Robert R. Kiley (September 16, 1935 – August 9, 2016) was an American
public transit
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...
planner and supervisor, with a reputation of being able to save transit systems experiencing serious problems. From 2001 to 2006 he was the initial
Commissioner of Transport for London
The Commissioner of Transport for London has management responsibility for Transport for London (TfL) and hence for the transport system throughout the City of London and Greater London in the United Kingdom. TfL is controlled by a board whose ...
, the public organisation empowered with running and maintaining London's public transport network.
Kiley also worked as a
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
agent, as the CEO of the
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network ...
, the
Deputy Mayor
The deputy mayor (also known as vice mayor, assistant mayor, or mayor ''pro tem'') is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official that is present in many, but not all, local governments.
Duties and functions
Many elected depu ...
of
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, the chairman and CEO of the
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the New York City metropolitan area of the U.S. state of New York. The MTA is the largest public transit authority in th ...
and as President and CEO of the
New York City Partnership
The Partnership for New York City, formerly called the New York City Partnership, is a nonprofit membership organization consisting of a select group of nearly three hundred CEOs ("Partners") from New York City's top corporate, investment and entre ...
. He is credited as being the architect of the revival of Boston and New York's ailing public transport systems in the 1970s and 1980s respectively.
Minneapolis, Boston and New York
Kiley was born in
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origi ...
and educated at the
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main c ...
in
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...
.
He graduated ''
magna cum laude
Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...
'' and went on to study at
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
's Graduate School. In 1963 he joined the
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
. The
BBC reports that although former colleagues say it would be incorrect to regard Bob Kiley as a "spook" he did travel around the world in his role as Manager of Intelligence Operations. He later served as Executive Assistant to the Agency Director
Richard Helms.
Kiley left the Agency in 1970 and embarked a career in management, with particular emphasis on transport. He first worked as an assistant director at the
Police Foundation in Washington D.C. Two years later he became deputy mayor of Boston, a position he held for three years. During his time as deputy mayor, he prioritised public safety during the court-mandated
desegregation of schools.
In 1975 Kiley took on two new roles – one as
adjunct professor
An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and
the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, however the genera ...
of public management at
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original cam ...
– and the other as chairman and CEO of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. He left the MBTA in 1979 and became a vice-president at the Management Analysis Center (now part of
Cap Gemini
Capgemini SE is a multinational information technology (IT) services and consulting company, headquartered in Paris, France.
History
Capgemini was founded by Serge Kampf in 1967 as an enterprise management and data processing company. The comp ...
). In 1983 Kiley moved down the east coast to become the chairman and CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).
He remained in the position until 1990 and in his time in the role secured state funding to the tune of $16bn to revitalise the railroads, buses and
subway
Subway, Subways, The Subway, or The Subways may refer to:
Transportation
* Subway, a term for underground rapid transit rail systems
* Subway (underpass), a type of walkway that passes underneath an obstacle
* Subway (George Bush Intercontin ...
s in the MTA region.
Gene Russianoff
Gene Russianoff is staff attorney and chief spokesman for the Straphangers Campaign, a New York City-based public transport advocacy group that focuses primarily on subway and bus services run by New York City Transit. At the same time, Russia ...
, of the New York
Straphangers Campaign
The Straphangers Campaign is a New York City-based transit interest group that advocates on behalf of riders of public transport. The organization is part of the NYPIRG (New York Public Interest Research Group).
The Straphangers Campaign's main ...
, says that the money was spent wisely – "Even normally grudging New Yorkers say he did a good job," says Russianoff. The clean-up campaign involving arresting fare dodgers and cleaning up
graffiti
Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...
is now regarded as a prelude to the citywide policy of "
zero tolerance" enforced by
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 19 ...
during his time as Mayor in the 1990s.
In 1991 Kiley moved to a new role as President of the New York construction company Fischbach Corporation. He briefly held the role of chairman too before moving again to become President and CEO of the
New York City Partnership
The Partnership for New York City, formerly called the New York City Partnership, is a nonprofit membership organization consisting of a select group of nearly three hundred CEOs ("Partners") from New York City's top corporate, investment and entre ...
in 1995. From 1994 to 1998 he was also
principal of
Kohlberg & Company, a private
equity investment house. Kiley's Transport for London biography notes that Kiley was also "Member of the
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is a nonprofit organization that is independent and nonpartisan. CFR is based in New York Ci ...
, board member of the
Salzburg Seminar
Salzburg Global Seminar is a non-profit organization that challenges current and future leaders to shape a better world. It convenes programs on health care, education, culture, finance, technology, public policy, media, human rights, corporate ...
, the
American Repertory Theater, MONY Group Inc, the Princeton Review Inc and Edison Schools, Inc. He was on the Advisory Board of the Harvard University Center for State and Local Government".
London
In October 2000, Kiley was head-hunted to become the first
Commissioner of Transport for London (TfL), London's new integrated transport body, reporting to the
Mayor of London
The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom.
The current m ...
directly.
