RTD Chief Concedes Need, Vows Fix-It Plan

Embattled transit chief John Dyer conceded Thursday that the Southern California Rapid Transit District needs a major overhaul, and he pledged to unveil a thorough fix-it plan next week.

“I believe that we have a responsibility to take a series of extraordinary steps to overcome some of the major problems,” Dyer, the agency’s general manager, told the board of directors.

The surprise announcement was the first public comment by Dyer since he returned this week from vacation. While he was away, mounting reports of management troubles led one member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to call for Dyer’s resignation.

As he had before, Dyer said Thursday that he will not step down. But he said a number of “valid criticisms” of the transit agency have inspired him to call for major improvements.

Dyer would not specify the problems he had identified, but in recent months the district has been buffeted by controversy over soaring administrative costs, lax control over travel and entertainment expenses by board members and executives and the possible payment of hundreds of thousands of dollars in phony insurance claims.

In addition, there have been charges in recent months of high absenteeism, drug use and safety problems among bus drivers. On Thursday, the RTD released new figures showing that three of 13 bus drivers--about 23%--tested in December because of poor attendance were found to have used drugs. Another 32 mechanics and bus maintenance workers--25% of those tested because of poor attendance--were found to have drugs in their systems.

Nine employees tested for reasons other than absence in December were fired, the RTD said, including seven bus drivers. Overall, the proportion of bus drivers found to have used illegal drugs--including those tested for poor attendance--was 5.4%, down slightly from last month.

Dyer said Thursday that he began, during his recent vacation, to review all the charges.

“It is my conclusion that a number of the criticisms that have been leveled at the district, leveled at management and the staff, are in fact valid,” Dyer said.

“I am in the process of preparing what I would call an aggressive action plan that is intended to address each one of the issues that has been raised that I believe are valid,” Dyer said.

The RTD board of directors agreed to schedule a special meeting for next Thursday to hear Dyer’s plan.

During an RTD board meeting Thursday, the agency’s directors gave final approval to new controls on their own and Dyer’s expense accounts. The new policy follows press accounts of abuses.

In a setback to Dyer, the directors also delayed action on a plan he initiated to pay $80,000 to one of the biggest boosters of the Metro Rail subway, the Central City Assn. of Los Angeles, to do public relations for the subway among downtown businesses.

Most directors were clearly dubious about the contract. But rather than kill it outright, they agreed to discuss the contract further in two weeks.

However, the agency did approve a $26-million contract with a joint-venture firm, Shank-Ohbayashi, for construction of the first underground segment of Metro Rail.