TIM O'Toole's first full year in charge of Aberdeen rail and bus giant FirstGroup has been somewhat of a bumpy ride.
The City knew which path it wanted him to take: sell off businesses and pay off debt.
Progress has been slower than many had hoped.
An unexpected obstacle in the road has been an economic downturn, exacerbated by state spending cuts, in its heartlands of urban northern England and Scotland.
Meanwhile, an ill-judged set of fare rises in January didn't help the company's fortunes.
Yet, to say, as one analyst did yesterday, that the former London Underground chief's tenure "hasn't been inspiring" – tough words in the measured parlance of the City – seems harsh.
The economic downturn has hindered the plans of many new-broom corporate leaders as Marc Bolland at Marks & Spencer to Philip Clarke of Tesco will attest.
Mr O'Toole is to sell some bus businesses: just the smaller, peripheral ones, he insists.
And he seems to have resisted the knee-jerk use of the axe that is so often the response of the executive facing trouble.
"Debt is not our problem," he insisted. Instead he wants greater profits from FirstGroup's existing businesses.
This means retaining the Greyhound US coach business so many in the City want it to sell.
And it means encouraging local decision-making in the UK.
Many challenges remain. There is little sign of economic recovery. The revamp of its bus business is risky. And there is no telling yet whether it will get any of the rail franchises it is bidding for.
Tim O'Toole has a long, arduous journey ahead of him at the FirstGroup wheel.
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