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Farewell Lawrence Reuter

Lawrence Reuter has announced he is stepping down as NYC Transit President. Here is a story about it courtesy of New York Business:

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said on Wednesday that New York City Transit President Lawrence Reuter is stepping down from the post he’s held for the past decade.

The MTA did not name a successor but said Mr. Reuter would stay on through early February.

Mr. Reuter is leaving to take a position with a large engineering firm in Florida, and said the opportunity “be closer to my grandchildren was too appealing to turn down.” The name of the engineering firm wasn’t immediately available.

During his tenure with NYC Transit, the 55-year-old is credited with improving customer service, implementing fare incentives and overseeing efficiency improvements for both the subway and bus fleets.

NYC Transit’s annual subway ridership increased by 31% to 1.45 billion, between 1996 and 2005, reaching the highest level since the Authority’s creation in 1953. Bus ridership grew even faster, as annual ridership increased by 53% to 736 million, among the highest levels in the past 30 years.

His tenure wasn’t entirely tarnish-free. Mr. Reuter made headlines in 2005, when the State Ethics Commission accused him of accepting $633 in improper gifts, like golf outings and circus tickets, from companies doing business with the MTA. He agreed to pay a $1,200 fine to settle the charges.

I was shocked to hear that Mr. Reuter was stepping down. Unless I missed some talk about it, I didn’t think any change would be happening at his position. The major person I expected to go was Peter Kalikow. Overall I have to commend the job Mr. Reuter did during his tenure. The MTA while still with a lot of work to do, did get some positive things done mainly because of Mr. Reuter. May his next job tenure be as successful if not more.

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