper on the MTA’s ambitious programs, such as new carpool lanes and light rail projects.

Eric Mann, head of the Bus Riders Union, the nonprofit organization that filed the suit and has long been a fierce critic of the MTA, said Snoble’s handling of the settlement will be a litmus test.

“Does he honor legal agreements? Will he work with us to implement a decree they signed?” Mann asked. “If he does, we will get along fine.”

Snoble was hesitant to comment on how he will handle the court agreement, saying he needs to study it further. “Fundamentally, I agree with” the Bus Riders Union, he said. “Our city deserves the highest quality bus service. It’s one of my top priorities.” He said part of his focus would be to improve cleanliness, reliability and routing of buses.

As Snoble arrives, the MTA continues to pay homage to Burke for his work as chief executive. Last week, MTA workers gave him a warm send-off in the outdoor plaza of the agency’s headquarters, with speaker after speaker affectionately roasting the erudite Burke--as much for his unyielding work habits as his baldness.

Asked in 1996 by then-Mayor and MTA board member Richard Riordan to study the agency’s fiscal health, Burke quickly impressed the directors with his firm grasp of finances and understanding of how to heal an ailing organization. The agency, unable to find a candidate willing to take the chief executive job, offered it to Burke. He took the position without ever signing a contract.

The agency he agreed to lead had continuously funded projects with little concern for budgets. Those projects that were built often became boondoggles, most notably the Hollywood subway line, which became the most expensive underground rail job in U.S. history. Poor decision-making eviscerated the agency’s reputation in Sacramento and in Washington, D.C., which provides much of the funding for major projects. Legislators demanded reform.

Board member Zev Yaroslavsky, a Los Angeles County supervisor, said the agency is at a crucial point in its existence, capable of moving forward or sliding back into the days of mismanagement.

“This makes Mr. Snoble’s job crucial,” Yaroslavsky said. “He is going to be tested very early. The same old forces that once polluted the MTA are still there. He needs to stick with what got him hired--for his competency, for being his own man, for being able to stand up to groups that don’t have the public’s best interests at heart.”