10 days ago New York Daily News writer Nicholas Hirshon wrote a story about the reroute of the Q54. So what is so special about a reroute to a bus route that compelled him to write a story? Well it is because this was not just a normal reroute but one that benefits MTA Chairman Dale Hemmerdinger. The reroute has the Q54 passing by the Shops At Atlas Park. The upscale mall is owned by ATCO Properties, a company that the MTA Chairman is a co-owner & president of. Here is Nicholas Hirshon’s article courtesy of the New York Daily News:

The MTA gauged the success of a bus reroute past its new chairman’s family-run shopping mall in Queens just a week after he was appointed, according to an internal memo.

Angry critics charged the memo shows Dale Hemmerdinger was laying the groundwork for additional bus reroutes that would benefit the Shops at Atlas Park in Glendale despite stiff community opposition.

But the Metropolitan Transportation Authority insisted yesterday that Hemmerdinger has played no part and will play no part in the reroutings.

Hemmerdinger - the president and co-owner of ATCO Properties, which owns the upscale mall - was confirmed as MTA chief Oct. 22.

A week later, MTA employees interviewed passengers waiting for the Q54 bus - rerouted in July to stop at Atlas Park - to “assess travel patterns” along the drive, according to a memo obtained by the Daily News.

Residents charge Hemmerdinger, just days into his tenure, initiated the Q54 study to collect ammo to fight for reroutes on other buses, including the Q45.

“There’s a conflict of interest there,” said Rodney Otero, 39, who lives 1-1/2 blocks from the mall. “I’m worried about the family connection. Everything goes back to that mall.”

“It’s the appearance of impropriety, if nothing else,” said local community board member Tom Rossi, 47. “It just seems very, very odd. Aside from the impropriety, the bus is not necessary.”

But MTA officials said Hemmerdinger didn’t initiate or approve the bus plans.

“He has taken no part in the study and recused himself from any MTA project that intersects with his private business interests when he accepted the chairmanship,” MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan said in an e-mail.

Hemmerdinger’s son, Damon, who is the mall’s development director, wouldn’t discuss his father’s involvement. But he said the MTA “always does customer satisfaction surveys after routes [like the Q54] are changed.”

Damon Hemmerdinger also stressed the Q45 proposal not only would benefit Atlas Park but also would connect locals to the Roosevelt Ave. subway stop.

Still, residents believe Dale Hemmerdinger’s power impacted the decision.

“His influence on the MTA started long before his appointment,” said Kathy Masi, 55, president of the Glendale Civic Association. “He’s one of the major fund-raisers for [Gov.] Spitzer’s campaign, and his appointment was a ‘thank-you.’”

Honestly I can see why some feel this is an obvious sign of a conflict of interest. However can someone really argue an improved route that can benefit riders? I personally have never been to the Shops At Atlas Park but I have heard the mall is really nice. Why should the mall only cater to those who have vehicles? If the bus route can help shoppers get there via public transportation, what is the big deal?

I think the main issue many seem to have is the fact Dale’s company owns the mall & he is the MTA Chairman. The other issue is some still feel that he got the job as a thank you for supporting Gov. Spitzer’s campaign financially. Maybe there is some truth to the reroute being a back room deal but since it helps out riders, I won’t obsess over it. Neither should others if you ask me.

xoxo Transit Blogger

10 days ago the City Council held a hearing to look into the MTA’s “Rider Report Cards” initiative which received only a 7% response to the 700,000 cards that were distributed. Here is a brief article about the hearing courtesy of The New York Sun:

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s “rider report cards” are the subject of a City Council oversight hearing tomorrow, after the agency’s pet project failed to produce any constructive criticism. Of the 700,000 cards distributed, less than 7% had been returned as of last month. The complaints were nothing new to riders used to crowded commutes and long delays. The chairman of the Transportation Committee, John Liu, who is holding the hearings, called the report cards a “wasteful gimmick.”

New York City Transit released the results from 22 subway lines: 18 received grades of C and C-; four received D+. The MTA could not be reached for comment.

