Andy Byford, former TTC honcho, quits as head of New York subway
Article content
Straphangers are weeping in the streets.
That’s the word in New York over news that Andy Byford has resigned as head honcho of the city’s subway system.
Recommended Videos
tap here to see other videos from our team.
Andy Byford, former TTC honcho, quits as head of New York subway Back to video
tap here to see other videos from our team.
Byford ran the TTC here for five years before heading out to New York, and his tenure in Toronto wrought important change: new streetcars, an overhaul of the fleet itself and the rollout of Presto cards are among the improvements he oversaw.
The British-born Byford has spent his entire career in transit, working in the UK and Australia before he made the move to North America.
In 2017, under Byford’s guidance, the TTC was named the best system in North America — an award from the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) and one the city hadn’t won in 31 years.
tap here to see other videos from our team.
In a two-year run with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), Byford began an overhaul of the New York City subway system and oversaw major improvements in service, cleanliness and efficiency.
He won friends and rabid admirers along the way — and the nickname Train Daddy — and even got a huge uptick in transit on-time performance.
According to the New York Times and the New York Daily News, Byford put in a letter of resignation three months ago, which was later withdrawn.
His many admirers did not, apparently, include New York governor Andrew Cuomo, who has a lot of control over the MTA and allegedly clashed often with Byford.
tap here to see other videos from our team.
Some attribute Byford’s leaving to the governor’s actions.
According to Gothamist, for example, the good government group Reinvent Albany stated that Byford did not appreciate the politicization of the MTA under Cuomo, “Whose penchant for secretiveness, message control and top-down directives conflicted with Byford’s philosophy of building trust through consultation, personal accountability and transparency.”
Fans of Byford’s here in Toronto immediately began clamouring on Twitter for his return to our city.
Asked for comment, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office immediately scotched any and all rumours, stating, “Rick Leary is the head of the TTC, the CEO. That’s not changing.”
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.