If you’ve been frustrated by the recent flood of delays on the Subway, don’t complain to Howard Roberts. The president of New York City Transit, which operates the R142s and the various city buses, Roberts submitted his resignation today, effective the end of the month. The move did not come as a surprise to the Times, which noted that the move had actually been expected by many within the MTA because of failings over a recently renegotiated transit workers contract and, more simply, “a changing of the guard […] is often accompanied by staff shake-ups.” (Jay Walder, the new head of the MTA who accepted Robertson’s resignation, took over roughly a month ago.)

Gene Russianoff, head of the Straphangers Campaign, lauded Roberts, however, for working under tight budgetary strictures and for implementing line “czars” for each subway. Still, it appeared to be too little, too late, as service remained relatively spotty, for which the former head of Philly’s public transit often took the blame, as well as for enforcing an MTA rule requiring Sikh’s to affix an agency logo to their turbans. Reading each others minds as usual, both the News and the Post point out in their ledes that Robertson will be awarded a $300,000 severance.