Staten Island Railway Christmas Eve Service
A few days ago the MTA e-mailed a press advisory announcing the Christmas Eve service for the Staten Island Railway. Here are the complete details (Sorry for being late):
MTA Staten Island Railway (SIR) officials today announced their “Get-A-Way” service plan for the upcoming Christmas Eve.
On Wednesday, December 24, SIR customers can take advantage of the early departure service to begin their four-day Christmas weekend. Express train service will begin at 2:31 p.m. out of St. George Terminal, and there will be one express train and one local train awaiting every boat until 7:50 p.m. This amounts to twice as much regular service, two hours ahead of schedule. Customers using the express trains will have a faster ride home, while local train riders should have a more comfortable ride on less crowded trains.
On Christmas Day, Thursday, December 25th, SIR trains will run on a weekend schedule, while on Friday, November 28th, trains will run on a regular weekday schedule.
“This early departure service plan is quite a hit among our customers; they are happy to get home a bit faster before a holiday,” said John Gaul, Chief Officer of SIR. The “Get-A-Way” service plan on SIR is also available on New Year’s Eve, Friday before Memorial Day weekend, the day before July 4th, the Friday before Labor Day, and the Wednesday before Thanksgiving Day.
xoxo Transit Blogger
- Staten Island Railway Thanksgiving Day Holiday Service
- LIRR To Provide Extra Trains For Christmas Holiday Weekend
- Metro-North Increases Train Service This Holiday Season
- Metro-North Increases Service For Independence Day
- Staten Island Railway To Expand Express Service
M Shows Slight Improvement Supposedly!
Middle Village/Metropolitan Ave. bound M train leaving the Myrtle-Wyckoff Aves. station. Resized photo courtesy of Eye On Transit.
So continuing with the updates, 2 new grades came out as part of the 2008 “Rider Report Cards“. The two lines in question are the 
& 
. In this entry, I will focus on the which showed a slight improvement in its overall grade from 2007. Last year the line graded out as a C- but this year finished with a C. Lets get straight to the breakdown starting with:
M Train Riders’ Top 10 Priorities; 2007 priority rank will be in ( ):
01. Reasonable wait times for trains (01)
02. Minimal delays during trips (02)
03. Cleanliness of stations (05)
04. Sense of security in stations (07)
05. Adequate room on board at rush hour (06)
06. Station announcements that are easy to hear (03)
07. Sense of security on trains (08)
08. Courtesy and helpfulness of station personnel (15)
09. Cleanliness of subway cars (09)
10. Comfortable temperature in subway cars (14)
—-
Now here is the entire order of M train riders’ priorities 2007 priority rank will be in ( ):
01. Reasonable wait times for trains (1)
02. Minimal delays during trips (2)
03. Cleanliness of stations (5)
04. Sense of security in stations (7)
05. Adequate room on board at rush hour (06)
06. Station announcements that are easy to hear (3)
07. Sense of security on trains (8)
08. Courtesy and helpfulness of station personnel (15)
09. Cleanliness of subway cars (9)
10. Comfortable temperature in subway cars (14)
11. Station announcements that are informative (10)
12. Working elevators and escalators in stations (11)
13. Train announcements that are easy to hear (4)
14. Lack of graffiti in stations (17)
15. Ease of use of subway turnstiles (20)
16. Train announcements that are informative (13)
17. Availability of MetroCard Vending Machines (18)
18. Signs in stations that help riders find their way (19)
19. Lack of scratchitti in subway car (12)
20. Signs in subway cars that help riders find their way (21)
21. Lack of graffiti in subway cars (16)
—-
Now here is the graded breakdown for all 21 categories; 2007 grade in ( ):
01. Minimal delays during trips C (C)
02. Reasonable wait times for trains C- (D+)
03. Adequate room on board at rush hour C (C)
04. Sense of security in stations C (C)
05. Sense of security on trains C (C)
06. Working elevators and escalators in stations C (C-)
07. Signs in stations that help riders find their way C+ (C)
08. Signs in subway cars that help riders find their way B- (C)
09. Cleanliness of stations C- (C-)
10. Cleanliness of subway cars C+ (C-)
11. Station announcements that are easy to hear C- (D)
12. Station announcements that are informative C- (D+)
13. Train announcements that are easy to hear C+ (D)
14. Train announcements that are informative C (D+)
15. Lack of graffiti in stations C (C)
16. Lack of graffiti in subway cars B- (C)
17. Lack of scratchitti in subway cars C+ (C-)
18. Courtesy and helpfulness of station personnel C (C)
19. Comfortable temperature in subway cars C+ (C+)
20. Ease of use of subway turnstiles B- (B-)
21. Availability of MetroCard Vending Machines B- (B-)
Well not much as changed on the M if you really look at things. The line graded out better in 2008 but when you examine the major categories, the line either stayed status quo or showed a lower performance. This is mixed in with a few improvements but nothing worth writing home about.
