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jamie030592 t1_jdek8od wrote

The man job hops that is for sure lol.

114

kingcreamEAT t1_jdeuq7s wrote

Guarantee you that man is making an additional $50k per year for each job he hops to lol

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yuriydee t1_jdg128m wrote

As we all should be doing (if you have the opportunity, then do it and get yourself a raise).

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anObscurity t1_jdh7yv5 wrote

He’s the best in the biz. TfL is running like a smooth ship now and the Elizabeth line is done and humming. Now he’s on to the next agency to fix.

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CaptainCompost t1_jdi7y1g wrote

Should superman hang out after he prevents a plane crash or should he fly off to save a bus of school kids from going over a cliff?

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ketzal7 t1_jdesl6e wrote

I think after seeing how much of shitshow the MTA leadership and board is he decided never to work there again.

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CaptainCompost t1_jdi7mi0 wrote

It was specifically because of Cuomo and his batshit behavior. There's a whole saga. Byford has talked about it pretty frankly.

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ketzal7 t1_jdl3vir wrote

Cuomo was the main culprit but I feel like the board isn’t really much better and is filled with political appointees who don’t have much interest in transit improvements.

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CaptainCompost t1_jdmgf6o wrote

Fair enough. But who appoints people to the board?

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ketzal7 t1_jdmy6s8 wrote

Well right now it’s a mix of appointees from the governor, mayor, borough presidents, and county execs from the surrounding counties, and some union reps.

The governor has the power to appoint a chairman so they have the most influence, but in general it seems like most of these board members aren’t super familiar with the subway system or represent other interests.

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ToffeeFever t1_jdet57r wrote

Andrew Cuomo in shambles

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yuriydee t1_jdg0yy4 wrote

Cuomo may have won the battle by forcing out Byford, but Byford has destroyed Cuomo in the war. Ironically Byford left at almost the perfect time as well, right before the scandal started.

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MirthandMystery t1_jdffks7 wrote

Excellent, Andy Byford knows his business. Was sad to hear he left the MTA a few years back.

He’s cool, calm, collected. Experienced with sorting train probs all over the world. Should be a great asset for Amtrak.

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grubas t1_jdgfmxe wrote

Cuomo got pissed at him for getting more good press than him and basically ran him out.

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Tsquare43 t1_jdh6u0o wrote

He made it untenable. He stripped away what he wanted to do from the position, so he would leave. And then he did.

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anObscurity t1_jdh8484 wrote

Cuomo is such a bitch. Couldn’t handle that someone else was actually good at their job and did what they were hired to do. All politics for him. Good riddance

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kinky_boots t1_jdgsflb wrote

Add humble and modest. Loved that he was working weekends during the L shutdowns with his rank and file staff in the subways dealing directly with the public.

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Head_Acanthisitta256 t1_jdfcvmi wrote

Unbelievable that that creep Cuomo neutered Byford before he had a chance to do some genuine transformation of the MTA.

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anObscurity t1_jdh88de wrote

I genuinely believe Byford could have accelerated the 2nd Ave subway and we might even have been starting phase 3 by now

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JohnnyStrides t1_jdj3vgr wrote

His hands were tied in Toronto too. Two cities that got the right guy for the job and squandered it. Oh well at lest Jane Jacobs was effective in both 🤷‍♀️

3

P0stNutClarity t1_jdffnsy wrote

The Tom Brady of transit. That was a quick retirement

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aimglitchz t1_jdeld3r wrote

So platform barriers coming to Amtrak stations

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DJBabyB0kCh0y t1_jdeuvrq wrote

That's to keep the trains from jumping the tracks and hitting people. Which with Amtrak is far more likely than a person jumping onto the tracks.

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PatrickMaloney1 t1_jdfs0bl wrote

I hope Amtrak doesn’t kill his spirit :(

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anObscurity t1_jdh8c87 wrote

Much less hubris at the Amtrak/federal level politics. I think he will be able to run free like the train daddy stallion he is

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Jimmy_kong253 t1_jdgrsq2 wrote

He should run the whole Amtrak not be some vice president bs

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ike_tyson t1_jdi54v3 wrote

Too bad he's not running the MTA :(

2

msd90 t1_jdiaehg wrote

Used to live in Toronto when this guy was the head of the TTC. This guy knows his stuff, still wish he was head of the MTA.

2

Metapod_Used_Hardon t1_jdj0psp wrote

Asking honestly, why do people like Byford? I don’t really know much about his accomplishments. Seemed like he had good ideas, but he wasn’t around long enough to do much with them.

2

fuchsdh t1_jdjwuu8 wrote

Stuff like the continued ADA station rollout, contactless payment, and signal modernization were things that he spearheaded. The trains in 2017 were an absolute shitshow, and he managed to turn it around. He wasn't a magic bullet—the MTA remains a terribly inefficient organization, and fact that Cuomo could effectively strip him of authority to undermine him demonstrates the limits of what he was able to accomplish—but the city would absolutely be worse off without his term here.

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JuniorAct7 t1_jdug9wm wrote

The Save Safe Seconds Campaign greatly improved on-time performance and proved some of the deterioration in service was actually just overly aggressive signal timers and speed limits rather than whatever else the MTA made its scapegoat. Probably his best initiative and still paying dividends.

2

mapinis t1_jdhzvkq wrote

The MBTA will miss out then

1

BreakfastSpecials t1_jdiekpj wrote

The GOAT.
We as a nation need to make him Secretary of Transportation.

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GrenadoHencho t1_jdfixky wrote

Amtrak is beyond fixing

−20

[deleted] t1_jdfqb7d wrote

[removed]

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GrenadoHencho t1_jdfsl4j wrote

https://youtu.be/qQTjLWIHN74

It’s not a matter of funding.

−3

ManhattanRailfan t1_jdfzx8p wrote

There's a pretty easy solution to that that basically every other country on the planet has done. Nationalize the railroads, or at the very least, the infrastructure.

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GrenadoHencho t1_jdh7rd7 wrote

I agree but appointing Andy Byford doesn’t get us any closer to that scenario. That’s my point. He’s a celebrity among urbanist nerds but he’s not some superhero who can force the nationalization of an entire industry.

3