View source for Commissioner of Transport for London

{{Short description|Chief executive of London's transport body}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2018}}
{{Refimprove|date=September 2015}}
{{Politics of London}}
The '''commissioner of transport for London''' has management responsibility for [[Transport for London]] (TfL) and hence for the transport system throughout the [[City of London]] and [[Greater London]] in the [[United Kingdom]]. TfL is controlled by a board whose members are appointed by the [[Mayor of London]], who also chairs the Board. The commissioner reports to the board and leads a management team with individual functional responsibilities. The commissioner is therefore the [[List of heads of public transport authorities in London|most senior transport official in the capital]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Briton who ran New York subway returns to lead TfL amid cash crisis|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/andy-byford-new-london-transport-commissioner-tfl-mike-brown-new-york-subway-a4451916.html|date=2020-05-27|website=Evening Standard|language=en|access-date=2020-05-27}}</ref>

== History ==
In 2000, Transport for London (TfL) was created as part of the [[Greater London Authority]], gaining many of its functions from its predecessor, [[London Regional Transport]]. The commissioner post was initially held from 2001, by [[Robert Kiley|Bob Kiley]]. His CV included the [[CIA]], [[CEO]] of the [[Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority]], [[Deputy Mayor|deputy mayor]] of [[Boston]], [[Chairman]] and CEO of the [[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]] and [[President (corporate title)|President]] and CEO of the [[New York City Partnership]]. He was credited as being the [[architect]] of the revival of Boston and [[New York City|New York]]'s ailing public transport systems in the 1970s and 1980s respectively.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Travers|first=Tony|last2=Hendy|first2=Peter|date=2016-08-10|title=Bob Kiley obituary|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/aug/10/bob-kiley-obituary|access-date=2020-05-27|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

Kiley announced his resignation in late 2005, and was replaced in February 2006 by [[Peter Hendy]], previously TfL's Director of Surface Transport. In July 2015, Hendy left to become chairman of [[Network Rail]] and was replaced on an interim basis by Mike Brown (the Managing Director of [[London Underground]] and [[London Rail]]).<ref name=":2" /> 

[[Mike Brown (transport executive)|Mike Brown]] was appointed as the new commissioner in September 2015.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title = Mike Brown appointed new commissioner of Transport for London|url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-34347821|website = BBC News|accessdate = 2015-09-24}}</ref> Following the November [[2016 Croydon tram derailment]], Brown was one of two top TfL officials to decline a performance bonus.<ref name="bonus refused">{{cite web |author=Smith, Rebecca |title=Two Transport for London bosses have rejected their bonuses after last year's Croydon tram crash |url=http://www.cityam.com/267470/two-transport-london-bosses-have-rejected-their-bonuses |accessdate=22 September 2017 |work=City A.M.}}</ref> In October 2019, TfL announced that Brown would be leaving his role as commissioner in May 2020 to chair the Delivery Authority for the restoration of the [[Houses of Parliament]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Mike Brown MVO set to leave TfL|url=https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2019/october/mike-brown-mvo-set-to-leave-tfl|date=17 October 2019|publisher=[[Transport for London]]|access-date=1 December 2019}}</ref> 

In May 2020, [[Andy Byford]], former president of the [[New York City Transit Authority]] (NYCTA) and former CEO of the [[Toronto Transit Commission]] was announced as the new commissioner by the TfL Board.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Andy Byford appointed London's new Transport Commissioner|url=https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2020/may/andy-byford-appointed-london-s-new-transport-commissioner|last=|first=|date=27 May 2020|website=Transport for London|language=en-GB|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612104136/https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2020/may/andy-byford-appointed-london-s-new-transport-commissioner |archive-date=12 June 2020 |access-date=2020-05-27}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> Following the opening of the [[Elizabeth line]], Byford resigned as commissioner in September 2022, citing a desire to return to the U.S. and spend more time with his family.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Victor |first=Daniel |date=2022-09-22 |title=Andy Byford, Ex-M.T.A. Leader, Steps Down as London Transport Commissioner |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/22/world/europe/andy-byford-mta-london-transport.html |access-date=2022-09-22 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Byford left the position in October 2022, replaced on an interim basis by Andy Lord (the Chief Operating Officer of London Underground).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-10-25 |title=Outgoing TfL commissioner Andy Byford 'immensely proud' |url=https://news.railbusinessdaily.com/outgoing-tfl-commissioner-andy-byford-immensely-proud/ |access-date=2022-10-26 |website=RailBusinessDaily |language=en-US |quote=He leaves the position today, on 25 October, being replaced on an interim basis by Transport for London chief operating officer Andy Lord.}}</ref>

In June 2023, [[Andy Lord]] was appointed commissioner on a permanent basis by the TfL board.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=7 June 2023 |title=Andy Lord confirmed as London’s Transport Commissioner |url=https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2023/june/andy-lord-confirmed-as-london-s-transport-commissioner |access-date=2023-06-07 |website=Transport for London |language=en-GB}}</ref>

==List of commissioners of transport==
#[[Bob Kiley]] (2000&ndash;2006)
#[[Peter Hendy|Sir Peter Hendy]] (2006&ndash;2015)
#[[Mike Brown (transport executive)|Mike Brown]] (2015&ndash;2020)
#[[Andy Byford]] (2020&ndash;2022)
#[[Andy Lord]] (2023&ndash;present)

==See also==
*[[List of heads of public transport authorities in London]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Commissioner Of Transport For London}}
[[Category:Local government in London]]
[[Category:Transport for London]]


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