For starters I can understand why Mr. Liu feels these cards were nothing but a gimmick. It is hard to take them seriously when you have lines getting highly inaccurate grades & having such a low overall response to them. Unlike some who feel Mr. Liu does not do a good job or is grandstanding, I feel he is right to look into the so called initiative.

I also have to wonder when did the MTA hand out 700,000 report cards. I assume this # is strictly based on handouts as you don’t hand something out to those who could have voted on the website at any given time. So assuming internet voters like myself were not included in that figure, where were these 700,000 report cards handed out at? I never saw anything being handed out at any station I entered & exited. I checked out my home station on numerous occasions just to see if something was being handed out & nothing. Either way I am quite curious about the figure although I don’t expect to ever get an answer.

xoxo Transit Blogger

This past November, Caroline McCarthy broke the news of a deal between CBS & the MTA on her blog on CNET called “The Social”. The deal between the two parties would bring free wi-fi service to a 36 block chunk of midtown. In case you missed the article, here it is courtesy of “The Social“:

A chunk of 36 city blocks in Manhattan will have free, ad-supported public Wi-Fi access by the end of November, thanks to a new initiative from CBS Corporation in conjunction with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and New York City Transit.

Called the CBS Mobile Zone, this area of coverage will stretch through a bustling, tourism- and business-heavy swath of midtown from 42nd Street north to Central Park south, from Sixth Avenue west to Eighth Avenue. (Landmarks-wise, that’s roughly Times Square to Columbus Circle.)

The new effort will be supported largely by advertising. Upon logging on, Web surfers will come to a home page with “hyperlocal content such as breaking local and national news, sports highlights, weather reports, music discovery, wallpapers, ringtones, maps, a social network, and the ability to search for nearby restaurants, shops and entertainment complete with geographically-targeted community reviews,” according to a release from CBS. Citi and Salesgenie.com have signed on as sponsors. Some businesses within the midtown zone will also be equipped with routers to take advantage of the Internet access.

At this point, however, it’s only a six-month test, or as CBS calls it, a “pilot program.” After all, the future of public Wi-Fi programs remains hazy as municipal plans continue to stall across the country.

In regards to this program, Marlene Naanes of AMNY reported that the MTA may be able to alert customers to important information via the video screens which reside on the top of 80 subway entrances in the area. Here is Marlene’s article courtesy of AMNY:

Video screens perched atop 80 subway entrances could keep commuters out of harm’s way soon if wireless technology is able to transform them into more than advertising displays.

“If there’s a train collision or a flood, a message would be right there on the sign,” said Chantel Ramon, as she stood in front of a video screen near the Port Authority bus station. “It would make me feel safer, and I wouldn’t have to walk all the way downstairs and see a gate down.”

By the end of the month, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is scheduled to begin testing Wi-Fi technology that will communicate with the screens, which now mostly tout television shows.

The technology — installed by the MTA’s advertising contract holder CBS Outdoor — would allow the agency to override the video ads and transmit messages to straphangers during emergencies.

“So if there is an issue with the trains downstairs, we can tell our customers not to go down there,” said Roco Krsulic, the MTA’s director of real estate.

If the technology is rolled out it would allow more advertisements to be loaded in the loops. Clients, who now buy one-month spots on the screens, could wirelessly update the ads more frequently for a premium price, translating into more ad dollars for the MTA.

The MTA does not know how long it will test the technology, and it is unclear when it would be ready to broadcast emergency messages or offer more advertising options. The cost of the communication system is covered in a contract the MTA has with CBS.

Transforming the video billboards into a useful commuter alert system was one of several communication-enhancing recommendations included in a report about how the MTA handled a transit-crippling storm last August. Commuters were stranded with little or no information after flooding shut down almost the entire system.

“It would be beneficial, just only if you put it in the right place,” said Tony Perry, 29, who said a video screen in the subway would be more effective. “It’s not something that really catches your attention to read it” above ground.

This can only be seen as a win win situation for the MTA & its riders. I know I along with many others would find it very useful if we could find out important information such as cancellations, delays, etc…. before heading into the subway. This could save us valuable time & a head start on finding alternative means of getting to our destination. The arguably best part to this potential service is it would have cost the MTA nothing since CBS is paying to use MTA owned property.