The biggest gainer in terms of ranking was “Courtesy and helpfulness of station personnel” which rose 7 spots. Thankfully this is more of a customer service issue that would not take money to fix. Hopefully the personnel who caused these sentiments from riders will improve in 2009. The biggest decline in ranking was “Train announcements that are easy to hear” which fell 9 spots. This should come as no surprise considering the M does have quality stock rolling up & down the tracks.
I am a bit concerned about both security categories rising in ranks along with cleanliness. One can argue that those categories go hand in hand. I hope the MTA takes a look at what it can do to improve in these areas.
Overall I feel the grade should have remained at a C- as the data does not show much improvement to have earned a half grade increase. I also must say I am disappointed by the total responses received by the MTA. I thought last year’s total of 1,360+ was pitiful but that looks like a ton compared to the 900 received this time around. The MTA needs to do a better job of promoting these things if they ever expect it to take off.
xoxo Transit Blogger
- So That’s Where You Have Been Hiding
- The 5 Produces More Of The Same
- 4 Train: You’re Average!
- L Train Rider Report Card Breakdown
- Staten Island Railway Is No Different
MTA NYC Transit To Test Bus Driver Protection Partitions
MTA New York City Transit has announced their intention to launch a pilot program which would install partitions to protect bus drivers. The program comes as a result from the death of 46 year old Edwin Thomas who was killed by a fare beater who boarded his bus in Brooklyn.
William Neuman of the New York Times has more on the pilot program in this report:
New York City Transit will begin a pilot program to test partitions that would separate bus drivers from passengers, officials said on Thursday.
The test program was prompted by the death on Dec. 1 of Edwin Thomas, 46, a bus driver on the B46 route in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, who was stabbed to death after an argument with a passenger who had not paid his fare.
Police have charged a 20-year-old Brooklyn man, Horace D. Moore, with Mr. Thomas’s murder.
The partitions will be tested on buses operating out of the Flatbush Depot in Brooklyn, where Mr. Thomas worked. There are 252 buses assigned to the depot, according to Paul Fleuranges, a spokesman for the transit agency.
He said it was not yet known how many buses would get the partitions as part of the test. They need to be designed, and it was not clear when the program would begin.
Driver partitions are now being used or tested in bus systems in several major cities, including Chicago, Washington, Milwaukee and Baltimore, according to Mr. Fleuranges.
The pilot program was proposed by a committee studying bus driver safety and composed of representatives of Transport Workers Union Local 100 and the transit agency’s management.
Click here for the complete report.
I feel this is a great idea although it should not have taken death to make it a reality. Unfortunately in our society it usually takes death to create common sense change. Many people love to knock bus drivers & the job they do. They feel that a monkey could do the job because it is that easy to drive a bus. However those with intelligence understand that the job is not only hard but extremely dangerous.
Of all the jobs one could have with the MTA in terms of the service sector, bus drivers are put in the most danger since they have no protection from customers. At any moment a customer can be mere inches away from them. While most who ride buses are not looking to cause harm, their is a percentage of lowlifes who are looking to do just that. I feel that drivers deserve all the protection they can get as their focus should always be on properly doing their job & not on the potential threats within arms length.
