Today is first day on job for new MTA chief
Jay Walder started his job today as chairman and CEO of the Metropolitian Transportation Authority, first meeting with employees at the Corona Subway Maintenance Shop and the Casey Stengel Bus Depot in Queens, then greeting riders at the Main Street Station on the No. 7 line in that borough. 
Last month, the Senate confirmed Gov. David Paterson’s appointment of Walder to the $350,000-per-year post, and his term expires June 30, 2015. The MTA service region comprises New York City, Long Island, and Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland and Westchester counties.
Walder will be under a lot of pressure to shore up the MTA’s finances and operations following a $2.25 billion state bailout this spring. He has pledged to meet with people in the Hudson Valley region, who are upset they have to pay the new employer tax of 34 cents for every $100 of payroll and higher motor-vehicle fees, even though they have fewer users than New York City and other counties.
Walder is a Queens native who worked for the MTA from 1983 to 1995. He has been a partner in the London office of McKinsey’s Infrastructure Practice. Before that, he was managing director for finance and planning at Transport for London and is credited with introducing the popular “Oyster card” and drafting the transportation plan for London’s successful bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Walder pledged to have an “action plan for moving forward with concrete goals and timelines” by the end of his first 100 days at the MTA. “I am proud of the MTA’s progress over the past 20 years, but we need to do more,” he said.
“New Yorkers should be able to expect the same type of customer experience riders enjoy in London, with accurate arrival information and modern fare technology,” he said in a statement.
(Photo: Patrick Cashin, MTA.)
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