In the end such a system is long overdue as we as straphangers are sick & tired of the station announcements which are usually impossible to hear & provide little to no useful information. Plus do we really want information from sources who are usually the last to know about what is going on? I seriously hope such information will become available along with the wait times for the next train in each direction. If we can get all of these things, I like many will be very happy & impressed!

xoxo Transit Blogger

Continuing with the theme of news that happened 9 days ago, the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) issued a press release highlighting the use of celebrity voices. The agency turned to a few celebrity voices to help spread the messages of “Mind Their Cell-Phone Manners” & “Watch The Gap” to riders. Here is the full press release courtesy of the MTA:

The familiar voice talking about watching the gap and cell phone manners on your LIRR station loudspeaker may seem out of place. That’s one of the reasons it’s being used, to get your attention. Some well-known media celebrities are now helping to carry important MTA Long Island Rail Road customer-related messages. They are part of the LIRR’s continuing efforts reminding customers to watch the gap and to exercise cell phone courtesy while on-board trains.

The announcements from CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo, NBC’s Al Roker and 1010 WINS’ Juliet Papa are being broadcast over the public address systems at Penn Station and line stations. Stations that have video broadcasts of the audio will also carry the celebrity messages. The gap safety message from Maria Bartiromo first aired in December, gap safety and courtesy messages from Juliet Papa started this week and Al Roker to be aired in the near future. The media personalities graciously donated their time as a public service and provided the announcements at no cost to the LIRR.

LIRR President Helena Williams said the idea for using celebrity voices originated with an MTA board member from Long Island. “Mitch Pally told me he noticed that some railroad customers were not really paying attention to our regular safety-related public address announcements. He suggested that we try something different to get their attention. Hopefully, these celebrity messages along with our “Be Train Smart Tune In To Safety” and “Courtesy Matters” campaigns will help to drive home to our customers the importance of their paying attention to the gap and not being “cell-fish.”

There are six celebrity messages currently being aired or will be aired soon. They are:

“Hi… this is urging you to hold your child’s hand while stepping over the gap.”
“Hi… this is reminding you to watch the gap while entering and exiting you train.”
“Hi… this is asking you to be considerate and allow others to exit the train before you board.”
“Hi… this is asking you to “Watch The Gap”tion is expected in 2011. The eastbound booths have not been used since 1986 when one-way toll collection began.

“Removing these unused eastbound booths and re-engineering the roadway for normal speed is a major feature of a modernization package that will ultimately produce a more efficient and safer travel corridor,” said MTA Executive Director Chief Executive Officer Lee Sander. ” These improvements are designed to address toll plaza area changes that inc

I apologize in advance but it seems the press release was cut off on their website. Anyhow I applaud the celebrities involved for providing their services free of charge. In this day & age it is hard to find celebrities who would do such a thing.

xoxo Transit Blogger

10 nights ago, 4 criminals hanging around the Island Park station thought they found the perfect mark to rob. However by time the incident was over, 4 criminals disappeared into the middle of the night failing to take one item. The incident started when a man got off a Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) train a few minutes before 10:30 pm.

The man started was walking on the south side of the Island Park station by Austin Boulevard and Long Beach Road when 4 men approached him & proceeded to punch & kick him as they were trying to take the victim’s bag. The victim continued to resist as he got blow after blow. Eventually the 4 criminals ran off into the night, 3 by foot & 1 by scooter while failing to get anything from the victim.

The unidentified victim was taken to Long Beach Hospital where he was treated for ear & eye injuries. Unfortunately Newsday provided no information on the 4 suspects for whatever reason. Hopefully the cops will catch up with these lowlifes soon & put them behind bars.

xoxo Transit Blogger

Continuing with the topic of the train weekend disruptions, the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) issued a press release detailing the Port Washington Branch Shuttle schedule. The shuttle will serve subway customers affected by the suspension of service on the . Here is the press release courtesy of the MTA:

 REGULAR PORT WASHINGTON WEEKEND SERVICE UNAFFECTED

The MTA Long Island Rail Road will be providing shuttle service between Penn Station and Flushing-Main Street Station on the Port Washington Branch for up to five consecutive weekends starting January 12-13 for MTA New York City Transit subway customers affected by the suspension of service on the 7 line between Main Street-Flushing Station and Woodside-61st Street Station. Regular Port Washington Branch weekend service will be in effect.

