TTC CEO Rick Leary announced his resignation at a news conference in downtown Toronto Thursday.
Leary told reporters he will officially step down on Aug. 30.
Leary said he was stepping down “on his own terms.”
“This year I turned 61, and I believe there are some new opportunities and challenges that await me before I fully retire,” he said.
Leary became CEO in 2018 after Andy Byford left to become president of New York City Transit Authority.
Before joining the TTC in 2014, Leary was the general manager for York Region Transit.
At Thursday’s conference, TTC chair Jamaal Myers thanked Leary for his work as CEO. Myers said the change will cause no disruptions to service or ongoing projects.
Myers was asked about an internal investigation into allegations of workplace misconduct against Leary, first reported by the Toronto Star last fall. He said he was unable to comment on board-initiated investigations.
“We’re here to celebrate Rick,” he said. “He’s leaving on a good note.”
The announcement comes shortly after the TTC reached a deal with its largest union partner, which represents about 12,000 transit workers. Myers said Leary’s leadership helped the city avoid a transit strike.
But Leary oversaw tough times for the TTC through much of his tenure, including low ridership numbers during the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to service cuts and higher fares, and multiple incidents of public violence on transit that prompted more police presence on the TTC.
His time as CEO also had its share of high profile incidents, including the Scarborough RT derailment, which led to the permanent closure of Line 3, and a near-miss subway collision at Osgoode Station in 2019.
More recently, a fluid spill on subway tracks in May disrupted service on Line 2 for nearly a full day, and two separate streetcar derailments this month caused major transit delays downtown.
As Leary prepares to leave, the TTC is also trying to secure funding to replace aging subway trains on Line 2.
In a social media post Thursday, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow thanked Leary for leading the TTC “through some of the most challenging times.”
“As we move forward,” she said, “I remain committed to continuing the work of building a more reliable, convenient and affordable public transit system.”