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NYC Transit President Lawrence Reuter is apologizing for getting things mixed up:"What I'm sorry is I wasn’t clear that there is two issues. To really re-do a design and build a signal room is normally a 3-5 [year project]. The issue is to get service back out there, which is what we’re concerned about, which is going to be far shorter than that period of time, and we’re going to live without that functionality for that period of time."Puh-lease! You're the president of the most complicated subway system in the world. Peter Kalikow - get this man a course in media relations and "not being clear"! Seriously, who is this chucklehead?
Sigh, we're glad Reuter apologized and all, but with the subway fare hike coming in a few weeks, the MTA is on Gothamist's crap list just because. And also because after 1999 relay room fire, the MTA was told to at least put smoke detectors in the rooms in case of an emergency, not to mention fireproof the areas; this means at least 20% of the 200 relay rooms haven't gotten these upgrades. Ah, the MTA, our transportation slumlord. And the MTA has to use manual transmission for subways, as in trains stop, motormen tell an MTA employee stationed at the platform where they are going; then the platform employee radios to find out if the tracks are clear for the trains to pass. That's why the trains have been running late!
The above photo of Larry Reuter is from WABC, which has an index of their subway mess stories, including one about how the shopping cart that was allegedly the source of the fire might have been used by a transit worker. Oh, and that a fire could happen again. Great!
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It pains me to be so angry at the MTA, because I truly do think the NYC subway is a miracle of sorts. But I don't know what the MTA executives are doing. They are certainly not endearing the public to their substantial needs.
The mass transit system in NYC IS amazing. The MTA are a bunch of graft-eating crooks and deserve all the razzes they get. The problem is, they are in charge of the thing that transports something over 8 million of us to work everyday, so as much as everybody complains and as much as Bloomberg threatens to spank them, they have us by the short hairs and they know it.
So far, the MTA is starting off the year with a bang. I can't wait to see what else happens this year. I think they are on a lot of people's sh*t list.
But Bob is right. They have the upper hand because what other means of transportation do we have?
Not to worry! They're going to boot those f!@#in' photographers off their property.
That way, no one will know abt the lack of maintanance.
www.forgotten-ny.com
IMO, that's why Managers should speak to people in the Know before making public statements. I doubt a real detailed evaluation of the situation was performed before he made his statements.
That and I think he was in CYA mode...
Perhaps the MTA will shape up if we threaten to pull away the punch bowl, put all the managers out on their collective ear, and start selling the subways off to private enterprise (that's how they started, after all).
And Spitzer could sew up the governorship right now if he opened a probe into the MTA's handling of this debacle.
Does anyone know when the fare hike becomes solid? Can I buy a bunch of Unlimited Monthlies before hand to save the six bucks?
No, the cheaper fare cards typically "sunset" after a grace period of a week or two. If you buy a bunch of lower-fare cards now and don't use them within the grace period all you'll have is an even bigger hole in your bank account.
The MTA page about the fare increase, which becomes effective on 27-Feb-2005. Pre-fare-hike 30-day Metrocards are valid until 03-April-2005.
W, I am slow--does that mean you can start your 30 days on the April 3 and have them good for another month, or does it mean all pre-fare hike cards stop working after that day?
Bob writes: "as much as Bloomberg threatens to spank them, they have us by the short hairs and they know it."
Bloomberg doesn't even threaten to spank them, I'm sorry to say. But the first politician who _does_ can get a lot of milage out of it. Step up, Eliot, step up!
In fairness to Bloomberg, the MTA is a state agency, is it not? Bloomberg can threaten to publicly harangue Peter Kalikow or not pose for photo-ops on the 2/3 anymore, but I don't believe he can't actually *do* much of anything.
Unless the MTA is doing something illegal what can Spitzer do as Attorney General? MTA mismanagement can obviously play a big role in his campaign, but that's a year away.
The State Comptroller, Alan Hevesi, has issued report after report showing that the MTA is in fiscal lala land to little avail. Pataki controls the MTA board and until the little light goes on in George's head that he's facing political disaster he's not going to do anything.
It is time for the city to seceed. The MTA is corrupt and beyond our ability to correct it. There is no reason we can't do this better ourselves, especially with the dividend we stand to gain by dropping our subsidy to the state.
My Missions Are Possible
T.A.: maybe not. But he could say something. The city elected him. The city is stuck with this rinky-dink 1930s subway. The city wants an advocate in this situation, and our mayor would seem a likely choices. But no, not this mayor. I don't suppose problems on the A&C lines are bothering anyone he cares about.
It's great to watch people get upset about the MTA. Harsh criticism for Lawrence Reuter for what, for misspeaking? What he said is correct -- it will take 3-5 years to fully repair the damage by installing a new signal room. The MTA is not "soooo wrong." Reuter made a mistake by speaking like an engineer and not being more clear about the distinction between getting the line up and running again and having the system fully restored. Get over it.
And yes, the MTA is a state agency. NYC Transit is the local branch, and Bloomberg has very little legal authority over either.
"Chucklehead?" Are you kidding? ABC News, incidentally, mistakenly called him the "MTA President." Oh no! A mistake! Give them a course in media relations! Reuter is an administrator, not a PR flack.
And to those who would like to privatize the MTA because "that's how they started, after all," you should know that all private subway operators went bankrupt and the city was left holding the bag. The BRT, the BMT, the IRT... all of them. Private enterprise was given free reign to the tracks, the right-of-way, and allowed to charge whatever they wanted, but couldn't make a go of it.
