Walder greeted passengers and MTA workers amidst a swarm of reporters, taking special care to not disturb the flow of traffic. He chose to begin his commute at Main Street because it is the single most heavily used station outside of Manhattan.
A native of Rockaway, Walder worked for the MTA heading up its capital program budget office. He later served as chief of staff and eventually became the executive director and chief financial officer.
He then worked for several years as the managing director of finance and development at Transport for London, the governing body of the United Kingdom capital’s public transportation system.
Now that Walder is back home, he has several plans to improve the city’s transit system. He aims to increase the MTA’s accountability and credibility and make its website a more effective tool for users. He also said it was “critically important” to start the capital program. The key issue in improvement, he said, is execution, and he is ready for “robust engagement” with lawmakers.
“We should be proud of what’s there but we shouldn’t be satisfied with it,” he said.
Walder drew several parallels between London and the city, two major international areas known for their easy accessibility via public transit. Now that he has worked for both, he plans to bring some London innovation to New York City. This could include installing electronic boards at stops and stations that would signal arrival times to passengers.
Walder is particularly adamant about improving the city’s bus system, and specifically mentioned improving cross-town buses and giving them the right of way. In London, he said, the bus system carries two-thirds more people than the underground, and provides the “backbone” of public transportation.
According to the MTA website, New Yorkers are almost twice as likely to take the subway, but there are still many who ride, and depend on, the buses. Walder wants to make sure these buses keep moving. One way to possibly do this would be to introduce something akin to the Oyster card, London’s bus pass that scans in 200 milliseconds. This would speed up the boarding process.
Walder has not spoken with Mayor Mike Bloomberg recently, but he has seen his transit plans and says they both share similar views. Still, there are parts of the plan that need to be “carefully looked at,” he added.
Subway rider Adriana Tomala, 17, lives in East Elmhurst and goes to school at Berkeley College in Manhattan. Overall, she is happy with her commute but noted that the MTA should not make repairs to its tracks during rush hour. She also believes more attention should be made to improving cleanliness in subway cars. She noted how the floors and ceilings of the trains can get moldy.
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