Bob Kiley - London

London

In January 2001 Bob Kiley moved across the Atlantic to become Chairman of London Regional Transport (the public body appointed by the Secretary of State for Transport to run London's Underground network of trains and also Commissioner of Transport for London, the public body which reports to the Mayor of London and which has increasingly been granted authority formerly held by London Regional Transport.

Kiley, who was given a $4m four-year contract was regarded as a strange bedfellow for "Red" Ken Livingstone - the former firebrand socialist elected London's first mayor in 2000. Indeed they themselves described their working relationship as "a CIA activist working for an unreconstructed Trotskyite". However, Livingstone's and Kiley's views on London transport have proved very similar. Both were vehemently opposed to the government's plans for public-private partnerships (PPP) in running of the tube. Kiley was sacked as chairman of London Regional Transport in July 2001 and repeated clashes with his boss, Transport Secretary Stephen Byers.

Remaining as Commissioner of Transport for London, he and Livingstone took the government to court in trying to prevent PPP. They failed and in January 2003 three separate private companies took control of maintaining various tube lines. In July 2003 powers for running the rest of the Tube network, including manning and maintaining the stations, was transferred to Transport for London and London Regional Transport became defunct. Kiley welcomed the opportunity to take greater control over the running over the tube but warned that he felt he would be hampered by PPP:

I maintain that the Government’s Public Private Partnership (PPP) is not the right way to manage the maintenance and renewal of the Tube. As they stand, the PPP contracts do not satisfactorily address the improvements to the Underground that TfL and the public demand. Nevertheless, we will do everything within our power to hold the infrastructure companies to account on those Tube improvements they have promised to deliver.

In December 2004, he and Livingstone announced a 4 year extension to Kiley's contract with TfL running until 2008 at an increased salary (£2.4 million over the term of the contract). This amount is disputed by a report issued by the TaxPayers Alliance who list his salary for 2005/06 as £1,146,425. However, in November 2005, Kiley announced that he would be standing down in January 2006, after five years in the job. He was paid almost £2 million in a settlement for standing down, and remained as a £3,200-a-day consultant. He was replaced by as Commissioner by Peter Hendy in February 2006.

Kiley's first wife and two children were killed in a car accident in 1974. He is currently married to his second wife, Rona. They have two sons.