And I think it's a little obtuse to criticize the MTA for having an "antiquated system." It's a 100 years old... that's the very definition of antiquated. There are something like 468 stops and 720 miles of track. More than 200 signal rooms, and most of them have in fact been fire-proofed. But even that's not an absolute. Fire proof rooms burn and collapse -- we all should know that. The MTA has been in a financial crisis for something like the last forty years. Despite being incredibly efficient (per person/mile) when compared with other transportation infrastructure dollars -- roads, cars, busses, bridges -- it consistently gets the shaft from Albany.
It's curious that the MTA is the only major city transit agency that is hated by its city, yet it's also at the bottom of the list for government funding.
Most other city subways get huge government subsidies -- the kind we reserve here for highway grants and such.
One last thing -- public transit agencies aren't meant to be profitable. Government is not a for-profit enterprise. We all hate the MTA raising fares -- fare hikes represent serious changes in our personal spending. However, the MTA is a bargain. $1.80 or less for a city-wide train ride, plus a bus transfer? Can't beat that in most other cities. Just ask Washington, London, Chicago, LA... and in most other cities, you still need to have a car.
The MTA is unique in enduring the loathing of its public? Please. Anyone who rides the BART or the T to work everyday would, I'm sure, be eager to relate to you their displeasure about the state of their transit system. I can assure you that nobody is laying garlands at the door of the Metro's headquarters.
Perhaps it's unfair to criticize Reuter for speaking impertinently in a context where he was clearly uncomfortable. But who's fault is that? The MTA has a long and inglorious history of botched public relations, and Reuter's performance before the press was yet another sorry chapter. If he's incapable of speaking in anything other than engineer-ese, than the MTA poobahs should find someone who's capable of handling questions from the media. The agency does itself no favors by sending out obviously ill-prepared individuals to speak for them.
Incidentally, Reuter's insistence that there were only two manufacturers capable of producing the necessary switching equipment just reeks of graft. If that's the case, why not seize the opportunity to embrace some more up-to-date technology? I've little doubt that companies would be lining up around the block for a little slice of MTA pork. Then again, the MTA might have to actually have an open and transparent bidding process -- and what fun would that be?
The problem isn't that Reuter misspoke. The problem is that he's incompetent and his misstatements are just another symptom of that incompetence and that the MTA leadership isn't held responsible for their incompetence.
The MTA was lambasted in the Comptroller's report last fall for having 444 people in their PR office. Reuter, as head of the NYCTA could have taken a few minutes to talk to one or more of those 444 PR flacks and get his story straight before blathering his misinformation. Instead, he pisses off lots of commuters, homeowners, and the real estate industry with his unclear remarks.
Despite its problems I love the subway system and consider it a miracle of planning and engineering. I also see it can and should be a much better system and am frustrated as all hell that the MTA is run by a bunch of boneheads who are incapable of making wise management decisions.
I love the Subways. I love what they provide. At one point I wanted to work for the MTA. Then I learned about the corruption and general crap they have in charge there.
The problem is simple. The MTA is one mega-rail company formed from the purchase and consolidation of many smaller train lines. While this probably ended up making things better for consumers in the end, the system is now SOOOOO large and SOOOOO unweildly that it's a mess.
For example, in Manhattan not only are stations renovated and cleaned, but they are maintained well. In contrast in Brooklyn even at major stations like Dekalb Avenue adn Atlantic Avenue they stations have been renovated, but they look like crap.
And deeper in Brooklyn the stations are simply falling apart.
The MTA basically has no idea how the run the system. And the corruption is a result. In the light of new fare hikes and bullshit like this, I'm going to be "doubling up" on fares when I go through turnstiles and generally figure out ways to make my dollar last longer. Turnstle jumping might not be easy to do anymore, but I think we should all consider it.
And there should be a move to restructure the MTA much in the same way the board of education was restructred. Anyone who knows anything knows about the corrupt ways at the MTA. We have to end it now.
"Turnstile jumping might not be easy do do anymore, but I think we should all consider it."
Why? So we can take money away from an already under-funded institution? That'll show 'em.
By what rational measure is a public institution with a PR staff of 500 "underfunded?" Mis-allocated, perhaps, but I don't think a lack of funds is the problem.
The MTA is definitely underfunded when you consider how much state and federal cash goes to car-oriented transportation projects - not that I think it would be a good idea to give more money to the crooks at the MTA in their current guise...
mis-allocation is a great euphamism for the situation - do they need more than a handful of PR people? Are we going to forget the subway is there
My theory is that they knew from the beginning that it would take a few months to fix. It was a PR move to make it more palatable by first telling us to expect to wait years and then when we heard months we'd be relieved instead of outraged. Ofcourse, I could be giving them way to much credit.
Regarding funding, this IS the state agency that spent over 100 million dollars renovating a (RENTED) building downtown. Only problem? The contracter was mobbed up and none of those renovations even happened! Oh, and I guess no one at the MTA bother to notice that over the years this was going on. THAT is exactly how I like to see my tax dollars spent. You can moan all you want about under-funding, but the record supports just the opposite. Sorry.
Ryan, how little you know about MTA corruption and nepotism. The agency is indeed underfunded as far as state funding goes. But they are definitely mismanaged with bloated PR departments and other cushy jobs on the one hand, and ignored/neglected services on another.
Also, Peter Kalikow should be run out of town on a rail. The last fare hike was a lie. They cooked the books and kept two sets of books. When did this come to light? After the fare hike happened. What did the MTA do? Dance around the issue and didn't offer to roll the fare back. They are simply greedy/corrupt and somehow untouchable. Any other city official pulling the crap that Kalikow does would be under investigation. Kalikow? Business as usual and nobody cares.
Maybe turnstile jumping is a bit much, but this is all bullshit. The MTA should be purged and restructured. Enough is enough already.