Toronto may have been the ”absolute highlight” of his 28-year transit career, but Andy Byford is leaving his CEO position with the TTC to take up the same job in New York ”arguably the toughest job in transit right now.”

(Nakita Krucker / Toronto Star)

When he came to Toronto in 2011, Byford says he realized the transit system needed to get back to basics, which led to a five-year plan introduced in 2013.

”While there will always be room to improve still further, the basic tenets of the service have been substantially improved … the system is cleaner, information is clearer and customers have noticed the difference.”

Byford will leave next month after the Toronto-York Spadina subway extension opens.  

The TTC hopes to hire his replacement by next July.