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MTA Announces $29M In Service Enhancements

Posted by
on July 26th, 2012 at 3:32 pm

The biggest transit news over the past week was the MTA announcing $29M in service enhancements which feature adding & extending service on a combination of nearly 40 bus, subway & commuter rail lines. Here is more via the official press release:

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is adding and extending service on almost 40 bus, subway and commuter rail lines to better serve its customers. These service investments will connect customers across the MTA’s service area, enhance access to mass transit, accommodate ridership growth and attract new transit customers.

The service investments come at a time when MTA ridership is steadily increasing. Subway ridership has reached levels not seen since the 1950s, while commuter train ridership is approaching all-time records. Ridership growth is especially pronounced outside of the traditional rush hours, prompting increased investment in night, weekend and off-peak weekday service.

“As the New York metropolitan region grows, the MTA’s 8.5 million riders increasingly rely on transit not just for commuting, but for getting around at all times for all reasons,” said MTA Chairman and CEO Joseph J. Lhota. “The service investments we are announcing today will give our customers more connections to where they want to go, more options on nights and weekends, and more reason to stay out of their cars and take buses, subways and commuter trains instead.”

The service investments will be phased in over several months and will cost an additional $29 million per year to operate when fully implemented. They are paid for with increased revenue generated by additional ridership on the MTA system, as well as savings from the MTA’s continued rigorous efforts to contain costs. MTA planners analyzed ridership data in conjunction with residential and business growth patterns and accessibility to transit to determine which routes, days and times would benefit the most from enhanced bus, subway and commuter rail service.

“Not a day goes by that I don’t think about how to improve both the quality and quantity of service for our riders, and I’m pleased that these investments will make a difference in the lives of our customers,” Lhota said. “The MTA is the lifeblood of the New York region’s economy and a critical element in its environmental sustainability. With extended routes, less crowding and more frequent service, the MTA will help New York thrive.”

The service investments will be implemented across all elements of the MTA’s mass transit system, with the common goal of solidifying ridership gains and improving the customer experience. Some of the investments will restore service that was curtailed during the severe budget crisis of 2010, when the MTA was forced to cut $93 million worth of operations to keep its budget in balance. Others will enhance service to neighborhoods and regions that have seen demand for transit grow in recent years.

New York City Transit will add five new bus routes, restore one route, extend 13 existing bus routes and add midday, night or weekend service on 11 bus routes in all five boroughs. The temporary extension of the G subway line to Church Avenue during reconstruction of the Smith/9th Street station will be made permanent.

Metro-North Railroad will enhance service on the Hudson, Harlem and New Haven lines to reduce crowding and better serve growing off-peak and weekend ridership with increased half-hourly frequency. West of the Hudson, a new round-trip peak train will be added on the Pascack Line.

The Long Island Rail Road will provide increased service from Ronkonkoma every 30 minutes on weekdays after the morning rush and during some weekend periods. Extra trains will accommodate increased rider demand on the Long Beach, Port Jefferson and Montauk branches. Trains from Atlantic Terminal will also be extended until 2 a.m.

The service investments will be formally presented to the MTA Board during its regular monthly meeting next week. They will be included in the MTA’s 2013 Budget and Four-Year Financial Plan, which relies on additional efficiencies, three years of net-zero wage increases and a previously scheduled fare and toll increase next year to generate an additional $450 million in annualized revenue.

What I am going to do is create separate entries for each agency receiving enhancements along with comments on them.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Pathetic LIRR Conductor

Posted by
on July 25th, 2012 at 4:16 am

LIRR Ticket
Used Long Island Railroad ticket.

You are probably wondering why I have a picture of a used LIRR ticket above. I’ll explain…..

Those who personally know me or follow @TransitBlogger on Twitter, it is known how much disgust I have for the overpriced Long Island Rail Road. The service is nowhere near worth the astronomical prices they charge. A recent lack of professionalism has me even more irked.

During the wee hours of the morning recently, I made my way to Penn Station to catch the railroad home. I purchased my ticket & made my way to the last open car of the train. As soon as we started to pull out of the station, the conductor was already asking for tickets. I happened to be the only person in the car at this time.

Fast forward to Jamaica where he came around one last time but never bothered to take my ticket as is normal protocol. He proceeded to go to the next car which was not open for passenger use. I never saw him or any conductor for that matter even though 7-10 people boarded at various stations throughout the trip.

So let me get this straight, you are all over me the minute we start to move when I am not even comfortably setup yet others got to ride for free? I was absolutely furious as I got to see how happy a number of them looked at scoring their free ride.

I pay way too much money to ride this smelly & filthy railroad to see others get a free ride on the house. Should I be surprised though? This is the LIRR after all where asinine stupidity & incompetence is commonplace.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Service Diversions 07-23-12

Posted by
on July 23rd, 2012 at 7:22 am

I have just updated the Service Diversions by removing all of the work that wrapped up a short time ago. The latest work for the week is front & center.

As always if I see anything interesting or noteworthy, I will tweet about it so follow @TransitBlogger which you can easily do by clicking the button in the sidebar.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Service Diversions
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Service Diversions 07-20-12

Posted by
on July 20th, 2012 at 1:19 pm

I have just updated the Service Diversions for the upcoming weekend, next week & beyond in some cases.

As always, if I hear/see anything interesting or just have a comment/complaint (mainly about how crappy the LIRR is!), I will tweet about it so follow @TransitBlogger & tell all your friends to do the same. I’d highly suggest following as I am using it a lot more often now.

Have a safe & wonderful weekend!

P.S. I will be blogging about the recently announced service additions over the weekend sometime. It will be a way to get back into the daily swing of posting entries!

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Service Diversions
0

Service Diversions 07-16-12

Posted by
on July 16th, 2012 at 5:01 am

I have just updated the Service Diversions by removing all of the work that wrapped up a minute ago. The latest work for the week is front & center.

As always if I see anything interesting or noteworthy, I will tweet about it so follow @TransitBlogger which you can easily do by clicking the button in the sidebar.

xoxo Transit Blogger

You might enjoy reading these related entries:
Service Diversions