LIRR shuttles will operate approximately every fifteen minutes in both directions beginning at 5 AM on Saturday through 1 AM on Sunday, and again at 5 AM on Sunday through 1 AM on Monday on the affected weekends. Shuttle stops will include Penn Station, Woodside and Flushing-Main Street Stations. LIRR and NYC Transit personnel will be on hand at all affected stations to assist transferring customers. There is no additional charge for the shuttle service.

“The Long Island Rail Road is poised and ready to provide alternative shuttle train service to accommodate 7 Line riders during the upcoming weekends as NYC Transit performs work to modernize its signal system,” said LIRR President Helena Williams. “While this alternate service is being provided, we ask our customers to be patient as our trains will be more crowded than normal.”

Affected customers can consult the LIRR or NYC Transit websites at www.mta.info. Customers can also contact the 24-hour Travel Information Center in New York City at 718-217-LIRR, in Nassau County at 516-822-LIRR or in Suffolk County at 631-231-LIRR. The Travel Information Center’s TDD number for the hearing impaired is 718-558-3022.

xoxo Transit Blogger

As you have most likely heard by now, weekend service on the 7 line will be in complete shambles due to a major capital project involving the installation of new signaling and track switches. I am posting the press release to continue with the flow of updating the blog with the most recent news. Here is the press release courtesy of the MTA:

Long Island Rail Road to Provide Alternate Service at No Cost

Due to a major capital project involving the installation of new signaling and track switches along the Flushing Line, 7 train service will be suspended between Flushing-Main Street and Woodside-61st Street Station for up to five weekends beginning January 12-14 (12:01 a.m. Saturday to 5 a.m. Monday) and, beginning on Friday morning, January 11th until February 29th, weekday express service will be suspended (all 7 trains will run local).

A free-fare alternate service will be provided by MTA Long Island Rail Road trains (Flushing-Main St., Port Washington branch) and NYC Transit shuttle buses during this disruption. Passengers traveling between Flushing-Main Street and Manhattan are urged to use the Long Island Rail Road, which will run approximately every 15 minutes between approximately 6:00 a.m. and 1:00 a.m. For passengers traveling to Manhattan from stations between Flushing-Main Street and 61st Street - Woodside, Shuttle Bus service making all stops to 74th Street - Broadway will be available. Once there, customers can transfer to E F R trains into Manhattan. At 74th Street -Broadway, there will be additional E and F trains available between 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday during these weekends.

The work being done is the second phase of a $76 million capital program to improve and upgrade the subway infrastructure along the Flushing Line. The line’s signal system is being modernized between Queensboro Plaza and 82nd Street-Jackson Heights as part of this project that also includes the reconfiguration of track switches in the vicinity of 74th Street-Broadway. The modernization of signals will allow faster and more efficient service while maintaining safe standards of operation.

When completed, the new signal system and switches will allow trains to cross between tracks and serve 74th Street-Broadway in the event that track work is being performed in the vicinity. Currently, trains cannot make this track change.

“We understand that 7 Line riders will face major disruptions of service while this vital work is being performed,” said NYC Transit President Howard H. Roberts, Jr. “However, this work is necessary in order to bring state-of-the-art improvements to the operation of the 7 Line and will increase the availability of a major transfer point.”

“The Long Island Rail Road is poised and ready to provide alternative LIRR shuttle train service to accommodate 7 Line riders during the upcoming weekends as NYC Transit performs work to modernize its signal system,” said LIRR President Helena Williams. “While this alternate service is being provided, we ask our customers to be patient as our trains will be more crowded than normal.”

Long Island Rail Road staff will also be on hand to assist riders transferring between the subway and LIRR. NYC Transit personnel will be on hand at the Flushing-Main Street, 74th Street-Broadway and Woodside-61st Street 7 stations to help guide customers and to explain travel options:

- Customers who board at Main Street-Flushing and normally transfer at 74th Street to reach Manhattan should use the LIRR and transfer to the E at Penn Station.

