The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) on June 5 reported the appointment of Mandeep Lali as CEO, effective July 7. He will come to Canada by way of senior leadership roles in the New York City and London transit systems, and take the throttle from Greg Percy, who became Interim CEO when Rick Leary stepped down last summer.
Lali was most recently Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for subways at New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority, a position he held for nearly three years. He spent the previous 13 years at Transport for London, and nearly seven years at OTIS elevators as an executive working on the Crossrail project with TFL.
Lali’s new role will be leading the Ontario, Canada, agency that has grown since 1921 to carry more than 31 billion riders through a network of subways, streetcars, buses and Wheel-Trans vehicles. He “will help guide the Commission as we continue our work to make the TTC the safest and most reliable system possible,” TTC Chair Jamaal Myers said in an official statement. “This permanent appointment gives us a unique opportunity to fundamentally reset our relationship with our customers, employees and the broader City Region and grow ridership. Please join me in welcoming Mandeep to the TTC, and I know you will all help support him as we navigate this transition.”
Jamaal Myers also thanked Interim CEO Greg Percy “for his commitment to the TTC over the past nine months and for assisting during this important period of transition.”
“My vision for the TTC is to be world class — world class in safety, reliability, affordability and accessibility,” Lali said during a June 5 news conference announcing his appointment, according to a CBC News report. “Those are all basics of which are fundamentals of a great transportation system.”
The media outlet noted that “Lali takes over the role as the TTC faces some major challenges, including commuter frustration over reliability and service delays. He said he’s aware of some of the issues plaguing the city’s transit, such as subway slow zones and bunching — where multiple buses or streetcars arrive at the same time — and is already working on a plan to address them, so he can ‘hit the ground running’ when he officially starts his new job on July 7. Lali said other transit agencies he’s worked for have faced similar challenges to the TTC but were able to make improvements. The key to doing that, he said, is leveraging the knowledge of staff.”
