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 Thursday 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 public transport authority, and where his wife still lives. Andy Lord, TfL’s 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”. Difficult decisions over pensions and further cuts to services remain and are likely to mean more strikes.
It is the second time in three years that Byford has quit a major role, after stepping down as the boss of the New York City Transit Authority in 2020.
Byford said that with “TfL set fair to move positively into the future” after the financial settlement, now was “the right time to bow out and resume life in the US with my wife”.
He said the opening of the Elizabeth line was the highlight of his career, “made truly poignant as it was one of the last major events attended by Her Majesty the Queen. It was an honour to meet her, and an honour to oversee the transport arrangements for the ceremonial events to mark her passing.”
Khan said Byford deserved huge thanks for leading TfL through an exceptional time in its history. “From keeping the city moving during the Covid-19 pandemic, to the historic opening of the Elizabeth line this year, Andy has provided Londoners with an exceptional service and his work has ensured that despite the challenges we have faced, our public transport network remains world-class.”
His departure will however cause dismay at TfL, which also lost its deputy commissioner and Byford’s heir apparent, Gareth Powell, earlier this year, when he left to become managing director of Stansted airport. TfL’s chief financial officer and chief customer officer also quit for new posts this year amid funding cuts, and Byford spoke earlier in the year of his concern at the “exodus of talent”.
Lord joined TfL in late 2019 as managing director of London Underground, after 30 years in aviation, mainly at British Airways.
