I appreciate that this forum is devoted to the west coast, but...
if you go here -----> Chicago Tribune, you can get a feel for the politics in running a government funded commuter operation.
The author of this review request was ultimately fired, and given a $3/4 million severance package, largely, apparently, due to the fact that he tried to run a professional operation, and didn't buckle in to the power brokers.
Here in Chicago land, this is an interesting read.