Andy Byford to leave TfL later this year

[Dstock7080]

London transport chief Byford quits after securing long-term funding deal

Andy Byford, who took the helm at TfL in June 2020, is to step down later this year after steering it through the worst crisis in its history, Sky News learns.

news.sky.com

London transport chief Byford quits after securing long-term funding deal

Andy Byford, who took the helm at TfL in June 2020, is to step down later this year after steering it through the worst crisis in its history​

​

 

[Class 170101]

Not surprised sadly, if you treat people badly they eventually move on.

 

[bramling]

Not surprised sadly, if you treat people badly they eventually move on.

Exactly who on earth would want to be caught in the crossfire of the stupid game of grubby politics that’s gone on between Khan and Shapps.

That said, I’m not entirely convinced of the value of the Commissioner role. It’s rather expensive just to act as a mouthpiece for the mayor.

 

[tomuk]

Was he treated badly in New York and Toronto?

 

[Goldfish62]

That said, I’m not entirely convinced of the value of the Commissioner role. It’s rather expensive just to act as a mouthpiece for the mayor.

It's not a mouthpiece of the mayor. You're confusing it with the Deputy Mayor for Transport, which is.

 

[bramling]

It's not a mouthpiece of the mayor. You're confusing it with the Deputy Mayor for Transport, which is.

But what does the role *actually* do, apart from act as a bridge between the mayor and TFL?

 

[Horizon22]

But what does the role *actually* do, apart from act as a bridge between the mayor and TFL?

Runs TfL operationally? It would be like saying the Prime Minister and the head of the civil service are the same person.

 

[bramling]

Runs TfL operationally? It would be like saying the Prime Minister and the head of the civil service are the same person.

Is that the purpose of roles like the MD, COO and operational leadership teams? The commissioner seems simply like a layer added on top of all that, simply to act as a link with the mayor.

 

[Horizon22]

Is that the purpose of roles like the MD, COO and operational leadership teams? The commissioner seems simply like a layer added on top of all that, simply to act as a link with the mayor.

I’ll be honest I don’t know much about the highest echelons of the operational structure of TfL, but I thought commissioner brought everything together and is above the MDs of each system?

Even if not, sometimes that barrier and link between politics and high level operations is useful and necessary.

 

[Thirteen]

The dispute between Andy Byford and the then Governor of New York was a lot worse than what happened between TfL and the DfT although I'm surprised that he's leaving given Shapps has now gone.

I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up running GBR.

 

[bramling]

I’ll be honest I don’t know much about the highest echelons of the operational structure of TfL, but I thought commissioner brought everything together and is above the MDs of each system?

Even if not, sometimes that barrier and link between politics and high level operations is useful and necessary.

Maybe my view is clouded by my dislike of the mayoralty, however the commissioner role seems like a waste of money to me.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 22 Sep 2022 ==

The dispute between Andy Byford and the then Governor of New York was a lot worse than what happened between TfL and the DfT although I'm surprised that he's leaving given Shapps has now gone.

I suspect he knows TFL is going to have brown stuff spraying all around over the next few months. Who would want to get involved in that if they didn’t need to? They got their funding deal, but the conditions attached are designed to be nasty. The funding negotiations essentially offered TFL the choice of being showered in brown stuff or drowned in it - unsurprisingly they chose the least worst of the two, but nonetheless now have to live in with the implications.

 

[Goldfish62]

Is that the purpose of roles like the MD, COO and operational leadership teams? The commissioner seems simply like a layer added on top of all that, simply to act as a link with the mayor.

You may as well say what's the purpose of the CEO role at Stagecoach, FirstGroup, National Express,Network Rail, etc.

It's an absolutely vital post that represents TfL to the mayor and central government, among others. It fights TfL's corner, not the mayor's, as well giving direction to the individual MDs within TfL.

Without Byford it's highly unlike that TfL would have got a financial settlements due to the childish ongoing spats between Shapps and Khan.

 

[quartile]

Official message was to move back to USA where his wife is from. Andy Lord will be acting Commissioner.
Deputy Commissioner Gareth Powell left yesterday for Stansted.

 

[jfollows]

Possibly because he feels he has achieved his objectives - Elizabeth Line and budget - and can do without the further hassle of the job, albeit with a £355,000 salary.

From The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...dy-byford-resigns-after-just-two-years-in-job):

TfL

Transport for London boss resigns after just two years in job

Andy Byford’s announcement comes after TfL boss completed ‘biggest challenge’ during Queen’s funeral

Gwyn Topham

@GwynTopham

Thu 22 Sep 2022 09.39 BST

The boss of Transport for London, Andy Byford, has resigned, after just over two years in the job.

