Former New York City Transit President Andy Byford joined CBSN New York's political reporter Marcia Kramer for an exclusive interview on this week’s episode of “The Point.”
Andy did one hell of a job in Toronto the TTC benefitted from his vast knowledge of the transit system from London. He improved the TTC n I'm sure he would have done the same with the MTA but politics being as they are in NYC can be a constant enduring headache. I'm glad he has returned to his roots in London with much fanfare n continued success. Cheers Andy
IMO, the fact that Andy Byford is no longer working at the MTA means that the Feds may be less inclined than they already were to support congestion pricing since the agency is now devoid of the sound leadership and experience to handle what seems like a huge revenue stream to make that 10-year plan a reality. If a government(s) is going to support such progressive concepts with immense potential for the public to be critical of, then it needs to blanket itself with the political cover that only comes with having a personable leader in charge of such an incredible windfall of revenue. Furthermore, anyone considering a long-term role in leading the MTA would be highly suspicious of the Governor's inexcusable history of meddling in matters that are best left to transit professionals. I hope I'm wrong, but I believe Cuomo sabotaged himself and the MTA in their ability to hire a leader as qualified as Byford was by the former's ego. It will be a miracle if the agency recovers from Cuomo's meddling in matters that don't concern him nearly as much as he might think they do. On a positive note, Byford stayed classy throughout this interview and throughout his tenure with the MTA. He praised elected officials when he thought that they deserved accolades and never became so critical of Cuomo that he came across as ruthless and soured by his time at the agency. I would love to see Byford in elected office or in some leadership capacity; he's incredibly deserving of such a role and any group of citizens with any intellect would understand the potential he harbors to improve their communities and experiences.
Andy Byford, by far a man who started right at the bottom and rose to the top like all good railway professionals. Loved by his staff as he really knew his stuff, led by example and as can be seen he is honest and has principals. You can tell he was shafted. A yes puppet is now President of NYC Transit.
This man systematically transformed London and Toronto’s underground systems. He still managed to improve so much in NYC before he was shafted. Muppets for letting him go.
They promised him a job that doesn't really exist. There are several entitites all interested in getting what they want out of the MTA. There's never been just one guy in charge of it all. That person has always been the Governor, which is stupid in the first place.
I don't blame Andy for getting out. It sucks that the politics and New York government let him down. I'm glad he got to become head of a railway in a city/country that while it does have politics, at least cares about public transport.
the interruption is so annoying, let the gentlemen speak good christ (also funny how when Andy Byford left, the subway alerts on the bottom of 1:48 shows a lot of impacts and delays)
he did not run the mta. he ran the ta. 2 different entities. ta is a subsidiary. mta board runs the system. the governor appoints the mta board. Therefore, the governor is in charge.
The hate is NY is crazy, why would you leave anyone willing to develop the transit system out of meetings if not for personal selfish reasons. Only God can help them.