Following his appointment, Kiley was criticised by the press due to his £4m four-year contract, the use of a £2m
grace and favour
''Grace & Favour'' (American title: ''Are You Being Served? Again!'') is a British sitcom and a spin-off of '' Are You Being Served?'' that aired on BBC1 for two series from 1992 to 1993. It was written by ''Are You Being Served?'' creators and ...
property in
Belgravia
Belgravia () is a district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of both the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' during the Tudor Period, and became a danger ...
, and
his expatriate status.
He was regarded by the press as "a strange bedfellow" for
Ken Livingstone
Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born 17 June 1945) is an English politician who served as the Leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1981 until the council was abolished in 1986, and as Mayor of London from the creation of the office ...
, the socialist
elected in 2000 as
London's first mayor.
However, Livingstone considered Kiley "the best candidate", with very similar views on transportation to himself.
In January 2001 Kiley became Chairman of
London Regional Transport
London Regional Transport (LRT) was the organisation responsible for most of the public transport network in London, England, between 1984 and 2000. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and operatio ...
(the public body appointed by the
Secretary of State for Transport
The Secretary of State for Transport, also referred to as the transport secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the policies of the Department for Transport. The incumbent is ...
to run London's
Underground network of trains), replacing
Sir Malcolm Bates.
Livingstone's and Kiley's were opposed to the government's plans for
public-private partnerships (PPP) to run
London Underground
The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England.
The ...
. Kiley was sacked as chairman of London Regional Transport in July 2001 amid repeated clashes with his boss, Transport Secretary
Stephen Byers, and was replaced by
Malcolm Bates who returned to lead the organisation.
Remaining as Commissioner of Transport for London, he and Livingstone took the government to court in trying to prevent PPP.
They failed, and in January 2003 two separate private companies -
Metronet and
Tube Lines - took control of maintaining various tube lines. In July 2003 powers for running the rest of the Tube network, including manning and maintaining the stations, was transferred to TfL and London Regional Transport became defunct. Kiley welcomed the opportunity to take greater control over the running of the Tube, but warned that he felt he would be hampered by PPP: "''I maintain that the Government’s Public Private Partnership (PPP) is not the right way to manage the maintenance and renewal of the Tube. As they stand, the PPP contracts do not satisfactorily address the improvements to the Underground that TfL and the public demand. Nevertheless, we will do everything within our power to hold the infrastructure companies to account on those Tube improvements they have promised to deliver.''" Subsequently, the PPPs collapsed due to financial difficulties in the late 2000s.
In November 2005, Kiley announced that he would be standing down in January 2006, after five years in the job, albeit three years earlier than expected.
Kiley was credited as helping Livingstone bring in the
London congestion charge
The London congestion charge is a fee charged on most cars and motor vehicles being driven within the Congestion Charge Zone (CCZ) in Central London between 7:00 am and 6:00 pm Monday to Friday, and between 12:00 noon and 6:00 pm Saturday an ...
, introducing the
Oyster card payment system, as well as improving the quality and frequency of
Buses in London.
He was paid almost £2 million in a settlement for standing down, and remained as a £3,200-a-day consultant. In a controversial interview with the
London Evening Standard
The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format.
In October 2009, after be ...
, he admitted he was unsure exactly what he did to deserve his consultancy fee, and denied rumours of a rift with Livingstone.
He also revealed his struggles with alcoholism, exacerbated by overwork and the loss of his family in a car accident, followed by the death of his father shortly afterwards.
He was replaced as Commissioner by
Peter Hendy
Peter Gerard Hendy, Baron Hendy of Richmond Hill (born 19 March 1953) is a British transport executive and politician. He is the current chairman of Network Rail and was formerly the Commissioner of Transport for London.
Education
Hendy was ...
in February 2006.
Personal life
Kiley's first wife and two children died in a car accident in 1974. He was married to his second wife, Rona at the time of his death.
They have two sons.
Profile
magazine.nd.edu; accessed May 18, 2017.
Notes
See also
*Richard Ravitch
Richard Ravitch (born July 7, 1933) is an American politician and businessman who served as Lieutenant Governor of New York from 2009 to 2010. He was appointed to the position in July 2009 by New York Governor David Paterson. A native of New Yo ...
* Christopher O. Ward
References
A biography from Transport for London
A biography from BBC News
"A message from Bob" to London tube users
BBC News report on Kiley's sacking from the London Regional Transport
BBC News report on Stephen Byer's sacking from the UK Government by Tony Blair
Tube transfers to TfL control
Evening Standard article on Kiley's contract extension in December 2004
The Transport for London (TFL) website
William Finnegan, Letter from London, "Underground Man—Can the former C.I.A. agent who saved New York’s subway get the Tube back on track?"
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
, February 9, 2004, p. 52-?
External links
Images of Bob Kiley from the National Portrait Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiley, Bob
1935 births
2016 deaths
American expatriates in the United Kingdom
University of Notre Dame alumni
Harvard University alumni
Executives of Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York)
People associated with transport in London
British public transport executives
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority people