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Ravitch Commission Report Reactions

Posted by
on December 8th, 2008 at 1:44 am

Unless you have been living under a rock, you know that the Ravitch Commission released its long awaited report this past Thursday.

Some of the proposals recommended by the commission were leaked via various outlets such as the New York Times & Tri-State Transportation Campaign’s “Mobilizing The Region” blog. I opined on a couple of the proposals but planned on doing so more in depth when I had a chance to view the entire report. Unfortunately I have not had the chance to read the report completely due to business matters occupying my time.

However in the meantime, you can check out an entry by Sewell Chan in the New York Times City Room blog which got the reaction to the proposal from some elected officials, local leaders, & transit advocates. You can check it out by clicking here. I also recommend checking out a breakdown of where the local newspapers stand on the proposals. You can view a detailed breakdown by checking out Benjamin’s latest Second Avenue Sagas entry.

I will try my best to offer my full thoughts on the proposals within the next 24-36 hours.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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2

Funeral Arrangements Announced For Edwin Thomas

Posted by
on December 5th, 2008 at 5:23 pm

Just a few minutes ago, the MTA sent out word that funeral arrangements for slain MTA New York City Transit bus operator Edwin Thomas have been made. For those wishing to stop by & pay respects, here are the details:

The following funeral arrangements have been announced for slain Bus Operator Edwin Thomas.

WAKE: Sunday, December 7, 2008, from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. *
Andre Torregrossa & Sons, 2265 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, New York

FUNERAL: Monday, December 8, 2008 at 11:00 a.m.
Sacred Heart Church, 115-50 221 Street, Cambria Heights, New York.

INTERMENT: Nassau Knolls Cemetery, Port Washington, Long Island.

* TWU Local 100 members are expected to walk over to the location en masse from the Flatbush Bus Depot, which is nearby.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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The R Is The Next Line To Be Graded

Posted by
on December 4th, 2008 at 6:14 pm

MTA’s New York City Transit sent out a press release via e-mail within the last hour to announce that the R Train will be the next line graded in the 2008 Rider Report Cards. Here are the complete details:

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 R 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 from Monday, December 8th through Thursday, December 11th. The cards will be handed out at several different stations along the line each day over all four days. Grades will be used to identify rider preferences and to gauge how much improvement customers along the R 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 R 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 R line is as follows:

• Monday, December 8th – Bay Ridge-95th Street, 86th Street, 77th Street, Bay Ridge Avenue, 59th Street-4th Avenue, 53rd Street, and 45th Street.

• Tuesday, December 9th – Whitehall Street, Rector Street, City Hall, Prince Street, 8th Street-NYU, 23rd Street and 28th Street.

• Wednesday, December 10th – 49th Street, 57th Street-7th Avenue, 5th Avenue-59th Street, 36th Street and Steinway Street.

• Thursday, December 11th – 46th Street, Northern Blvd., 65th Street, Elmhurst Avenue, Grand Avenue-Newtown, Woodhaven Blvd., 63rd Drive-Rego Park and 67th Avenue.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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1

MTA Issues Statement On Ravitch Commission Report

Posted by
on December 4th, 2008 at 4:06 pm

Catching up with today’s news, the MTA issued a statement via e-mail on the Ravitch Commission Report. Here is what they had to say:

The MTA is pleased that the commission appointed by Governor Paterson and led by Richard Ravitch has identified a comprehensive plan for putting the MTA back on sound financial footing. We thank Governor Paterson, Mayor Bloomberg and all of the commission members for their support of increased funding for the critical operating and capital needs of the transit system that powers the state’s economy.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Ravitch Commission Plan Is Finally Here

Posted by
on December 4th, 2008 at 4:02 pm

Let me first apologize on two fronts. The first is for getting the date wrong in which they were going to unveil the report. This must have been a recent change as the date reference was always Friday, December 5th. The second thing is for not getting this up sooner. I have been extremely busy with some business matters. Anyhow, let me not digress any further as the long awaited day is finally upon us…..

Earlier this morning, the head of the Ravitch Commission, Richard Ravitch unveiled the commission’s rescue plan for the MTA. The proposals in the plan are supposed to help the MTA fund capital projects and operating needs over the next ten years.

Sewell Chan & William Neuman of the New York Times have more on today’s proceedings:

A state commission led by Richard Ravitch, a former chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, presented a wide-ranging rescue plan on Thursday for the region’s subways, buses and commuter railroads that includes a new “mobility tax” on payrolls in the region; tolls on the free East River and Harlem River bridges; a much smaller fare and toll increase than the cash-strapped authority has threatened; few service reductions; and improvements in bus service.

The plan — presented in a 19-page report [pdf] — would permit automatic, inflation-adjusted fare and toll increases every two years without public hearings, ending what Mr. Ravitch called a cyclical “political circus.” The plan would allow for a state takeover of the city-owned Harlem River and East River bridges, which have historically been free to drivers. The new tolls would be collected electronically, without toll booths.

The regional mobility tax — 33 cents on every $100 of payroll — would provide $1.5 billion a year, and the tolls would produce $600 million in net revenue a year ($1 billion a year in gross revenue minus expenses), Mr. Ravitch said. The new revenue streams would help finance borrowing for a $30 billion-to-$35 billion M.T.A. capital plan for 2010 to 2014 that would help stimulate the economy while maintaining vital infrastructure.

“This is a major stimulus bill to New York State,” Mr. Ravitch said at a morning news conference at the governor’s office in Midtown Manhattan. “The number of projects being canceled and terminated as a result of inadequate financing,” he said, is “adding enormously to all the other problems this financial crisis has imposed on everybody.”

Gov. David A. Paterson and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg joined Mr. Ravitch for the announcement, and broadly endorsed his recommendations. Their support means that the plan now lies in the hands of the State Legislature, where support is far from certain.

Mr. Ravitch warned that there was currently “not one hard dollar” for the M.T.A.’s next five-year capital plan, which is to extend from 2010 and 2014 and could cost as much as $14 billion.

Click here for the complete article.

Click here to download or view the entire Ravitch Commission report.

I commented on some of proposals last night. As of this moment I am still tied up with a number of things. However I plan to sit down & read the entire report & provide my opinion of it to go along with my previous statements.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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