Toronto Transit Commission appoints new CEO

Torontosun.com
April 22, 2021

The Toronto Transit Commission has a new leader.

As expected, members of the TTC board voted unanimously to appoint acting CEO Rick Leary as the transit system’s permanent boss.

Leary has been running the TTC for six months (ever since former chief Andy Byford left the job to head up New York City transit); prior to that, Leary was the service’s Chief Service Officer and won a lot of fans for his improvements to service.

In that role, he reduced short turns onbus and streetcar routes by almost 90% --one of his better-known accomplishments.

The Boston-born Leary came to Toronto in 2009 after years with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. He worked his way up through the ranks there, starting as a train attendant and eventually becoming Chief Operating Officer, a hands-on career that has madehim uniquely qualified to understand every facet of the transit system and its workers.

In a congratulatory tweet on Tuesday, Mayor John Tory commended Leary for his commitment to improving transit for riders.

Metrolinx CEO Phil Verser also added his congratulations, tweeting that Leary’s shared his own “determination to build and operate a fantastic transit system for customers.”

In other TTC news, Benoit Brossoit --President of Bombardier Transportation in the Americas --turned up personally at the board meeting Tuesday to apologize for the glitches plaguing the city’s new Bombardier-made streetcars.

Welding problems in 67 of the new streetcars will see those cars removed from service for repair, which will take about five months per car. The TTC board was assured the issues do not present any safety risk to riders or transit workers, but repairs are necessary if the cars are to last the projected 30 years in service.

The recall is the latest frustration with the Bombardier cars, given that they were delivered late in the first place.