NEW YORK—Like countless others headed to work on Tuesday morning, Andy Byford stood wearing a backpack on a crowded subway platform at Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan waiting for a No. 4 train to arrive. In a clear sign that he was not a native New Yorker, he politely stepped aside to allow passengers off the train before edging his way onto the crowded car.Though he remained largely unrecognizable to the crush of passengers surrounding him, Byford was not just another harried commuter: he is the man who is now running, and tasked with fixing, New York City’s subway system.It was Byford’s first day of what will undoubtedly be his most challenging transportation job yet: reviving a sprawling and aging subway system that has grown increasingly unreliable after years of political and financial neglect. Still, when he exited the train at the Bowling Green station in Lower Manhattan near his office, Byford, speaking in a distinct British accent, said, “I’m excited to be here.”Read more:‘I stood up for the TTC’: Andy Byford reflects on his tenure navigating messy politics and late-night calls from Rob FordThe TTC’s Andy Byford has woven his own tangled web of confusion: KeeneanByford, who most recently served as the chief executive of the Toronto Transit Commission, has said he was considering aggressive steps to improve the subway, including shutting down lines for long periods of time to speed up repairs. He said he would review the way the subway spends money and consider overhauling management. He also said that congestion pricing — charging fees to drive into the most crowded parts of Manhattan as a way to raise money for transit — was worth considering.Byford, whose official title is president of New York City Transit, made his way from the subway to his desk trailed by news cameras and introduced himself to transit workers who matched his smile with theirs before addressing reporters.“T ...
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