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George Greanias: The Man for the Job
Tuesday, September 07, 2010 11:09 AM

 

George Greanias, METRO's acting president & CEOIn case you missed yesterday's profile in the Houston Chronicle, a piece by reporter Mike Snyder gives an in-depth look at METRO's Acting President & CEO George Greanias and his strategy of leading our agency.

The 62-year-old former management consultant, city controller, mayoral candidate, attorney, Rice professor and playwright possesses a diverse background that is an asset for METRO, despite lack of transit experience, writes Snyder.

But his first interest in transit began at age 11 when he wrote a letter to the newspaper editor, objecting to the planned move of a trolley transit station in his hometown of Decatur, Ill.

METRO Chairman Gilbert Garcia says Greanias has earned the respect of the community and the board since his May appointment as acting president & CEO, adding that an executive search was not needed with a qualified candidate already on board.

Click here to read more.

Posted by Mary Sit
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    • Comments

    Cedric Collins said:

    If that's the case, then I think METRO should go on ahead and appoint Mr. Greanias as the next President and CEO of METRO.  If METRO Chairman Gilbert Garcia and any other folks think he's the right man for the job, then the search for a permanent replacement is over.

    # September 7, 2010 11:27 AM

    Mike Harrington said:

    That must have been the huge Illinois Terminal Railroad Company.  It was a crime to have junked that beautiful system.  Mr. Greanias is starting to interest me now.  

    Here is a rare photo of an Illinois Terminal car in Decatur:

    http://www.davesrailpix.com/it/htm/it127.htm

    This is one of their streamliners in Peoria:

    http://www.davesrailpix.com/it/htm/it368.htm

    # September 7, 2010 12:01 PM

    Peter Wang said:

    The current administration is a vast improvement over the previous.

    # September 7, 2010 12:19 PM

    DominicMazoch said:

    I recently say an op do a MAJOR NO-NO!  Sent e-mail to Chief Lambert.  He sent it to his Safety people.  Found the bus, and pulled "tapes" from it.  Said my observation ws correct.  Got first e-mails back in 2 hours, after I sent mine  Got complete results in 6 hours.  On top of that, GG sent me an e-mail thanking me for brining this up.

    Considering the CAF mess, GG and company will clear this up FAST!

    Mike H: We used to have the nice Houston Electric, plus electric rail to Galveston and baytown....

    # September 8, 2010 7:28 PM

    DominicMazoch said:

    At least it does not take him long to catch a bus at the Downtown Transit Center.

    # September 8, 2010 7:29 PM

    JamesL said:

    Mary, do you happen to know how often Mr. Greanias uses METRO services?

    I worked at another agency this summer that prides itself on being the best-run commuter railroad in the country. One of the keys to its success is that nearly all the employees, including senior management, ride and rely on the railroad every day. Since they know what to look for and who to talk to, issues that could affect the customer experience like surly conductors, broken intercoms, or unsafe conditions are reported and dealt with extremely quickly.

    One experience that demonstrates to me that this culture is not present at METRO occurred one weekend when I was taking the 4 Beechnut from TMC TC. The bus was scheduled to leave at, say, 2:06. I boarded before that time while the driver shot the breeze with some other operators outside. 2:06 rolled around and he headed for the driver's seat...but hadn't completed the pre-run inspection. Six or seven minutes later we were finally on our way.

    If the driver had thought there was any possibility of a supervisor or manager being present, he might have had the discipline to keep to his schedule. Maybe he knew he could make up the time by the end of the run, but that just tells me that METRO's scheduling department doesn't have a good feedback loop from the operators who know where there's too much or too little time. The team mentality and pride in delivering a quality product just aren't there.

    # September 13, 2010 3:46 PM

    Maria Vela said:

    Dear Mr. Greanias,

    I would like to bring to your attention about the people who ask to adopt a shelter and they receive free bags at 28.87 a bow per 100 bags and they also receive $15.00 amonth also. I do'nt think that's good PR work because, if Metro's trying to save money, they would save over $30,000.00 on bags and another $14,000.00 an the $15.00 they also get. So, your looking at a total of $45.000.00 a year plus the persons who deliver these boxes of bags are the Cleaners from FSC it's taken their time away from the shelters they could be cleaning since the people who receice these bags are'nt really adopting the shelters since the cleaners change all the trash cans all over the city. Why do'nt you look into this. Also I've heard for customers that Metro empolyees and their family and freinds are also taken advantage of this program. Please look into this matter before Wayne Dilchfino from 13 news gets ahold of this it would be another strike against Metro. Thanks again.

    # September 30, 2010 3:41 PM

    Mary Sit said:

    JamesL,

    George Greanias parks his car and then rides the train in several times a week.

    # October 5, 2010 10:58 AM

    Mary Sit said:

    Maria Vela,

    The Adopt-a-Shelter program is not intended to be a volunteer cleaning service. METRO has staff cleaners who clean shelters, as well as contractors.

    MPD's Captain Michael Raney points out that METRO has 12,000 stops and shelters spread out over 1,250 square miles.

    "The biggest part of the program is for the volunteers to be our eyes and ears. If they see drugs, prostitutes - that's the real thrust of the program - to keep shelters safe. The shelters are a part of their homes, businesses," says Raney.

    "It's a secondary plus if they see trash. They can pick it up with our trash bags. Vounteers will pick up trash, some will decorate. But most don't do a lot of cleaning. For the most part, people are reporting criems and will call us if trash is overflowing," Raney continues.

    When people adopt, METRO asks if they would like to pick up trash between cleanings, but that is not required. If they say they will pick up trash, METRO sends over 100 garbage bags. If they say they will keep an eye on the shelter, we don't send bags.

    "We do want them to be our eyes and ears. The adoption is more for safety," says Raney.

    By the way, volunteers are NOT paid $15/month. They are given $12.50/month in METRO Money, - essentially a bus pass - which allows them to ride the bus and sit in seats that would otherwise be vacant.

    In terms of our bus shelter cleaning contracts, we have two contracts totaling $1,144,068.

    SW Route and Midtown = $870,007 for three (3) years, approximately 580 bus stops with 533 shelters.  Trash is picked up in SW Route (466 sites) three (3) times per week and shelters are washed one (1) time per month.  Trash is picked up in Midtown (113 sites) five (5) times per week, once a day and shelters are washing one (1) time per week.

    CBD = $274,061 for twenty-eight (28) months, 262 bus stops with 162 shelters.  Trash pickup is five (5) days per week one in morning and one in evening.  Power washing of shelters is one (1) time per week.

    All other shelters are serviced by METRO personnel. Trash pickup is two (2) to three (3) times a week and Power washing is scheduled 1 x month.  

    # October 5, 2010 11:22 AM
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