I always worry about my fellow bus driver friends & others I do not know. Let me just say I am glad that my father has finally retired after almost 30 years on the job!
xoxo Transit Blogger
- Buses Come To A Standstill To Honor Edwin Thomas
- Brooklyn Bus Driver Fatally Stabbed
- Man Charged In Murder Of Brooklyn MTA Bus Driver
- The Harsh Reality Of Being A Bus Driver
- Funeral Arrangements Announced For Edwin Thomas
MTA Posts Public Hearing Notice
A few days ago the MTA sent out an e-mail to announce that they posted a public hearing notice on their site. The public hearing regards the potential fare, service, & station changes that might become a reality if they are not bailed out of their financial hole. Here is a link to the .pdf which contains details of the proposed changes along with the schedule for the hearings. According to them, more information will be posted the day after Christmas. I urge all of my readers to try & attend at least 1 hearing!
xoxo Transit Blogger
- LIRR Service Reminder
- Local Politicians Hold Press Conference Before Fare Hike Hearing
- Metro-North Increases Train Service This Holiday Season
- Ravitch Commission Hearings Scheduled
- Speaking Of Numbers…..
Foolish Propaganda If You Ask Me
By now you have read or heard (or both) about the Ravitch Commission’s plan which proposes ideas in how the MTA can collect a steady form of revenue for their budget. Each proposal has sparked strong feelings for or against it from businesses to commuters & to drivers & everyone in between. One of the main proposals calls for adding tolls to the East River & Harlem River bridges. This specific proposal has received the bulk of attention from the blogs, media & drivers itself.
The Regional Plan Association released individual borough sheets which showcasing the service cuts that will occur if this budget becomes a complete reality in 2009. Here is the link to each sheet:
The Tri-State Transportation Campaign conducted their own survey to show how fare increases would hurt more people versus toll increases. Here is a sample of their report:
Yesterday, the MTA Board passed its “doomsday budget,” officially putting riders on the hook for massive fare increases and service cuts if state elected officials don’t pass the Ravitch Commission’s recommendations or some other plan to save the system.
The consequences of state inaction are dire. The Regional Plan Association has released fact sheets for each of NYC’s five boroughs detailing where service cuts would take place — virtually everywhere in New York City. In addition, broad cuts to Long Island Bus, the LIRR, and Metro-North (as covered in MTR) mean that if elected officials don’t act, transit riders throughout the region will suffer.
Joe the Driver, Joanne the Transit RiderThe most controversial aspect of the Ravitch Commission’s plan is the addition of tolls to currently free East River and Harlem River bridges. But new TSTC fact sheets show that few workers in New York City and the surrounding suburbs drive to Manhattan. For example, according to the 2000 Census, only 3.1% of Brooklyn workers, 3.5% of Nassau County workers, and 4.4% of Westchester County workers drive alone to Manhattan to work
Click here for the complete entry.
Click here for the complete fact sheets.
I am sure this survey pleased the hardcore group of believes who foolishly believe that most people drive vehicles as a luxury in life. Yes, they have it figured out, most people buy cars as a luxury item because they could get everywhere they need to go by mass transit. I am all for mass transit & advocate for improvements & growth to our mass transit infrastructure & the money needed for such things. However I do not go around foolishly sporting the belief that many who drive do so as a luxury instead of some sort of necessity being behind it.
With that in mind, one can safely assume that I am not the biggest fan of this study. However it is not solely because of what I wrote above. I question the accuracy of the data being spread out as fact considering the source used for their analysis. I am a big believer that most studies can not possibly be 100% accurate due to it being impossible to get data from every possible source.
This study is no different as it is basing its analysis on data from the Census Bureau. Many people do not even bother or have the opportunity to participate in them so the data they have is never close to being complete. So with this in mind I question the legitimacy of the numbers being used in this report.
As you know by now, I am of the belief that our elected officials must do everything possible to provide money it owes the MTA before the riding public has to once again foot the bill. I completely understand that we have to shoulder some of the burden but we already shoulder too much of it & piling on is not fair to us. I’m sure there is truth behind the belief that fare increases would hurt commuters more versus drivers. However please stop making drivers out to be richer people who drive needlessly. It is one thing to believe something & a whole other thing to be bias & spread foolish propaganda of what most drivers in our region truly are.
xoxo Transit Blogger
- Sneak Peek At The Ravitch Commission Proposals
- Mayor Bloomberg Just Doesn’t Get It
- East River Bridge Tolls In The Near Future?
