Last week, Capital Metro announced that its Red Line light rail project would not be finished until early 2010. The project is already a year behind schedule and nearly $20 million over budget.

The forced retirement of President and CEO Fred Gilliam, who took over in 2002, is not only a necessity but also an important step in righting the sinking ship that is Capital Metro.

Throughout his tenure, Gilliam has overseen a barrage of failures, not limited to the Red Line, which is plagued by safety issues as well as problems along the rail way. Persistent troubles with malfunctioning crossing gates is just one of the many problems being experienced along the train line.

Gilliam was the man who originally prompted Capital Metro to undertake the 32-mile train line. He then brought it through the ballot initiative stage in November 2004 and promised to deliver the service at a $90 million price tag, an amount since surpassed that now looks close to $110 million or more.

In 2002, Capital Metro had a $200 million reserve, which has now dwindled below $4 million. In just seven years, Capital Metro, under the guidance of Gilliam, has run through its normal budget, money allocated from the 2004 ballot initiative and $196 million in its reserve—all of this while the prices of all bus passes has risen.

Also last week, Capital Metro discontinued the ‘Dillo lines, which provide free transit service around downtown. Couple that with the fact that Gilliam and Capital Metro more than doubled the cost of student monthly passes, and those in need of cheap transportation have been neglected during Gilliam’s reign.

Over the time Gilliam occupied the chairmanship of Capital Metro, he has seen ridership decline since 2002, according to the Austin American-Statesman. Although an all-time high was reached in 2006 as gas prices increased exponentially, it could not be sustained.

City Council Member Mike Martinez commented to the Austin Chronicle in March that Capital Metro had wide-reaching problems.

“[The City Council] must seek answers to the many questions surrounding Capital Metro and judgment errors that have plagued the agency for some time now,” Martinez said. “Other folks are going to have to accept their responsibility as well. It really brings into question the competence of the organization.”

Although some of the problems Gilliam brought upon Capital Metro will leave with him, if a poor replacement is picked, Austinites can expect more of the same from its mass transit system.  The Austin City Council, along with the residents of Austin, need to pressure Capital Metro to hire a chief executive who can lead the orginization and restore Capital Metro’s repuatation and savings account.