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MTA Buses Set Reliability Record

Posted by
on September 22nd, 2008 at 4:21 am

This past August was very kind to the buses in the MTA’s ever growing fleet as it set a record for reliability for the month. New York Daily News transit reporter Pete Donohue has more in this very brief report:

MTA buses set a reliability record last month, traveling more miles without mechanical problems than any other August on record, transit officials said.

Buses in the MTA’s biggest division, NYC Transit, traveled an average of 4,500 miles before needing repair.

The feat is especially impressive because the average age of the fleet is the oldest since 1996, said Joseph Smith, vice president in charge of buses.

Buses take an unusual beating, moving slowly due to traffic even as key components – such as cooling systems – require a faster pace to operate at peak efficiency and to endure as designed, Smith said.

The record was achieved through an aggressive preventative maintenance program, Smith said.

“If I had said, 25 years ago when the system was on its knees, that we would be able to achieve the record mechanical reliability we have accomplished today in the MTA’s bus operations, I would have been accused of engaging in fantasy, or worse,” MTA CEO Elliot Sander said.

“This is an extraordinary testament to the investment the public has made in our system.”

Lets hope the MTA can keep up this line of quality while dealing with the current & future rough financial roads.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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2

Poor Hells Kitchen Never Stood A Chance

Posted by
on September 20th, 2008 at 7:55 am

Flushing-Main Street bound 7 train @ Queensboro Plaza
Flushing-Main Street bound 7 train @ Queensboro Plaza; resized photo courtesy of Eye On Transit

A transit project that has come up many times in this blog is the 7 Line Extension. As my readers know, I have not been a big fan of this project in terms of overall importance. The only positive aspect I saw in this project in terms of stops was the creation of one for Hells Kitchen residents. The stop which was supposed to be located at 10th Avenue & 41st Street would have been a benefit to the many straphangers who reside in the area.

One of the fears I blogged about a few times was the possibility of the station being put on the back burner & not functional when the project launches. The other side of that fear was the possibility of the stop being eliminated from the project altogether. Unfortunately the latter nightmare scenario has officially taken place & I can safely say the MTA officially blew it with this extension. Lets first look at the report from NY1 News:

Transit officials dropped plans to build an additional 7 subway line station in Midtown Manhattan Thursday.

Officials eliminated the plan to build a station at 10th Avenue and 41st Street when they were unable to obtain the $450 million to complete the project.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration, which previously offered to fund half of the costs, said Thursday that a station is not necessary since the neighborhood is already developed.

Advocates for the station do not think that is an excuse to stop construction.

“Is that the only reason we build subway stations now, to spur development? How about to serve the people that are already in a neighborhood? I just don’t buy that logic at all,” said Andrew Albert of the NYC Transit Riders Council.

Click here for the compete report in text & video.

Now lets take a look at another report on the news courtesy of William Neuman of the New York Times City Room Blog:

The westward extension of the No. 7 subway line will be built without a new station at 10th Avenue. That became even clearer this week after the city and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority let a deadline pass on a contract option for preliminary construction of the 10th Avenue station.

The bottom line: in a time of budget cuts neither the city nor the authority wanted to pay for the extra station.

The city is financing the rest of the work, which will bring the No. 7 line west of Times Square to Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, with a new station at 34th Street and 11th Avenue. It is an important part of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s plan to spur development on the Far West Side of Midtown.

Early plans called for the project to also include a station at 10th Avenue and 41st Street. But as cost estimates rose, the station became expendable in the eyes of the city — and it became increasingly clear, by last fall, that financing for the new station was unlikely.

Click here for the complete report.

The idiocy behind this decision amazes me & that is saying something. First off, what is with the ridiculous notion that a mass transit project “has to” spur growth in designated areas? What happened to the simple concept of such project additions/extensions being built to help people already in the designated areas? If the creation or extension of mass transit infrastructure simply relies on this flawed logic, we as a nation are in deep trouble.

Now lets focus on the financial idiocy behind this decision. What business sense does it make to spend millions of dollars to extend a subway line by 1 stop, especially because it is not a necessity? The answer is obvious, it makes no sense at all. The city & MTA are crying poverty which has caused delays or even temporary cancellations to important projects. Yet somehow we are supposed to believe that a better idea would be to spend money on a project where the best aspect of it has been shelved.

This kind of backwards decision only benefits the fat cat real estate developers involved in the deal. It is a shame that once again the pockets of the rich are more important than the people the city & MTA serve. Thanks!

xoxo Transit Blogger

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NYCT & MTA Buses To Be Affected By The U.N. General Assembly

Posted by
on September 20th, 2008 at 6:32 am

Continuing with the press releases that were sent to me, the MTA announces that some New York City Transit & MTA Bus routes will experience reroutes or severe delays due to the United Nations General Assembly. Here are the complete details:

Due to the United Nations General Assembly meeting scheduled from September 22 through October 3, 2008, many streets around the United Nations HQ in Manhattan will be closed to traffic by the New York City Police Department and the Secret Service.

As a result, the following bus routes will be either rerouted and/or experience significant delays in service:

M1, M2, M3, M4, M9, M15, M20, M27, M42, M50, M66, M72, M101, M102, M103 M104

Customers are advised to avoid Manhattan’s east side during the general assembly and to use the subway, where possible. Customers may call our Travel Information Center at 718-330-1234 from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, or log onto the MTA’s website to use Trip Planner to plan their trips. Customers with web enabled phones or PDA’s can use our Trip Planner On-the-Go! by clicking here; in addition to planning their trips, Blackberry users can download the free icon for one touch access to the service.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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LIRR To Provide Extra Trains For The Eve Of Rosh Hashanah

Posted by
on September 20th, 2008 at 6:27 am

I’m behind in posting the latest press releases that the MTA sent me. The first was to announce that the Long Island Rail Road will be providing extra trains for the eve of Rosh Hashanah. Here are the complete details:

The MTA Long Island Rail Road is offering eight additional eastbound trains from Penn Station, Monday, September 29, between 2:09 PM and 3:48 PM for customers traveling early in observance of the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah).

Extra Train Service from Penn Station, Monday, September 29:

Babylon Branch:

• 2:23 PM express to Lynbrook, then all stops to Babylon

• 3:00 PM stopping at Jamaica, Rockville Centre, then all stops to Babylon

• 3:31 PM express to Rockville Centre, then all stops to Babylon

Port Jefferson Branch:

• 2:09 PM stopping at Jamaica, Carle Place, then all stops to Huntington

• 2:26 PM stopping at Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Jamaica, New Hyde Park, then all stops to Huntington

• 3:24 PM stopping at Jamaica, Mineola, Westbury and Hicksville

Port Washington Branch to Great Neck:

• 3:40 PM stopping at Woodside, Flushing-Main St., then all stops to Great Neck

Far Rockaway Branch:

• 3:48 PM stopping at Jamaica, then all stops to Far Rockaway

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Service Diversions 09-19

Posted by
on September 20th, 2008 at 6:21 am

Let me first apologize for the tardiness with regards to posting the latest service diversions. I went out to the San Gennaro Feast with my best friend & others. The latest diversions were not ready before my departure. With that out of the way, I can now say….

I have just updated the service diversions page with the latest scheduled diversions for this weekend & next week (and beyond in some cases). Don’t forget to check in for any changes to the page. I also suggest printing out a copy of the page to use while riding the system. Have a safe & wonderful weekend!

xoxo Transit Blogger

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