The new president of New York City transit has big plans to improve service once he starts the job next Tuesday.

Andy Byford comes to the city from Toronto, where he ran the third-largest transit system in North America.

In a video message on YouTube, Byford says the subway is one of his top priorities.

"I'm well aware of the controversy that surrounds subway performance in recent months. I'm pleased to see that the actual underlying performance is improving as the Subway Action Plan begins to kick in. So that's something that I'll be focused very heavily on," Byford said.

As CEO of the Toronto Transit Commission, Byford is credited with cutting delays on that city's subway and rolling out a modern signal system - two major challenges he will face here in New York.

He has also worked for the London and Sydney transit systems.