While Boston media reports say that Renée Amilcar, general manager of OC Transpo, is a top candidate to lead the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, the content of those reports suggests that she will stay.
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Boston’s transit network dwarfs OC Transpo, which moves about 160 million passengers a year on four subway lines and about 170 bus routes, the news agency reported. OC Transpo carries approximately 45 million passengers annually on its bus routes and two light rail lines.
Amilcar will lead OC Transpo for 18 months, replacing former Transportation General Manager John Manconi in fall 2021.
Prior to that, he was the managing director of bus operations in Montreal.
The city of Ottawa distributed a statement at midnight Friday attributing it to Amilcar.
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“I have just returned from a conference in Europe for the International Association of Public Transport (UITP),” the statement said.
“I understand there have been media reports about my future with OC Transpo. No US public transportation company has contacted me about possible employment opportunities. I am fully committed to continuing to improve OC Transpo’s services for Ottawa residents; I have no intention of leaving my current position as General Manager of Transportation Services for the City of Ottawa.
“The OC Transpo team is remarkable and I am very proud of the work we do. I love my job and I love OC Transpo.
Acting Ottawa City Manager Wendy Stephenson said in an emailed statement to this newspaper on Friday afternoon that the city would not comment on “unconfirmed reports,” calling Amilcar “an important leader in transportation and a strong member of the city leadership team.”
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A spokeswoman for Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said she had only heard reports from the US media and could not comment.
Staff for Transit Commission Chairman Glenn Gower said the Stitsville councilman was “unavailable for comment” on Friday.
Amilcar graduated from Polytechnique Montreal and has an MBA from the University of Sherbrooke. He worked for the Montreal Transit Service for 19 years before coming to Ottawa.
The MBTA, known locally as the T, operates commuter rail lines throughout eastern Massachusetts, ferries in Boston Harbor, and The Right, a door-to-door paratransit service. It is one of the largest transit networks in the United States, serving nearly 200 cities and moving more than one million passengers per day.
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Boftak has led the MBTA since 2019. In a 2022 report from the Federal Transit Administration, the transit agency was heavily criticized for numerous high-profile safety deficiencies, poor maintenance, and chronic staff shortages. Boftak earned $340,000 in 2022, with an additional deferred bonus bringing his total salary to $417,000.
Judge William Hourigan put Amilcar on the job at OC Transpo for less than a year, putting him under the microscope in his investigation into the construction and operation of the Confederation Line’s LRT system.
Most of those issues predate Amilkar’s tenure, but he has been the person responsible for evaluating and implementing many of the investigation’s recommendations.
Last month, Amilcar assured riders that the axle and wheel defects are being properly managed.
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“It’s safe to travel by train,” Amilcar told councilors at the first meeting of the new LRT subcommittee.
“I took the train yesterday and I will take it again and again,” Amilcar said.
The LRT endured a prolonged shutdown in January, when a blizzard shut it down, stranding four trains near Hartmann station. For six days, OC Transpo was only able to provide partial LRT service.
Amilcar has led OC Transpo through the difficulties and the loss of passengers caused by the pandemic. Although ridership is gradually returning, the service is still plagued by reliability issues, resulting in 400 buses being canceled on one bad day.
Amilcar has committed to taking the reliability of the bus service from 97 percent to 99.5 percent.
In January, OC Transpo’s ridership was 65 percent, though Amilcar predicts it will hit 75 percent by the end of the year.
Even so, OC Transpo projected a $53 million drop in fare revenue.
With Postmedia employee files
