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Toronto Transit Chief Is Tapped to Run New York’s Ailing Subways

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/21/n...ed-subway.html

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- With New York’s century-old subway system engulfed in a crisis brought about by years of neglect and poor political decisions, a transit official from outside the United States was named on Tuesday to take over the management of the city’s subways and buses. The decision to name Andrew Byford, the chief executive of the Toronto Transit Commission, the president of New York City Transit followed a series of recent changes in leadership at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which oversees the subway. The aim has been to restore accountability and change a culture that for years has left the system lacking adequate funding or support.

- While he earned wide praise for restoring Toronto’s once-troubled transit system, Mr. Byford may find himself hostage to forces that have in recent years proven beyond the control of any one official, with the political whims and calculations of elected officials, including governors and mayors, driving critical financial decisions that have resulted in today’s woeful state of affairs. --- He has been considered a rising star in the transportation world with a deep resume that includes stops in Sydney and London before he went to Toronto, where, Mr. Lhota said, his record of achievement convinced officials that he was up to the task.

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