MANHATTAN — Metropolitan Transportation Authority chairman and CEO Jay Walder is stepping down, he announced Thursday.
Walder will leave the post in October, two years after taking the position. He'll take over as CEO of Hong Kong-based tansit company MTR Corporation, which operates rail services in Asian and Europe, according to the MTA.
“I believe that we have accomplished quite a lot in a short period, with the support of two governors, the mayor, a hard-working board and many others," Walder said in a statement.
“The MTA’s transportation system is the foundation of the metropolitan region and we are fortunate to have thousands of dedicated men and women who work so hard to provide these critically important transportation services to millions of people each and every day.”
During his tenure in New York, Walder oversaw an unpopular 2010 fare hike to help fill the MTA’s budget gap, while also introducing innovative transit measure like Select Bus Service on the East Side on subway station countdown clocks.
He came under fire from the transit union for buying a $1.6 million condo on the Upper West Side and taking vacations at his villa in France while the MTA raised faires on straphangers and cut staffing levels.
Walder came to the MTA after a stint as director of planning for London’s subway system.
In its statement, the MTA credited Walder with introducing efficiency measure expected to save the agency $3.8 billion by 2014.
“In challenging times, we brought stability and credibility to the MTA by making every dollar count by delivering long overdue improvements and by refusing to settle for business as usual,” Walder said in the statement.
His successor has yet to be named.