- MTA Worries About How It Will Fund The Next Capital Plan
- Local Residents Frustrated With Possibly Losing The M8
Transit Advocates Urge Governor To Fast Track Rail Project
One of my favorite transit related blogs to read is the Tri-State Transportation Campaign’s “Mobilizing The Region” as it covers many different transit aspects involving our entire tri-state region. The campaign does a great job as being advocates for supporting improvement to the transit infrastructure of the tri-state region. So the next few entries will focus on reports from them.
The first report comes from General Counsel Kyle Wisell & is about the campaign joining forces with other transit advocates to urge Connecticut Governor Rell to fast track the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield commuter rail line. Here is a sample of their report:
Tri-State joined several transportation, environment, civic and business groups in asking Connecticut Governor Rell to fast track the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield commuter rail line on Tuesday. The coalition was joined at the press conference by House Speaker-Elect Chris Donovan (D-Meriden), whose district would be served by the line, and current Speaker James Amman (D-Milford), in calling for quick approval of the project that would add commuter service from New Haven to Springfield, Mass., stopping in nine other municipalities along the way, including Hartford.
According to the groups, fast-tracking the project to get initial service running within two years will help revitalize Connecticut’s struggling economy by providing short and long term jobs, help reduce the number of cars on Connecticut’s roads and promote transit-oriented development and mixed-income housing in towns along the rail corridor. The groups called for immediate action to get initial service operating as a first step towards full-scale commuter rail between New Haven, Hartford and Springfield.
Click here for the complete report.
This region is not one that I travel in frequently so I do not have a strong analysis to comment on it. However I found the responses left to the report interesting which questioned whether Gov. Rell really wants to get this project done. They also feel the construction would not take much time at all so that could not be an excuse for this service not being implemented.
Speaking in general, I support an increase in mass transit options for commuters. I feel it not only benefits them but the area of the region as well since it can bring increases business, create jobs, & other economy stimulation actions. I would think that with the state of our economy from the local to federal level, any action that could help stimulate it long term would be welcomed. Lets see if Governor Rell does the right thing for the state.
xoxo Transit Blogger
- Gov. Patterson Issues A Statement On Free Perks
- Andrew Cuomo Threatens To Sue MTA Board Members
- State Looks To Replace Tappan Zee Bridge
- Governor Patterson Appoints 12 Members To MTA Financing Commission
- Bus Stop Dispute Turns Deadly
N Train Rider Report Card Handout
Let me first apologize once again for being behind with updates to the blog. I also would like to apologize as this e-mailed press release features a hand out date that has already passed. However the second/last date is in the near future so it is still relevant. On that note, here is the press release for the 
Train “Rider Report Card” handout:
In our continuing effort to solicit feedback from our customers, MTA New York City Transit is again distributing Rider Report Cards throughout the system. Riders on the N are next in line of NYC Transit’s over five million daily subway customers asked to rate the progress of their line since the initial round of report cards was distributed in July 2007.
The report cards are being distributed to riders during the morning rush hours on Monday, December 22nd and Monday, January 5, 2009. The cards will be handed out at several different stations along the line each day over both days. Grades will be used to identify rider preferences and to gauge how much improvement customers along the N line have noticed since last year’s report card.
Again, the Rider Report Card will ask subway riders to grade 21 specific areas of service from an A (Excellent) to an F (Unsatisfactory). Among the areas riders will grade include: car and station cleanliness, safety, security, quality of announcements, and the courtesy and helpfulness of front line customer service staff. Riders will also assign an overall grade for N service. From this list of 21 service attributes, riders are also going to be asked to rank the top three improvements they would like to see made to this line.
The Rider Report Card is once again being distributed in a mailer format, designed to be returned at no cost to the rider. Customers will also have the option of completing the survey on-line, on the MTA website at www.mta.info/nyct/index.html, where it is available in 3 languages: English, Spanish and Chinese. From the time the survey begins, riders will have two weeks to mail in their response or to complete the survey online.
Rider Report Card results are posted on line for riders to review once they have been tabulated.
Report cards are being distributed between 7:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. at each station. The schedule for distribution of Rider Report Cards along the N line is as follows:
• Monday, December 22nd – 86th Street, Avenue U, Kings Highway, Bay Parkway, 20th Avenue, 18th Avenue, Fort Hamilton Parkway and 8th Avenue.
• Monday, January 5th – 39th Avenue, 36th Avenue, Broadway, 30th Avenue, Astoria Blvd. and Astoria-Ditmars Blvd.
