Editorial: Slow Train To A Solvent Subway System
The state of financial peril that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority finds itself in is a topic opined on by many including yours truly. Today’s New York Daily News continues down that path with an editorial by Joshua Greenman:
Right now it looks like there’s no light at the end of the fiscal tunnel for mass transit in New York. Over the long term, putting the MTA on solid footing is going to require something in very short supply: courage in Albany, in the form of car tolls on the East River bridges or some other sustainable funding stream.
In the meantime, in the interest of helping the Metropolitan Transportation Authority start to dig itself out of its half-billion-dollar-plus shortfall, here are a few humble, outside-the-booth suggestions for creative revenue-raisers:
Make every MetroCard a lottery card. The New York City subway system averages 5 million rides per workday and nearly 3 million each weekend day, carrying more passengers than all other rail mass transit systems in the United States combined. If every 100th card sold yielded a month of free rides, the increase in ridership would more than cover the 1% hit. The same would be true if every day, one of the 5 million riders took home a $1,000 prize.
Open the stations to more stores. The system has some 468 stations, but with precious few exceptions, all you can buy are newspapers and magazines, sodas and candy. In the past 20 years, airports have experienced a retail revolution with better food, tons of stores and even high-end vending machines. It’s time to take that underground and sell everything from headphones and MP3s to Yankees gear.
Figure out how to give trains cell and Wi-Fi service. Two and a half years ago, there were plans to give every station wireless access, raising about $50 million for the transit system over 10 years in the process. Somehow, it’s still stalled. San Francisco and Boston are already getting underground wireless coverage; what’s wrong with us?
Click here to read the complete editorial.
Joshua presents some ideas that make a lot of sense & would help drive dollars towards the MTA’s way. However a “but” does exist & that comes from reality. While his ideas have noble intentions, one has to wonder how realistic they are. This is not because the good ideas are far-fetched. The problem lies with the execution of them.
Can we really expect the MTA, who is behind schedule in all sorts of ways, to be able to execute such radical changes? This is the same transit agency who is years behind in equipping stations with real time information boards for subway arrivals. If something like that is so far behind schedule, what makes Joshua or anyone think they could execute something more dynamic?
As far as the gambling & rat idea goes, I won’t really comment much on those. I can find the unfortunate humor (due to system conditions & not Joshua himself) about the rats. Gambling is something that will be a slippery slope & prime for illegal activity. The MTA does not need to engage in anything of that nature with all the challenges it faces now.
In the end, the real solutions need to start with the City of New York, & Albany itself. We need to elect officials who understand & give a damn about our public transportation policy. If we do not, can we really expect or deserve the MTA & our fortunes to change?
xoxo Transit Blogger
You might enjoy reading these related entries:- MTA CEO: We Will Not Raise Fares This Year
- Editorial: Save Mass Transit Riders
- Higher Projected Deficit Could Lead To More Pain
- A Sad Reality…….
- MTA Deficit Continues To Grow
Montauk Weekday Midday Service Affected
LIRR riders who depend on weekday midday service on the Montauk line, please be aware that service will be affected until April 23rd due to grade crossing renewals & rail testing. Here are the complete details courtesy of a press release sent to me by the MTA Long Island Rail Road yesterday:
Buses will replace some trains on the Long Island Rail Road’s Montauk Branch midday weekdays through April 23 as tracks are inspected and tests are conducted on the rails between Babylon and Montauk and grade crossing renewal takes place in Bay Shore. Track inspections will be made by the Sperry Rail Car and the crossing work will take place between 8:31 AM and 3:31 PM through the period.
The Sperry Rail Car, a bright yellow vehicle fitted with ultrasonic and induction test equipment, is designed to detect internal rail defects not readily visible to the eye. Defects that are found will be corrected immediately by a crew of LIRR track maintenance workers. The Sperry Rail Car is used twice a year to inspect approximately 500 miles of LIRR track.
Eastbound:
• The 10:25 AM train from Babylon due in Patchogue at 10:55 AM and the 11:25 AM train from Babylon due in Speonk at 12:24 PM will be replaced by buses. Customers should anticipate up to 20 minutes additional travel time.
