NEW YORK — Richard Davey, former Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation, has been named as the new president of New York City Transit, the portion of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority operating New York’s subways and buses, paratransit services, and the Staten Island Railway.
MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber announced the appointment Wednesday. Davey will begin work May 2.
“To take over an operation as large as New York City Transit, the goal was to find someone with a diversified transit background and strong leadership skills,” Lieber said in a press release. “Rich is someone New Yorkers should feel confident in as the agency moves forward with major accessibility improvements and other capacity and reliability-oriented upgrades.”
Davey, 48, began his transit career at the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Co. in 2003, became its general manager in 2008, and in 2010 became general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
“I share the same principles as Chair Lieber — delivering on-time and efficient service, welcoming customers to a safe environment, and constantly looking at ways to improve the system,” Davey said. “I hope that whenever my tenure ends, New Yorkers can look back and say that guy from Boston made a difference.”
Davey becomes the first permanent head of New York City Transit since Andy Byford stepped down in 2020 [see “NYC Transit president Byford resigns,” Trains News Wire, Jan. 23, 2020]. Since then, Sarah Feinberg and Craig Cipriano, who followed Feinberg in August 2021, have held the position on an interim basis; Cipriano will become New York City Transit’s chief operating officer.
Hard to believe: going from all of Massachusetts transportation to NY City transit only is going to a larger operation.
Would this be the most difficult job in America? Who could possibly manage those train and bus systems? I wish him well but I’d be surprised (pleasantly surprised) if he lasts four years.