- 6 Train Rider Report Card Handout
- The R Is The Next Line To Be Graded
- NYC Transit To Distribute Rider Report Cards On The M
- The F Is The Next Line To Be Graded
- The 1 Is The Next Line To Be Graded
Elliot Sander Discusses Downtown Mega Projects
A week ago today, the MTA approved their 2009 “Doomsday” budget which will feature steep fare increases & service cuts. The very next day, MTA CEO/Executive Director Elliot Sander took the time to talk about some downtown projects such as the Fulton Street Transit Hub & Second Avenue Subway. Julie Shapiro & Josh Rogers of The Downtown Express have more in this report:
Nearly one year after the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced it had run out of money to build the aboveground portion of the Fulton Transit Center, the agency still has made no decisions about the future.
“We have a couple of different options for what’s above ground,” Lee Sander, M.T.A. executive director, said this week. “The issue is really figuring out how we pay for it.”
He did not disclose any information on the alternatives under consideration. He said he was “highly confident” something will be built above street level, but he has made similar comments throughout the year and the M.T.A. had said they would have a new plan for the site by last February.
Sander spoke to community news reporters Thursday, one day after the agency passed a “doomsday” budget calling for 23 percent fare hikes and severe service cuts next year if there is no help from Albany.
The M.T.A. displaced 140 businesses in 2006 to make way for a domed Fulton station that was to become a new Downtown landmark. But while the M.T.A. has made progress on the belowground portion of the station — beginning to untangle 12 subway lines and ease pedestrian connections — a pit remains at Fulton St. and Broadway with no plan for its future.
Sander would only say Thursday that the M.T.A. is not interested in topping the station with a commercial structure to raise revenue.
“At this point that’s not in our plans, and given the fact that we’re in the environmental planning process, I think I will leave my comments there,” he said. He was more forthcoming when asked about other projects throughout the city.
A week earlier, Michael Horodniceanu, M.T.A.’s president of capital construction, also promised the station would rise.
“It’s going to be similar to what you’ve seen,” he said of the design.
Asked if the design included the much-praised domed glass oculus, which the M.T.A. shrunk several times before saying it was too expensive, Horodniceanu replied, “We have not made a decision.”
Horodniceanu said the M.T.A. had time to finalize the plans, because work on the building cannot start until 2010, when much of the belowground construction is complete.
—
Sander was asked several questions about the Second Ave. subway under construction on the Upper East Side, and every time he mentioned the full build plan to extend the line to Chinatown, the Seaport and the Financial District, he used some form of the word “hope.”
He said it would be more than 10 years before it is built and he offered no guarantees that it will ever happen. It’s the fourth and last phase of the project.
“That’s phase 1, 2, and 3 away,” said Lois Tendler, vice president of community relations for N.Y.C. Transit, who joined Sander at the meeting.
Sander remains passionate about the new line but said if he has to make drastic cuts to the capital program, he would sooner cut mega-projects like Second Ave. and East Side Access, which will connect Long Island commuters to Grand Central Station, than cuts to the existing system.
“If you had to make a choice between those two, there is no choice — it is the core program,” he said.
Modernizing the 70-year-old signal system, which Sander said could increase capacity on individual subway lines by 20 to 30 percent, is also more important than the big projects.
“That is a higher priority than the megas…. We can only do so many Second Ave. subways,” he said.
Click here for the complete report.
I am a supporter of getting the Fulton Transit Center completed as it would benefit many commuters. The station is one of the most important in the system in terms of transfers to other trunk lines. The maze like setup to transfer between most lines is beyond ridiculous & is long overdue for a complete makeover. However even with all of the positives this project would bring, I have to say the Second Avenue Subway is by far the most important capital project going. One could argue it could be the most important transit project ever for our region as it could possibly have that big of an effect on the system.
I do not find it comforting to hear the word “hope” being used in terms of whether the S.A.S. will ever be completed. No matter what is going on, the MTA must make sure this project is finally completed & is built to its best possible use. The Lexington Avenue corridor is already bursting at the seams or arguably already has. How much longer can they possibly expect to handle the crowding on that corridor without some form of help. Lets hope the project does not get yet another long term nail in its coffin. No one can afford to have this happen again.
xoxo Transit Blogger
