How the work-life balance of one IT guy threw the NYC subway system into chaos

IT guys and gals get a bad rap for being grouchy cave people, but everyone knows that offices basically stop functioning without them.

That goes quadruple for one of the most notoriously dysfunctional mass transit systems in the world, the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA). Apparently, in the midst of a crisis, the MTA only had one (unreachable) IT guy capable of rebooting the broken ticket vending system. 

Recently, the NYC subway system's deterioration has become a national laughingstock, political hot potato, and maddening reality for riders. Just four days after a particularly damning New York Times investigation landed last fall, the MTA announced its hiring of mass transit-veteran Andy Byford to turn things around as president of MTA New York City Transit.  Read more...