- Customers who board at 61st Street-Woodside and are heading to Flushing-Main Street should use the LIRR, not the Shuttle bus, except during night hours.

- Customers boarding the LIRR at Penn Station should:
Go to the lower level, find an LIRR monitor (displaying Port Washington or Flushing-Main Street) and go to the track for the next Pt. Wash. or F.M.S. train

- Local Shuttle Bus service runs at all times between Main Street - Flushing and Woodside-61st Street

- Flushing-bound Express Shuttle Bus service runs non-stop from 74th Street-Broadway to Main Street-Flushing between 6 a.m. and 1 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday

- Overnight Express Shuttle Bus service runs non-stop between Main Street - Flushing and 61st Street - Woodside from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. Saturday and Sunday

SubTalk posters detailing the service changes will be posted at affected stations and onboard 7 trains. Brochures are available in English, Chinese, Korean and Spanish.

For more information on this and other weekend construction work, riders can log on to www.mta.info and click on Service Advisories for information on the 7 line and for the entire Weekend Summary. While on line, customers may also listen to a TransitTrax podcast on the project at http://www.mta.info/nyct/transittrax.htm.

xoxo Transit Blogger

I applaud LIRR Commuters Campaign President Peter Haynes who I feel accurately called out The Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) in a letter he recently sent to Newsday:

LIRR’s inflated sense of service

When a self-grading organization like the LIRR continually gives itself an “A” at the same time most commuters give it less than a “C,” something is wrong - very wrong.

All commuters know that the LIRR keeps its own, unaudited, unverified on-time performance numbers, and these numbers do not in any way reflect the actual service provided to customers.

Virtually all commuters have vastly different “on time” experiences most days of the week - like Jan. 7, for example, with multihour delays on nearly every branch.

Diesel service is an admitted disaster, the M7s have many problems, there are major delays every week - yet the LIRR chooses to brag about a fake number? What the LIRR is really saying is, “Abandon hope all ye who purchase LIRR monthly tickets.”

Peter Haynes

I feel Mr. Haynes is accurate in calling out the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) for statistics that do not mesh with the reality riders face daily. As I noted here, the record comes as a surprise to me considering all the complaints I hear or read about almost daily involving the LIRR. I would love to see the actual numbers if the results were accurately kept in the manner I mentioned in the aforementioned entry.

xoxo Transit Blogger

9 days ago Marlene Naanes of AMNY wrote an article about the MTA & other transit advocates having a wish list as the deadline approaches for the submission of the 5 year capital plan to the state. Here is the article courtesy of AMNY:

As New York barrels into 2008, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and transit advocates are pressing for rail improvements they hope will make commuters’ lives easier for years to come.

Their post-holiday wish lists include:

Adding a 10-mile-long third track to the Long Island Rail Road’s Main Line between Queens Village and Hicksville to hasten the ride.

Replacing the old subway signal system with computer-based communication technology, which has been installed on the L line. This will improve speed, say advocates.

Running trains into the future Moynihan Station, Penn Station’s replacement, to allow Metro-North riders to commute to the West Side without changing trains.

Extending the No. 7 train line west to a station at 10th Avenue and 41st Street.

Speeding up train station face-lifts.

Replacing aging buses.

Continuing funding of mega projects such as the Second Avenue subway line and the Fulton Street Transit Center.

“We’d love to have enough to do another phase of the Second Avenue subway,” said MTA board member Andrew Albert. “We’d love for Fulton Street Transit Center to be more than a shrunken head.”

With their eyes on a March 31 deadline to submit a five-year capital plan to the state, the MTA and the advocates are pressing local, state and federal officials for the money to fund these projects.

“We wanted to begin speaking early in the process about the order of magnitude of the investment in transportation that will be needed in the five years if New York’s economy is to remain competitive with those of other world cities like London, Shanghai and a host of others” said MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan.

MTA officials are looking to surpass the current plan, which totals about $21 billion, by about $5 to $10 billion to keep the system in the best possible shape to accommodate the area’s booming population. State officials said it is too soon to say how much funding it might approve sometime this year.