His departure from the £355,000-a-year role of commissioner was announced on Tuesday morning, days after TfL had managed what Byford called its biggest ever challenge – the logistics around the Queen’s funeral.

TfL said Byford was leaving to return to the US, where he previously ran New York’s transport. Andy Lord, TfL’s current chief operating officer, will become commissioner on an interim basis from 25 October.

The decision comes weeks after TfL had secured a longer-term funding settlement from central government to help it manage the loss of revenue from reduced travel after the pandemic.

It meant Byford had largely achieved his two self-declared objectives of opening the Elizabeth line in central London to the deadline and budget he inherited, after Crossrail had been plagued by years of delays, and of putting TfL back on a stable post-pandemic footing.

However, the role has been fraught with political difficulty, with TfL caught in the crossfire between the Conservative government and London mayor, Sadiq Khan, as it sought financial help, and in industrial relations trouble as unions battled enforced cuts. The money from central government was significantly less than TfL argued it needed and Byford has long warned of a future of “managed decline”.

It is the second time in three years that Byford has quit a major role, after stepping down as the boss of New York’s transport authority in 2020.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 22 Sep 2022 ==

Evening Standard (https://www.standard.co.uk/news/lon...set-to-announce-his-resignation-b1027288.html):

He (Byford) said: “When I came to TfL I set two clear priorities – to get the Elizabeth line open without further delay and to lead TfL out of the pandemic and into a financially sustainable future.

“The opening of the Elizabeth line was, without doubt, the highlight of my career – made truly poignant as it was one of the last major events attended by Her Majesty the Queen.

“With a longer-term financial settlement with Government now in place I can now leave with TfL set fair to move positively into the future.”

 

[rebmcr]

I wonder whether another US city has poached him? I doubt he will return to New York's MTA given how they parted ways, but there are plenty more challenges he could solve over there!

 

[jfollows]

I wonder whether another US city has poached him? I doubt he will return to New York's MTA given how they parted ways, but there are plenty more challenges he could solve over there!

Quite possible, BBC (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-62986749) reports

Mr Byford, previously boss of the New York Subway, said it was the right time to resume life in the US with his wife.

 

[Backroom_boy]

He's resigned from two jobs where arguably it became more about the politics than the operating. But maybe his wife remaining in the US is a bigger reason

 

[DavyCrocket]

This was the same reason that Tim O’Toole gave for leaving, to go to US for family reasons. Though returned quickly to UK

 

[Taunton]

Is Byford's wife not from Ontario in Canada?

My hunch is the issues with the Mayor/DfT combination. My reading is that someone who is an operations professional just gets too hacked off with the political intrigue which seems to excite the relationship on both sides (and in all truth more the former than the latter), rather than getting the job done.

May be the catalyst for TfL getting taken from The Mayor and rolled into its paymaster.

 

[Goldfish62]

May be the catalyst for TfL getting taken from The Mayor and rolled into its paymaster.

Because the DfT is doing such a great job with the railways...

 

[Trainbike46]

May be the catalyst for TfL getting taken from The Mayor and rolled into its paymaster.

I really hope not; it is right for TfL to be primarily locally controlled, and the mayoralty provides a good way of doing that.

I know you don't like the mayor, but the DfT/mayor war was primarily the fault of Grant Shapps in particular, who felt the need to attach all kinds of conditions to covid help (remember, the mayor didn't cause covid!) that didn't apply to other public transport bodies. Some of the conditions were reasonable, but a lot made no sense or were outright wastes of money

 

[Taunton]

I know you don't like the mayor, but the DfT/mayor war was primarily the fault of Grant Shapps in particular, who felt the need to attach all kinds of conditions to covid help (remember, the mayor didn't cause covid!) that didn't apply to other public transport bodies. Some of the conditions were reasonable, but a lot made no sense or were outright wastes of money

I don't know why there is such opprobrium for the DfT, who did provide very considerable sums to keep TfL going in the manner in which they were generally accustomed, same as for the railway. Ask all the airline staff, another DfT area of responsibility, who just all lost their jobs. Yes, it would be useful for TfL to be locally controlled, but you always have to live within the parameters of those who fund you, some from the TfL/Mayor side do not seem to understand this, others seem to delight in spiking the DfT at every chance, or think that because they are elected they can do what they like, regardless.

Those of us who heard all the stuff about needing to keep services going, and staff employed and fully paid, for "key workers" (not even furloughed as the rest of the world was), where in fact they were running as empty stock for many months and the key workers had quite notably moved on, if they hadn't before, to going by car (including to our office car park which was loaned to the adjacent hospital for extra staff parking) can recognise the real world.

