Robert R. Kiley (September 16, 1935 – August 9, 2016) was an American
public transit
Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of wh ...
planner and supervisor known for his ability to rehabilitate transit systems experiencing serious problems. From 2001 to 2006 he was the initial
commissioner
A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something).
In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...
of
Transport for London
Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom.
TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and His ...
, the public organisation that runs and maintains London's public transport network.
Kiley also worked as a
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
agent, 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 in ...
,
deputy mayor
The deputy mayor (also known as vice mayor and assistant mayor) is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official that is present in many local governments.
Duties and functions
Many elected deputy mayors are members of the loca ...
of
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, chairman and CEO of the
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a New York state public benefit corporations, public benefit corporation in New York (state), New York State responsible for public transportation in the New York metropolitan area, New York Ci ...
, and 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 ent ...
. 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.
Kiley unsuccessfully ran for
mayor of Boston
The mayor of Boston is the head of the municipal government in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Boston has a mayor–council government. Boston's mayoral elections are nonpartisan (as are all municipal elections in Boston), and elect a m ...
in
1983
1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...
.
Minneapolis, Boston and New York
Kiley was born in
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
and educated at the
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...
in
Indiana
Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
.
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 Sout ...
'' and went on to study at
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...
's Graduate School. In 1963 he joined the
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
. The
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
reported 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 agency director
Richard Helms
Richard McGarrah Helms (March 30, 1913 – October 23, 2002) was an American government official and diplomat who served as Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) from 1966 to 1973. Helms began intelligence work with the Office of Strategic Ser ...
.
Kiley left the CIA in 1970 and embarked on a career in management. He first worked as an assistant director at the
Police Foundation
The National Policing Institute, formerly known as the Police Foundation, is an American non-profit organization dedicated to advancing policing through innovation and independent scientific research. It is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. ...
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, but the term is gen ...
of public management at
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...
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 French 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. Th ...
).
In 1983 Kiley moved to
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
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
subways 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, Russ ...
, 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 ...
, said that the money was spent wisely – "Even normally grudging New Yorkers say he did a good job," Russianoff said. The clean-up campaign involving arresting fare dodgers and cleaning up
graffiti
Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...
is now regarded as a prelude to the citywide policy of "
zero tolerance
A zero-tolerance policy is one which imposes a punishment for every infraction of a stated rule.zero tolerance, n.' (under ''zero, n.''). The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd Ed. 1989. Retrieved 10 November 2009. Italy, Japan, Singapore China, I ...
" enforced by
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis Giuliani ( , ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and Disbarment, disbarred lawyer who served as the 107th mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney ...
during his time as Mayor in the 1990s.
In 1991 Kiley became president of the New York construction company Fischbach Corporation. He briefly held the role of chairman 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 ent ...
in 1995. From 1994 to 1998 he was also
principal
Principal may refer to:
Title or rank
* Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university
** Principal (education), the head of a school
* Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in the UK Civil Ser ...
of
Kohlberg & Company
Kohlberg, formerly known as Kohlberg & Company, L.L.C, is an American private equity firm that focuses on leveraged buyout transactions. Founded by investor Jerome Kohlberg, Jr., the firm invests in a variety of transactions including leveraged ...
, a private
equity investment
A stock trader or equity trader or share trader, also called a stock investor, is a person or company involved in trading equity securities and attempting to profit from the purchase and sale of those securities. Stock traders may be an inve ...
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 focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...
, board member of the
Salzburg Seminar
Salzburg Global (formerly known as Salzburg Global Seminar) is a non-profit organization that convenes programs on its five pillar topics of Peace and Justice, Education, Culture, Health, and Finance and Governance. Programs regularly occur at S ...
, the
American Repertory Theater
The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) is a professional not-for-profit theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1979 by Robert Brustein, the A.R.T. is known for its commitment to new American plays and music–theater explorations; to ne ...
, 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 recruited to become the first
commissioner of Transport for London (TfL), London's new integrated transport body, reporting directly 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 ...
.
Following his appointment, Kiley was criticised by the press due to his £4m four-year contract, the use of a £2m
grace and favour
A grace-and-favour home is a residential property owned by a monarch, government, or other owner and leased rent-free to a person as part of the perquisites of their employment, or in gratitude for services rendered.
Usage of the term is chief ...
property in
Belgravia
Belgravia () is a district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of 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 dangerous pla ...
, 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 former politician who served as the Leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1981 until the council was Local Government Act 1985, abolished in 1986, and as Mayor of Londo ...
, 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 operation ...
(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 (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the policies of the Departm ...
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 as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England.
The Undergro ...
. Kiley was sacked as chairman of London Regional Transport in July 2001 amid repeated clashes with his boss, Transport Secretary
Stephen Byers
Stephen John Byers (born 13 April 1953) is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wallsend between 1992 and 1997, and North Tyneside from 1997 to 2010. He served in the Cabinet from 1998 to 2002, and w ...
, 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 Metronet may refer to:
* Metronet (British infrastructure company), who maintained London Underground infrastructure between 2003 and 2008.
*Metronet (Western Australia)
Metronet (styled METRONET) is a multi-government agency in Western Austral ...
and
Tube Lines
Tube Lines Limited, initially known as ''Infraco JNP'' (an amalgamation of infrastructure and company), was an asset-management company responsible for the maintenance, renewal and upgrade of the infrastructure, including track, trains, signals ...
– 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:
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 7:00am and 6:00pm Monday to Friday, and between 12:00noon and 6:00pm Saturday and Su ...
, introducing the
Oyster card
The Oyster card is a Payment#Types_and_methods_of_payment, payment method for public transport in London and some surrounding areas. A standard Oyster card is a blue ISO/IEC 7810, credit-card-sized Stored-value card, stored-value contactless ...
payment system, as well as improving the quality and frequency of
Buses in London
Buses have been used as a mode of public transport in London since 1829, when George Shillibeer started operating a horse-drawn ''omnibus'' service from Paddington to the City of London. In the decades since their introduction, the red 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 ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free of charge in London, England. It is print ...
, 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 who has served as Minister of State for Transport, Minister of State for Rail since July 2024.
Early life and education
He ...
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 (July 7, 1933 – June 25, 2023) was an American politician and businessman who served as the 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 ...
* 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 magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
, 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 the Metropolitan Transportation Authority
People associated with transport in London
British public transport executives
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority people