Earlier this week, Patrick O’Keefe, newly elected to the Regional Transportation District board of directors, took a very slow D Line light rail train to an election night party in downtown Denver.

“Slow zones” It came as a shock RTD to drivers and operators in June imposed A stricter road standard in itself leads to months of repairs and delays. O’Keefe said facility administrators deserve credit for prioritizing maintenance, but he thought they could do a better job of communicating problems with the public.

“I wish we had more transparency about the solution and the timing of implementing the solution,” O’Keefe said on election night.

After the first surprise, the agency released the following information: regular updates about work. But most of the seven new executives elected this week say they still want more transparency and accountability from RTD’s leadership team. Some also said they would like to see further increases in bus and train services and ridership.

“I want the board to be more aggressive, more assertive and hold management accountable for their performance,” Matt Larsen, who will represent parts of Aurora and Denver when he and other new directors take office in January, told CPR News. “The truth is… I don’t think RTD management has performed perfectly over the last four years.”

RTD has not yet commented on this story. In an interview, outgoing board chairman Erik Davidson defended the agency’s performance and the board’s oversight.

“RTD is in a good position, but it can always be in a better position,” Davidson told CPR News. “I’m excited to see what the new board members will bring.”

Many of the newly elected executive candidates co-signed a “Commitment to Drivers” document.

HE manifest It calls for improvements in service quality, security and reliability. Karen Benker, who will represent Longmont and surrounding communities and support the joint agenda, said in an interview with CPR News earlier this fall that RTD has “many, many, many issues” to address.

“The administration must take a stronger position and fix these problems as soon as possible,” he said. “It is absolutely unacceptable that the railway is traveling at 10 miles per hour. “These need to be fixed and corrected more quickly.”

owned by Benker also said His top priority is pushing RTD to finish its long-promised rail line to Boulder and Longmont.

Another signatory, Brett Paglieri of Edgewater, said the agency has performed “poorly” in recent years.

But rather than directly blaming RTD General Manager and CEO Debra Johnson, Paglieri blamed the current board for not tying performance expectations directly to ridership. He said if passenger numbers are increasing, it’s a sign that things are going well overall.

“I want to see the agency grow,” he said. “I want to unlock ridership and see numbers return to pre-pandemic levels and beyond.”

This week, Johnson sent letters to elected board members, RTD and their colleagues across the country saying: “Continue to shift the conversation on the ultimate measurement of public transit system performance away from ridership and toward the value provided to the communities we collectively serve.”

Multiple elected officials shared the letter with CPR News. An incoming director, speaking on condition of anonymity, said some were surprised by the language.

“RTD is a transit agency; The incoming director said increasing ridership is the primary goal.

One of the incoming directors wants the board to have more authority.

Chris Nicholson, who won the central race in Denver and spearheaded the shared manifesto, said he felt RTD’s system was “absolutely broken most of the time.” And we deserve better.”

Inside September interviewNicholson said he would give Johnson the “first chance” to show he could make the changes he and others were pushing for.

On election night, Nicholson also said he wanted the board to take back some of the authority it had. issued under state law However, he said that he appointed the general manager and CEO.

“The RTD board gives power to the chief executive through the goals it sets and the way it decides compensation and the degree to which it is hands-on or hands-off,” he said. “It’s time to change this relationship.”

Nicholson said the board should hire the agency’s top attorney and explore changing chains of command so that some departments report directly to the board. He also believes that the board, which has more authority, should also take more responsibility for the agency’s performance.

RTD’s outgoing chairman acknowledged that the agency was going through a painful period, but defended it.

Davidson said the board under his tenure has “worked diligently” to hold RTD accountable and noted several recent successes. One of these overall positive status check The agency’s financial health in July and RTD’s success in hiring bus drivers Service improvements planned for January.

Voters too I just approved a measure This will allow RTD to avoid potential future taxpayer refunds that could require service cuts.

Davidson, who will leave the board in January, has publicly apologized numerous times in recent months for ongoing light rail system problems. But he said the work will pay off by ensuring the system is available “today, tomorrow and for future generations.”

“We have very strong leaders, including Debra, who are working very, very hard and diligently to ensure that the public’s investment in public transportation is well maintained,” he said.

Leslie Welch of Greater Denver Transit, an advocacy group that supports nearly all of the successful candidates, said they “feel good” about the results of this week’s election.

“The last thing we should do as an advocacy group is hold (new board members) to their word,” Welch said. “If they say they’re going to fix RTD, then we need to start seeing the concrete, concrete steps they’re going to take in doing that.”

Seven of the eight races have been concluded. Here’s who won:

• Zone A — Chris Nicholson

• Zone D — Chris Gutschenritter As of Friday morning, he was leading Barbara McManus 55 percent to 45 percent. The AP has not yet called the race.

• Zone E — Matt Larsen

• Zone F — Kathleen Chandler

• Zone G — Julien Bouquet (officer)

• Zone H — Patrick O’Keefe

• Region I — Karen Benker

• Zone M — Brett Paglieri