 

[baza585]

I don't know why there is such opprobrium for the DfT, who did provide very considerable sums to keep TfL going in the manner in which they were generally accustomed, same as for the railway. Ask all the airline staff, another DfT area of responsibility, who just all lost their jobs. Yes, it would be useful for TfL to be locally controlled, but you always have to live within the parameters of those who fund you, some from the TfL/Mayor side do not seem to understand this, others seem to delight in spiking the DfT at every chance, or think that because they are elected they can do what they like, regardless.

Those of us who heard all the stuff about needing to keep services going, and staff employed and fully paid, for "key workers" (not even furloughed as the rest of the world was), where in fact they were running as empty stock for many months and the key workers had quite notably moved on, if they hadn't before, to going by car (including to our office car park which was loaned to the adjacent hospital for extra staff parking) can recognise the real world.

+1.

I am absolutely no fan of Shapps but Khan always appears to be trying to further his own political career rather than doing the best thing for users of TfL. He seemed to delight in winding up DfT who were paying TfLs bills (because they didn't have the money). I suspect Byford just got fed up of the games, and saw an opportunity to get out and be able to say Job Done.

 

[bramling]

+1.

I am absolutely no fan of Shapps but Khan always appears to be trying to further his own political career rather than doing the best thing for users of TfL. He seemed to delight in winding up DfT who were paying TfLs bills (because they didn't have the money). I suspect Byford just got fed up of the games, and saw an opportunity to get out and be able to say Job Done.

It’s six of one and half a dozen of the other with Khan and the DFT.

The DFT are playing politics too, the current government want to punish London, both for nowadays being predominantly Labour in terms of MPs, and for voting in a Labour mayor.

If the government aren’t happy about the TFL and mayor situation, then they should do the proper thing and make changes to both, not just play political games. It does also seem to be the case that Johnson in particular had a specific bee in the bonnet over this.

 

[godfreycomplex]

Maybe he’ll be announced as the new head of Transport for Tunbridge Wells when that gets set up

 

[Thirteen]

I wonder whether another US city has poached him? I doubt he will return to New York's MTA given how they parted ways, but there are plenty more challenges he could solve over there!

The NYTA position is already filled so it won't be there. I think he'd be quite good going somewhere which is a bit more challenging like Los Angeles which has pretty poor transport links.

I would hope with Anne-Marie Trevelyan that there is a reset in the relationship between the DfT and TfL. I do get the sense a lot of it was political willy waving between Shapps and Khan which didn't really exist with previous SOS.

 

[SynthD]

I don't know why there is such opprobrium for the DfT

The first definition of that word is fitting, though perhaps not what you meant.

Disgrace arising from exceedingly shameful conduct

Grayling had a similar relationship with London as Shapps, he notably wrote a letter saying London can't have nice things because Labour sometimes runs it. He wrote that to Johnson. I don't think Khan can be blamed for a relationship set in its ways before he arrived.

 

[cle]

The NYTA position is already filled so it won't be there. I think he'd be quite good going somewhere which is a bit more challenging like Los Angeles which has pretty poor transport links.

LA are actually doing ok in building, largely for the '28 Games but a good amount coming online between now and then. They are these days quite progressive in vision - it's just super expensive, HUGE, and where to begin to execute.

SF / Bay might be interesting. Needs agency consolidation, Caltrain is going electric (and sharing lines with HSR eventually) - and other regional things going on, including the Muni extension. Such a slow development, nimby culture there though.

I would love him to come back to NYC, as a f-you to Cuomo. They're still rolling out his speed tracker changes... But NJT could use him too!

 

[Thirteen]

LA are actually doing ok in building, largely for the '28 Games but a good amount coming online between now and then. They are these days quite progressive in vision - it's just super expensive, HUGE, and where to begin to execute.

SF / Bay might be interesting. Needs agency consolidation, Caltrain is going electric (and sharing lines with HSR eventually) - and other regional things going on, including the Muni extension. Such a slow development, nimby culture there though.

I would love him to come back to NYC, as a f-you to Cuomo. They're still rolling out his speed tracker changes... But NJT could use him too!

I didn't consider SF/Bay but actually it would be a good option for Andy Byford.

 

[AlastairFraser]

Those of us who heard all the stuff about needing to keep services going, and staff employed and fully paid, for "key workers" (not even furloughed as the rest of the world was), where in fact they were running as empty stock for many months and the key workers had quite notably moved on, if they hadn't before, to going by car (including to our office car park which was loaned to the adjacent hospital for extra staff parking) can recognise the real world.

Key workers didn't just work in hospitals. I and many others commuted to our essential work by public transport and would have been up s**t creek if it had been suspended.
Also, you could argue that the DfT is a part of the Government that failed to keep Covid out of the country, necessitating a lockdown that destroyed most of TfL's income base.
Anyway, back on topic, it's sad to see Andy go - I wonder if we'll see someone like Peter Hendy back to replace him?