Office of the Chief Executive

This was a week of big wins for the TTC.

First, I would like to congratulate the members of the TTC’s cricket team, the Red Rockets, who were crowned 2023 Mayor’s Trophy cricket champions. Our team beat the Toronto Police in the final match of the annual contest at Sunnybrook Park last Saturday.

The TTC has a proud tradition at the tournament. As in past years, the day was filled with exciting competition with our peers in the transit industry and other organizations in the GTA. Great win and job well done to our Red Rockets: Chetan Chadah, Ken Calliste, Shaiful Islam, Amjad Khan, Ravi Silva, Ujagar Singh Sohi, Miral Jhala, Nikhil Toleti, Jitendra Kumar, Robert Francis, Robinhensman Robinet, Kevin Patel, Vice-Captain Abdul Chaudrey, Captain Roy Lallkissoon and Manager Mohsin Patel.

TTC team wins innovation challenge
I am very proud to announce that the TTC’s team participating in the Introducing Youth to American Infrastructure (IYAI+) Innovation Challenge took top honours at the North American competition on Wednesday.

Congratulations to Aamina Bulbulia, Gaveen Weerasinghe, Zachary Bedard and Raina Marcynuk. In keeping with the Sustainable Mobility theme of this year’s Challenge, their presentation on how to improve customer flow earned them first place. The multi-pronged plan includes the use of smart fare gates, enhanced digital wayfinding, auditory navigation and digital transfer co-ordination.

We were an inaugural participant at the Innovation Challenge. This competition among transit agencies across the continent is designed to encourage young people aged 18 to 25 to pursue careers in transit. This was a wonderful opportunity to engage our young minds to help drive innovation.

Last May, two teams of TTC youth innovators presented their ideas to expert panellists from our senior leadership. Both teams showed incredible thoughtfulness and professionalism in their presentations. My thanks also to Matias Piccione for presenting his team's pitch for an innovative customer assistance device for Wheel-Trans.

Finally, thanks to everyone who joined the TTC at the Pride Parade last weekend. We had a fantastic time marching alongside our Pride-themed bus. TTC staff always do a terrific job to make our participation a huge success. With each event we plan or participate in, we take another step to becoming a diverse, inclusive and equitable organization.

Richard J. Leary
Chief Executive Officer
June 30, 2023