Mr President, Mr Mayor, Reverend Beard, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

When I was invited to speak at the Empire Club, my first reaction was one of quiet satisfaction to learn that, here at least, there exists a part of the Empire where the sun never set. But in doing my research for todays event, I read with some amazement, the history of this illustrious establishment and I looked with awe at the glittering array of past speakers.

It is with a sense of pride, honor and humility that I represent the TTC here today, mindful that I follow in the footsteps of political giants such as Churchill, Thatcher and Reagan, of Canadian icons such as Trudeau and Diefenbaker and of world figures like Gandhi and the Dalai Lama. Oh, and if youre thinking, hang on, weve seen him speak here before, that was the other guy, that was Vladimir Putin! Id therefore like to thank MJ and the Club directors for affording me the honour to speak about my plans for the TTC today. May I first acknowledge the presence here today of my boss, Karen Stintz, Toronto City Councillor and Chair of the TTC, and my friend and colleague Bruce McCuaig, CEO of Metrolinx.

A lot has happened since my wife Alison and I arrived in Toronto in late October 2011. I have barely paused for breath since joining the

TTC in what has been a roller coaster ride so far. From flooded stations, to employees being shot, from political intrigue to front-page controversy, you name it, it has happened. Being head of the TTC is a 24/7, public fishbowl that is not for the faint-hearted. The TTC is a media story every day to an extent that I have never experienced before in nearly a quarter of a century in international public transit.

People have asked me if I wish I had stayed in Australia for a quieter life. No way! I am immensely proud to run the third largest transit system in North America in what is now that great continents fourth largest city.

Building on the hard work of my predecessors in this hot seat, the organization that I head up is carrying record numbers that continue to rise. This year, the TTC will provide some 528 million rides as our city expands at record pace. This equates to 1.7 million rides a day and you know what? Most of these journeys are completely

uneventful, that is to say, we get our customers from A to B without incident or delay.

A lot goes into making an uneventful journey, however. 12,500 TTC staff work tirelessly day in, day out, in all weathers and often with little thanks to meet growing customer demands and societal expectation. Our bus maintenance teams keep our vehicles going for

approximately double the North American industry average, while in the streetcar division, we make our own spare parts for vehicles whose manufacturers long since entered the annals of history. This

is the same, much maligned TTC that covers 70% of its operating costs through the farebox on the back of the lowest operating subsidy of pretty much any western world transit authority. It truly is a

remarkable organization and I am immensely proud of the staff that work there, most of whom do a great job. But I didnt leave the sunny shores of Australia to maintain the status quo. I saw a golden opportunity to be part of something very special: to lead the team that will modernize the TTC from top to bottom, transform customer satisfaction and restore Torontos syst em to what it once was, the jewel in the crown of North American transit.

I saw straight away that a more business like approach was needed, along with a customer service revolution, to show the people that pay our wages that we are serious about change.

What I could not have foreseen was my sudden, dramatic elevation to the top job after just three, short months in Canada. My predecessors departure was both a challenge and an opportunity. A challenge, in that my learning curve disappeared off the chart, an opportunity, in that I had free rein to make change and move at my own, invariably impatient speed. The head of the transit union said that, Mr Byford wants everything done yesterday. Well, you know what Bob? Thats pretty much true!

So where are we now? 1 year into the job, a lot has happened. We have reorganized the entire enterprise to put the customer at the

centre of our thinking, including creation of bespoke front and backof-house service delivery teams to expedite improvement. We have delivered quick wins such as all-day in-service litter picks to provide cleaner trains, rolled out debit and credit facilities at all subway stations and refurbished the previously grim washrooms in response to customer feedback. We have developed high-level targets to track our service delivery, to motivate our teams to do better and to enable others to hold us to account. And we introduced the TTCs first ever Customer Charter to publicly commit us to time-bound, value-add service improvements every quarter and to show that we mean business.

More fundamentally, we spent this first year building the basic management tools of a modern business, putting into place the framework that is the norm in other places that I have worked but that were lacking at the TTC. There was no vision statement; there is now. No challenge meetings to hold senior executives to account for their departmental performance; there are now. And no key

performance indicators against which to measure progress; there are now. Year one has been about addressing what I call the basics, that is challenging mediocrity, holding people to account, using data to drive improvement and obsessing about the detail. Its been about making our activities more transparent, providing clear direction and strong leadership. And its been about giving the TTC back its self-

confidence, replacing a siege mentality with a can-do desire to excel.

