Toronto Transit Commission CEO Andy Byford will take the helm of New York City Transit, the MTA announced today.

“Our transit system is the backbone of the world’s greatest city and having someone of Andy’s caliber to lead it will help immensely,” MTA Chairman Joe Lhota said. "In order to truly stabilize, modernize and improve our transit system, we needed a leader who has done this work at world-class systems."

Byford called managing New York City’s expansive bus network and subway system “arguably the toughest job in transit right now.”

But he said he was up to the challenge and pointed to his record of addressing some of the issues that plague New York City’s buses and subways — from mounting delays to track fires.

“Job number one for the TTC was to get exponentially better at delivery of what I call the basics — a relentless push to drive up standards of safety, cleanliness, punctuality and reliability.”

Earlier this year, the TTC was named the best system in North America by the American Public Transportation Association. Some riders mocked that award, reports the Toronto Star, but Byford attributed it to his efforts at modernizing the system.

That modernization effort was among Byford’s top achievements in Toronto, according to William Henderson, who heads the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA.

“He certainly has gotten good results,” Henderson said, noting that the challenge will be steeper in New York. “New York City is massive and to do modernization here is like turning an aircraft carrier — it takes a while to happen.”

But Byford’s record shows that he has the skills necessary to run New York City’s subways and buses, according to David Bragdon executive director of TransitCenter, a transportation research and advocacy organization.   

“He was very visible out in the field with the workforce and the customers at all times of the day,” Bragdon said. “[Byford] really understood the system and how it worked and how it could work better."

He also took a cold hard look at the costs of running the Toronto Transit Commission in order to bring them down — something that Bragdon says needs to happen in New York City.

But ultimately, Bragdon said, funding issues will still be the crux of a story.

“It’s ultimately is still gunna come down to ‘A Tale of Two Andys,” he said. “Andy B for Byford who is a consummate pro, and and Andy C for Cuomo, who still runs the MTA. The real question is gunna be does Andy C let Andy B do his job?”