Dyer Gives Mostly ‘A’ Grades on First RTD Report Card

A generally rosy picture of progress on a much-publicized fix-it plan for the beleaguered Southern California Rapid Transit District was offered Thursday by General Manager John Dyer, even though some key indicators showed that safety and cost-cutting goals have not been met.

In the first of what will be six monthly reports, Dyer claimed “significant improvement” for February on the majority of the 14 areas covered by the plan, which was drafted in response to a series of revelations of alleged RTD mismanagement and demands for Dyer’s resignation by outside elected officials.

In particular, Dyer said the district had made great strides in curbing absenteeism, which he said was down 20% from the monthly average for 1985-86.

The rate of employees testing positive for illegal drugs was down 57%, compared to the last six months of 1986, Dyer said.

Within six months, Dyer has pledged to cut absenteeism by 10% and employees’ testing positive for illegal drugs by 15%.

Under the terms of Dyer’s plan, the figures presented to the RTD Board of Directors Thursday must be verified and analyzed by independent auditors hired by the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission.

In his “report card” rating, Dyer also gave the district an “A” last month for reducing customer complaints, ensuring bus drivers are properly licensed and increasing management attention to improving bus operations.

However, the report showed bus accidents were up, reaching a rate of 4.8 per 100,000 miles. The RTD’s goal is 4.4 accidents per 100,000 miles, and Dyer attributed the higher rate to rainy days which increased collisions.

Dyer gave the district and “F” on major spending issues, noting fare box income was lower than targeted and bus operating costs were significantly higher.