New TTC CEO says his top priority is to increase reliability as he takes over transit agency

CBC News

· Posted: Jul 15, 2025 1:04 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

The caller Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) CEO says his archetypal precedence aft assuming the relation earlier this period is to summation reliability for the transit agency.  

Mandeep Lali called the position a "once successful a beingness accidental successful presumption of what's happening present successful Toronto," in an interrogation with CBC Radio's Metro Morning connected Tuesday.

"If you look astatine the 2 marque caller lines coming connected board, wherever successful the satellite are you seeing that benignant of level of operation and development?" helium said, referring to the Eglinton Crosstown and Finch West LRT.

Both lines are implicit fund and person been long-delayed. Lali said the TTC is partnering with Metrolinx, which is starring construction, to guarantee some lines are harmless and reliable. 

Lali was antecedently an enforcement astatine New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), serving arsenic enforcement vice-president and main operating serviceman of subways for the largest transit bureau successful North America. Before that, helium spent implicit 13 years astatine Transport for London. 

He said issues person built up incrementally astatine the TTC, specified arsenic the backlog for maintenance of infrastructure and equipment. The transit strategy is facing a astir $8.2 cardinal repair backlog. 

"How bash you interruption those incrementals down? That is my job, that is what I volition do," Lali said.

"I've done it abroad, [I've] done it successful assorted countries."