The longtime public voice of the TTC is stepping aside to take on a newly-created role with the city.

Brad Ross announced on Wednesday morning that he will step down as the TTC’s executive director of corporate communications in order to become the new chief communications officer for the City of Toronto.

His last day on the job at the TTC will be Dec. 14 and his first day on the job at the city will be Jan. 7.

“When you see me on the news it is usually because something happened that shouldn’t have happened,” Ross conceded during a one-on-one interview with CP24 on Wednesday afternoon. “It has been 10 years of really trying to move the ball down the filed in terms of how we communicate with our customers, with the public, letting people know how we do things, why we do things so when something does happen there is understanding about why that has happened and what we are doing about it.”

Ross first joined the TTC back in 2008 after spending eight years as the manager of media relations and issues management at the city.

While at the TTC Ross became a familiar voice and was often thrust into the spotlight at trying times as he was called on to offer up explanations for subway delays, overcrowding issues and a myriad of other controversies that popped up from time to time.

He also gained a loyal following on Twitter, where he shared updates on issues affecting commuters with his 30,000 followers and even offered the occasional joke. When someone placed their live crabs on a subway seat this past spring, Ross quipped that it was “shellfish behaviour.”

In a series of messages posted to Twitter on Wednesday, Ross said that he is “proud” to have played a part in what he called the “daily miracle” of getting Torontonians to where they need to go.

He said that the city is lucky to have “incredibly smart and good people leading the TTC,” something that he said will continue to be the case.

“From operators to stations staff to planners to special constables to HR professionals to mechanics and especially to my colleagues in comms, a very big thank you,” he said.

According to a news release from the city, Ross will be “responsible for communicating the overall strategic direction for the City of Toronto, as well as making sure the public clearly understands council's priorities and how to access city programs and services.”

Speaking with CP24, Ross said he plans to take a similar approach to his new role as he employed at the TTC.

He also said that the role really isn’t a radical departure for him.

“The TTC is still part of the city. I am about a 17 minute subway trip to Queen Street,” he said.

The city says that Ross was selected for the new role following a “comprehensive search.”