While you are at it, I suggest checking out the comments left for the article which can be found by clicking here. After reading the first comment from Castile, NY resident James, I felt the need to respond. I can’t stand the typical idiotic ranting from upstate residents who continue to look down on New York City (NYC) considering we are the hand that feeds it.

xoxo Transit Blogger

 
LIRR train entering Woodside;  Resized photo courtesy of Eye On Transit

In my previous entry, I discussed the ridership record set by the Metro-North in 2007. Not to be left out in the cold, the MTA announced that the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) set one as well. Unlike their commuter counterpart, the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) set its record in the on time performance category. Here is a brief article about the record courtesy of Newsday:

Despite nearly daily reports of delayed and cancelled trains, Long Island Rail Road officials said Monday that 2007 was a modern-day record-setting year for on-time performance on the commuter railroad.

Officials said 94.07 percent of all LIRR trains arrived on-time in 2007. The previous best on-time performance was 94.04 percent in 2002.

The mark was an increase of about 3/4 of one percent over the performance in 2006.

Records have been kept since 1979.

New railroad president Helena Williams, in a prepared release, called the results a “hard-won accomplishment.”

In that statement, Williams said: “We know that our customers want service reliability. They expect to arrive at their destination safely and on time.”

It should be noted that LIRR officials consider a train to be “on-time” if it is no more than five minutes and 59 seconds late.

The announcement came on the same morning when so-called “equipment problems” caused a more than 90-minute delay for passengers on the 6:48 a.m. train from Huntington to Hunterspoint Avenue when it broke down near Queens Village. That caused the cancellation of another train — and more than 60-minute delays to at least four trains on the railroad’s Main Line west of Jamaica.

Officials could not detail what the “equipment problems” were that caused the massive delays on Monday.

Now here is the press release issued by the MTA in regards to the record set by the Long Island Railroad (LIRR):

The MTA Long Island Rail Road capped off 2007 with an On-Time Performance (OTP) of 94.07% - an almost 1 percentage point improvement over 2006. The prior year’s OTP was 93.30%.

At 94.07%, 2007’s OTP is the best since modern record keeping started in 1979.

The previous best OTP of 94.04% was achieved in 2002. The LIRR reached the 94.07% milestone in 2007 while operating almost 5% more trains (244,565) annually than in 2002 (233,301).

“This hard-won accomplishment is the result of a focused, team effort by all LIRR employees,” said LIRR President Helena Williams. “We know that our customers want service reliability. They expect to arrive at their destination safely and on time. I want to commend LIRR employees for delivering on that goal.

“We’re moving in the right direction, and we are committed to achieving even better performance in the future,” Williams added, “which is why we are moving ahead with plans for a Third Track. The LIRR needs a ‘Third Track’ to maintain on-time performance gains in the future and to be ready for the coming of East Side Access, when the LIRR will connect to Grand Central Terminal and our customers will be able to reach the East Side of Manhattan in a one-seat ride.”

The LIRR achieved two other significant milestones in 2007. Annual AM Peak on time performance reached 94.28% (previous record, 93.79%) and annual Off Peak on time performance reached 94.64% (previous, 94.41%). The Railroad implemented its current methodology of determining on-time performance in 1979. That year, the LIRR posted an OTP of 83.42%, and commenced an upwards climb through the decades - reaching 91.62% by 1987, rising to 93.68% in 1992, and hitting 94.04% in 2002, the previous record.

I have to admit this record comes as a surprise to me. I say this because the Newsday was right on the money when it mentioned that you got used to seeing daily reports about trains being delayed or cancelled. While I don’t ride the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) as much as I used to, I know many who do. I would usually hear from them almost daily about some sort of delay or cancellation. They would either be screwed by the delay or cancellation or asked if I had heard about it so I could blog about it for my readers. Either way when the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) was discussed, it was not usually in the best light.

I assume the agency used a funny way of determining on time arrivals & departures which includes a buffer a few minutes behind what is posted for customers. Quite frankly I don’t see how one can sit there & say something is on time when the data provided to customers shows otherwise. If they or any agency wants to really be 100% factual about their on time record, they should base their results exclusively to the time posted on their public schedules. Anything outside of that is & will never be 100% factual.

xoxo Transit Blogger