April 14 & April 15 Only:
• Customers on the 8:52 AM train from Babylon due in Montauk at 10:53 AM and the 12:10 PM train from Babylon due in Montauk at 2:19 PM will board buses at Patchogue Station to continue their trips to stations Bellport through Montauk. Customers should anticipate up to 40 minutes additional travel time.
____
Westbound:
• Customers on the 12:12 PM from Patchogue due in Jamaica at 1:24 PM will board buses up to 28 minutes later at their stations and transfer to at train at Babylon to complete their trips. Customers should anticipate up to 56 minutes later arrival than normal.
• Customers on the 2:01 from Speonk due in Jamaica at 3:44 PM will board buses up to 22 minutes later at their stations and transfer to a train at Babylon. Customers should anticipate up to 46 minutes later arrival than normal.
April 14 & April 15 Only:
• Customers on the 11:22 AM train from Montauk due in Jamaica at 2:18 PM and the 2:51 PM train from Montauk due in Jamaica at 5:50 PM will board buses at their stations Montauk through Bellport up to 29 minutes later and transfer to trains at Babylon to complete their trips. Customers should anticipate up to 40 minutes additional travel time.
____
Grade Crossing Renewal:
As the Sperry Rail testing is being conducted, renewal work will be conducted at the Penataquit Avenue grade crossing in Bay Shore. During the work rubber panels will be replaced with longer lasting concrete. Motorists should anticipate some traffic congestion during the work.
I apologize for not getting this up yesterday.
xoxo Transit Blogger
You might enjoy reading these related entries:- Buses To Replace Some Montauk Branch Trains
- Buses Replace Midday Montauk Trains
- Buses Replace Midday Montauk Line Trains
- Buses To Replace Midday Montauk Branch Trains
- Buses Replace Midday Montauk Trains
Pregnant Woman Hit With Ticket On The Subway
This is Nora Hsu, the woman who at 8 months pregnant was ticketed for passing through a Manhattan-bound 
train. Photo courtesy of Chad Rachman; New York Post.
For years, it has been common knowledge that cops have ticket quotas. It did not matter the location or type of officer in question, if a quota had to be met, ridiculous tickets would be written. Once again this story has played out with the latest being on a Manhattan-bound 1 train. A woman who is 8 months pregnant, was hit with a ticket as she crossed between cars. Tom Namako of the New York Post has more in this exclusive report:
An eight-months-pregnant Long Island woman — desperate to find a subway seat during this week’s flash heat wave — was cruelly slapped with a $75 ticket after she crossed between cars on a jam-packed train.
Nora Hsu, who works in financial sales in Midtown, was busted as she passed from car to car while the 1 train was stopped at the Times Square station on Wednesday.
An officer on patrol on the platform spotted her crossing and ordered her off the train.
“I told the cop, ‘Cut me some slack. I’m 32 weeks pregnant, and I’m just trying to get home,’ ” she recalled for The Post. “I was out of breath.”
But the officer said, “It doesn’t matter,” and wrote the ticket.
Click here for the complete report.
I usually focus on the actual technicalities of issues when passing judgment. However there are many instances where one should look past those technicalities & see the common sense approach. I feel this qualifies as one of those instances.
While Nora was technicality guilty of passing through from one subway car to the next, it was for a legitimate reason. This is a woman who is 8 months pregnant & for any of you who have been pregnant or know someone who has, standing can be a very painful experience. The cop in question clearly entrapped Nora & chose to uphold the rules even when it was not warranted in this case.
I understand that employing preference in who to or not to ticket can lead to problems. However what happened to having compassion for a fellow human being? Would it really have been so bad if he let her slide? This officer should be ashamed of himself for entrapping Nora.
xoxo Transit Blogger
You might enjoy reading these related entries:- MTA Still On Track To Buy New Subway Cars
- Woman’s Spine Broken After Subway Attack
- Woman Saved At Manhattan Subway Station
- Dog Owner Slashes Woman On Bronx Bus
- Woman Nearly Assaulted In Subway Station
Subway Countdown Clocks Expand To Brooklyn
New PA/CIS board at the Kingston Avenue subway station. Photo courtesy of MTA NYC Transit via Twitpic.
