The head of the TTC is leaving the organization in order to take over the top job at the New York City Transit Authority.
TTC CEO Andy Byford made the announcement at a news conference on Tuesday morning, noting that his time in Toronto has been the “absolute highlight” of a 28-year career that has included senior positions with public transit systems in London, England and Sydney, Australia.
Byford’s last day on the job will come in mid-December, shortly after the official opening of the Toronto–York Spadina Subway Extension on Dec. 17. In January, Byford will begin work as the President and CEO of the New York Transit authority, a role that he says is “arguably the toughest job in transit right now.” The system was the subject of a lengthy New York Times investigative report on Sunday, documenting a “crisis” that the newspaper said has been brought to the forefront by chronic underfunding and a “drumbeat of transit disasters this year.”
“I believe we have achieved what we set out to do and we have done that as a team,” Byford said of his time at the TTC in a prepared speech. “While there will always be room to improve still further, the basic tenets of the service have been substantially improved with subway delay minutes down 21 per cent year-over-year, delay incidents down seven per cent, track fires — a major cause of delay — down 42 per cent and short turns, long the bane of bus and streetcar riders' lives, down nearly 90 per cent. The system is cleaner, information is clearer and customers have noticed the difference.”
Byford was hired as the TTC’s Chief General Manager in November, 2011. He was then elevated to the top job following the firing of Gary Webster four months later.
During his time at the TTC, Byford was instrumental in the rollout of Presto and also helped to get the Toronto–York Spadina Subway Extension back on track following a myriad of cost overruns and delays that ultimately led to the dismissal of two senior employees. He told reporters on Tuesday that the subway may not have been completed until the end of 2018, were it not for the changes in the way that it was managed.
He said that he ultimately staked his "personal and professional reputation on" getting the subway completed in 2017.
"The subway will open on December 17 and when it does, it will be the pride of North America," he said.
A commitment to transparency
When he took over the TTC’s top job, Byford introduced a five-year corporate plan that was used as a blueprint for all operations between 2013 and 2017. Among other things, the plan called for a renewed commitment to customer service, operational performance and transparency.
“What I am most proud of is what I would describe as my signature policy — that of changing the prevailing culture at the TTC,” Byford said on Tuesday, noting that the TTC’s next-five year plan has already been prepared and will be released in January. “World-class service can only be delivered through a highly motivated, well-informed team that wants to succeed and that feels supported in their mission.”
Byford was known for wearing a name tag that identified him as the TTC CEO wherever he went so customers would be able to speak with him.
Often, during subway closures Byford could be spotted at crowded stations directing wary commuters onto shuttle buses himself. He also appeared in YouTube videos to explain the reasons for significant service delays, personally accepting the blame on a number of occasions.
“There have been incidents but we have not hidden from them. I stood many times on Yonge Street and personally spoke with angry customers and I think that generally people have seen that there has been an improvement” he said. “Running a big transit authority is a little like snakes and ladders. You get the odd setback but as long as you learn from that and take action, things will be on an upward trajectory.”
Streetcar delivery delays a frustration
Under Byford’s leadership, the TTC has introduced new express bus routes and begun replacing a 60-year-old signal system that has been responsible for an increasing number of subway delays in recent years.
The TTC has also replaced the entire fleet of subways operating on Line 1, constructed a state-of-the-art streetcar storage facility at the Leslie Barns and has begun introducing a new generation of streetcars to city streets.
Byford, however, did tell reporters that the repeated delays in the delivery of those streetcars has been among his biggest headaches.
As of today, there are 50 of the new streetcars in service but the TTC’s initial contract with Bombardier called for about 150 to be in operation by now.
“We don’t build the streetcars and at the end of the day I think we have done everything short of that. We have tried everything,” Byford said. “Until the day I leave, every week I am having a weekly conference call with Bombardier to go through unit-by-unit, where is it and when are we getting it.”
In a statement issued on Tuesday, TTC Chair Josh Colle said that Byford has shown an “an unwavering dedication to continuously improving the TTC, fighting for better transit, and for our customers.”
Colle said that Byford has exhibited a “relentless focus on customer service” that has ultimately “resulted in a system and service that is noticeably cleaner, safer and more reliable to our customers.”
Meanwhile, in a separate statement Mayor John Tory said that Byford leaves the TTC in “much better shape than when he became CEO.”
“Mr. Byford has been no less than superb when it comes to taking the tens of millions of additional dollars city council has given the TTC under my leadership and that of TTC Chair Josh Colle, and investing this new money quickly and wisely in restoring services previously cut and adding new service,” he said.
The union that represents TTC workers also issued a statement on Tuesday, wishing Byford well while also calling for the appointment of a new CEO “who respects workers’ rights and champions the expansion of much-needed public transit in Toronto.”
“Regardless of who occupies the CEO chair at the TTC, ATU Local 113 will continue to fight for transit workers, specifically protecting jobs, bringing an end to privatization, cleaning up the dirty air in the subway system and keeping members safe,” the statement said.
Colle said he will ask the TTC board to appoint Deputy CEO Rick Leary as interim CEO as of Dec. 22.
The TTC has said that it hopes to hire a permanent CEO by July.
Addressing reporters on Tuesday, Leary said that he will “be working very closely with Andy over the next four-weeks on a transition plan.”
“The direction is very clear. We do have a lot of challenges. We have the Bombardier contract, we have another CBA to negotiate with four different unions. There is quite a lot in play over the next four months,” he said.
In June, the TTC was named North America’s transit system of the year by the American Public Transportation Association, an honour that Byford said is a “testament to the hard work, dedication to duty and passion” of his colleagues.
