Bob Kiley

Robert R. Kiley (September 16, 1935 – August 9, 2016) was an American public transit planner and supervisor known for his ability to rehabilitate transit systems experiencing serious problems. From 2001 to 2006 he was the first commissioner of Transport for London, the public organisation that runs and maintains London's public transport network.

Kiley also worked as a CIA agent, CEO of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, deputy mayor of Boston, chairman and CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and president and CEO of the New York City Partnership. 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 in 1983.

Minneapolis, Boston and New York Kiley was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and educated at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. He graduated magna cum laude and went on to study at Harvard's Graduate School. In 1963 he joined the Central Intelligence Agency. The BBC 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.

Kiley left the CIA in 1970 and embarked on a career in management. He first worked as an assistant director at the Police Foundation 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. From 1994 to 1998 he was also principal of Kohlberg & Company, a financial company. Kiley's Transport for London biography notes that Kiley was also "Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, board member of the Salzburg Seminar, the American Repertory Theater, 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. Following his appointment, Kiley was criticised by the press due to his £4m four-year contract, the use of a £2m grace and favour property in Belgravia, and his expatriate status. Remaining as commissioner of Transport for London, he and Livingstone took the government to court in trying to prevent 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, introducing the Oyster card payment system, as well as improving the quality and frequency of Buses in London. In a controversial interview with the London Evening Standard, 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. They have two sons.

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