The president of Bombardier Transportation made his first appearance at the TTC board on Tuesday, and publicly apologized for the production problems that have forced a recall of the bulk of Toronto’s new streetcars. In a presentation to the board Benoit Brossoit, president of Bombardier Transportation for the Americas, said he had come with other company officials to demonstrate the company is “dealing with this issue proactively, in full transparency.” “First and foremost, we understand and share the disappointment of the mayor, the board, and the TTC riders. And we truly apologize,” he said. But he added that despite production problems and repeated delivery delays to the $1-billion order, “Bombardier stands by its product. Always, no compromise.”“Issues like this are not uncommon in the industry. It does not make our cars bad,” he said, arguing the recall should be seen in the context of investments the company has made in recent months to improve production. Read more:Opinion | Edward Keenan: Toronto has a right to be angry at Bombardier, but we shouldn’t let rage cloud our thinkingMost new TTC streetcars to be recalled to fix welding defect, Bombardier saysBombardier executive compensation rises to $33.4 million in 2017Although TTC riders, the board, and the mayor have all expressed extreme frustration with Bombardier’s manufacturing issues, the exchange between board members and the company officials was mostly muted. TTC Chair Josh Colle briefly pressed Brossoit on the need to deliver the new streetcars as promised. The agency has been keeping older vehicles on the streets for longer while it waits for the new cars to arrive. “I hope you realize how essential and important it is to get these streetcars on our streets as quickly as possible to serve our passengers,” Colle said. He recommended Bombardier officials ride on “some of those crowded, leaky, beasts of streetcars ...
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