New NY Transit chief rides subway to work on his first day, vows to fix ageing system

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 unrecognisable to the crush of passengers surrounding him, Mr 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 his first day of what will undoubtedly be his most challenging transportation job yet: reviving a sprawling and ageing 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, the new boss, speaking in a distinct British accent, said, "I'm excited to be here." Mr Byford, 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 f…