One major element was still missing. While business plans existed in the form of an annual budget submission, there was, remarkably, no corporate plan. Well, today I can announce the creation of such a plan.

Our new plan sets out in detail, what the TTC must achieve between now and 2017. It is built around seven strategic objectives, the sum of which will deliver our vision of A transit system that makes Toronto proud. It lists the big projects that will be rolled out over the next five years, game-changing programs that will transform customers experience.

I will give you a flavor of some of the key initiatives in each of the seven objectives.

Safety is first. The TTC has a good safety record and we must keep it that way. But as a former safety director, I want us to improve the way we make safety based decisions to make sure that, when times are tough, we make tough choices using a quantified risk based approach.

The second strategy relates to customer service, which I have already highlighted as a priority. We have already introduced our new Group Station Managers who will transform our subway service. We will also deliver a comprehensive plan to safely remove guards

from trains and replace the Station Collector role with that of a highly trained, proactive Station Supervisor.

People are vital to the success of this plan. Management style will change to clearly differentiate the way we deal with good and unsatisfactory performance. Targets will be set for staff at all levels of the organization.

Asset management is the fourth area. In addition to taking action to make our trains, signals and track more reliable, there will be a review of the way we manage routes to ensure that procedures are customer, rather than production led.

The fifth area is growth.

In fall 2016, we will open the Spadina

subway extension. We will also open the second platform at Union and we will work with Metrolinx to open the new LRT's and to develop the downtown relief line.

Financial sustainability is the sixth area. I regularly remind my team that these are not our dollars. We will undertake a zero-based, topto-bottom cost review of every aspect of our business.

Finally, we need to transition the TTC's reputation from one that is perceived as arrogant, lacking transparency and in the words of one commentator 'an impenetrable monolith." This will be done by being more engaged with the community and stakeholders at all levels.

There will be new trains, new buses and new streetcars.

smartcard, a smart new uniform and smart new people. We will open a line to York Region and re-invest in a new line in Scarborough, converting the SRT to LRT.

All this must be achieved while delivering service to an everexpanding customer base. Project co-ordination will be a challenge that must be got right. Our budgeting and estimating has to get

exponentially better if we are to change our reputation. Throw into the mix the Pan Am Games in 2015 and the Metrolinx led new LRT line construction and the scale of our challenge becomes apparent. Its not all about new equipment and flashy new lines though. Our processes and systems are archaic and our procedures impede progress. A major part of our plan will address people performance and cultural transformation. Decades old practices need to be swept away in a productive new partnership with our unions. Our cost base must undergo radical scrutiny and this work has already started with the controversial contracting out of non-core activities. Managers

have been put on notice that our leadership style must change, everyone needs to up their game. I want to work for a TTC that overtly recognizes good performers while relentlessly managing the errant few. I want to push accountability down to the front line and I want customers to feel valued at every stage of their journey.

To deliver this sea change, I need political support and freedom to do what needs to be done. In Karen Stintz, I have a boss that gives me

both. But that support needs to come from across Council and the TTC needs to work on regaining the trust of our elected officials.

I also need time and sustained funding if this bold plan is to succeed.

Funding is a real issue. While I believe that more efficiencies can be found, the TTC simply cannot continue to accommodate millions more rides without an affordable increase in subsidy. On the capital front, the subway isnt getting any younger. Substantial funds will be required over the next decade to upgrade track and other infrastructure and there will be disruption while we undertake the work. Additional capacity must be built across the city and crucial projects such as the Downtown Relief Line must become a reality if we are to keep Toronto moving.

These are exciting times at the Better Way. Staff tell me that there is a buzz about the place and that they welcome the new approach. As we approach our 100th anniversary in 2021, we have never been more essential to the economic success of our city. The winds of change are blowing through the TTC and we now have a plan around which to drive our complete transformation.

When I look back to the summer of 2011, when I was weighing up whether to come to Toronto, I knew this would be a big job. In reality, it is the biggest, most exciting challenge of my professional career. If we can deliver this plan, which we must, we will have transformed the TTC and its reputation within five years.

I am convinced that, with adequate funding, courageous political support and a rejuvenated, well-led and focused workforce, we can do it. I am quite certain that we can get the TTC back to its position at the pinnacle of North American transit. And I am quite determined to deliver that vision of A transit system that makes Toronto proud.

Thank you.