The technological upgrade of NYC Subway stations continues as MTA NYC Transit has officially expanded its real time subway countdown clocks to four new stations in Brooklyn along the 2 & 3 lines. Here is more information courtesy of a press release sent to me a short time ago by MTA NYC Transit:
MTA New York City Transit officials today announced that real-time train arrival countdown clocks or message screens are now operational and being tested at several stations along the 2 3 lines in Brooklyn. Funded by the 2000 – 2004 MTA Capital Program, the PA/CIS system is now in the process of being activated for customer use at stations along the IRT or numbered lines (123456) system wide. PA/CIS offers subway customers audio and visual train arrival information. The expansion of the screens to Brooklyn follows the successful rollout of similar message boards at eleven stations in the Bronx along the Pelham 6 line.
The Public Address Customer Information Screen (PA/CIS) system is a major component of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s effort to substantially upgrade customer communications across its entire network and marks an important milestone in the effort to provide subway customers with up-to-date travel information employing 21st Century technology.
The PA/CIS screen provides train arrival messages in audio and video. The messages indicate when the next two trains are due to arrive at the station and their destinations. Aside from train arrivals, the system also allows NYC Transit to provide both audio and visual messages to customers, keeping them fully informed about service delays or emergency situations. PA/CIS is being rolled out incrementally with 152 stations on the IRT numbered lines operational by the first quarter of 2011. PA/CIS was first introduced along the Canarsie L line in January 2007.
The information distributed through the PA/CIS system originates from NYC Transit’s Rail Control Center (RCC). From the RCC, Customer Service Agents will be able to provide subway customers with service status and other information either as audio only, visual only, or as synchronized audio and visual information. The system includes signs and speakers which are located on the platforms and in the fare control areas prior to entering the station. PA/CIS will be installed in additional IRT stations in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Manhattan throughout the city in the coming months.
As I noted in December, these upgrades are long overdue for arguably the most important subway system in the world. It is inexcusable how lesser systems have done much better in implementing improved technology to make operations easier along with providing better information & service to riders. While the MTA is still behind the curve in terms of technology, it is a promising sign that things are being done to change that.
xoxo Transit Blogger
You might enjoy reading these related entries:- NYCT Continues Rollout Of Real Time Info Boards
- NYCT Testing Real Time Info Boards On The 6
- Countdown Clocks Have Reached 100 Stations
- Countdown Clocks Come To E & G Lines
- Depature Signs Come To Coney Island
MTA To Trim $40M From Project Budget
A few days ago, the MTA announced in a continued effort to trim their budget deficit, they would be cutting $40M from planned projects. Pete Donohue of the New York Daily News had more in this report:
The MTA will cut $40 million in fat from its budget – chopping 141 projects after a take-no-prisoners review of operations, Chairman Jay Walder said Thursday.
The cuts should be imperceptible to bus, subway and commuter rail riders, officials said, because they target back-office functions like data processing and administrative buildings.
The only exception should hardly be controversial in these dire economic times – the agency won’t replace armrests on some LIRR and Metro-North commuter trains that have snagged and ripped riders’ suit pants and jackets. It would have cost nearly $4 million to fix the design flaw that last year cost the railroads $15,000 to reimburse riders for wardrobe repairs.
The cuts, identified since January, represent half of all the projects funded in the MTA’s operating budget, said MTA Chief Operating Officer Charles Monheim, who led the review.
The decisions and savings illustrate “a different way of doing business at the MTA,” Walder said.
Click here for the complete report.
These cuts are not the result of trimming fat but accurately speaking, the casualties of the current financial crisis crippling the MTA. The projects being cut or pushed back are useful & legitimate. However during this financial crisis, not every noble project can be done. However realistically, it will take a lot more than trimming money from legitimate projects to close the budget gap.
The MTA & the entire region needs our elected officials to pony up the money that is beyond overdue. Anything less is doing a disservice to the MTA & the millions who depend on the service provided. If things continue at the pace they are, the “trimming” will turn into drastic cuts that will affect millions in ways none of us want to see.
xoxo Transit Blogger
You might enjoy reading these related entries:
