Gothamist: City Comptroller Says MTA Doesn't Care About NYC

Marla

Mon, 05 Feb 2007 14:34:32 -0500

Thanks for running my photo. I am your newest, biggest fan!

andrew

Sat, 03 Feb 2007 18:58:37 -0500

Aren't LIRR/MetroNorth tickets also 10-20 times as expensive as NYC Subway rides? Just sayin'.......

Anonymous

Sat, 03 Feb 2007 07:39:54 -0500

Let's hope the new MTA administration addresses the inequities that Bill Thompson pointed out. The old one used to simply dismiss things. Elliot Sander is going to reshape the MTA. But the fear is that bringing more money to NYC the old-MTA would have jacked up fares; now will the new admin use that as an excuse, or drop funding for some non-worthy projects. C'mon - would you sooner replace fans to pump out smoke in stations or repair armrests so suit sleeves don't rip. Shouldn't be that difficult a choice. Thompson was right to highlight this now.

anonymass

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 23:02:36 -0500

The ridership vs. spending graph is interesting, but I'd like to see some other metrics as I'm not convinced that the correct ratio for budget allocation ought to be pegged to ridership. For example, they could base budget allocation on track mileage, on number of stations, on total fare income of each division (as others have pointed out)...any number of measures.

Think twice

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 22:18:39 -0500

Restore the subways to city ownership, then lease out it's design, construction, operation and maintenance to the private sector. Kill the bureaucracy.

Steven

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 21:57:02 -0500

Why doesn't Bush give some money to the MTA instead of the stupid Iraq war?

matt

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 20:27:02 -0500

excuse me but what the fuck happened to that near 1.4 billion dollars that we voted for in the transportation bond act in November of 2005? the money that was supposed to help fund these projects! fuck the fat cats at the MTA lining their pockets. Break this mess up into seperate companies again where competiton fostered growth and new subways lines.

rlb

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 17:15:06 -0500

Is most or all of the capital raised through rider's fares? If the answer is yes, then, considering that average subway fare is about $1.40, the subway only contributes a little over 20 percent of that 15 billion.

Kojak

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 16:38:47 -0500

LIRR doesn't fully shut down at night, only on a few lines. And LIRR commuters pay a lot more money per trip then any Subway rider does.

Ace

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 16:00:30 -0500

The more distance away from the core manhattan / tourist center, the worse condition the subway stations are in. This includes not cleaning the platforms and stairways and not cleaning the card swipes on the turnstiles (which is the reason they malfunction). Money doesn't talk it swears.

jg

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 15:15:04 -0500

also since MNCR and LIRR shut down in the evening, it's a lot easier and less costly to do routine track maintenance at night than on the various subway lines that run 24/7. honestly.

Jen

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 14:57:33 -0500

Thanks for the catch, Benjamin. I want to dig up some numbers about how much each division generates... one point Thompson made was that because the LIRR and Metro North tracks are above ground, that makes them easier to maintain - hence funding should be focused on NYC.

Benjamin Kabak

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 14:46:20 -0500

Link in the last paragraph doesn't work, Jen. That ridership v core capital graph is pretty damning. It's clear who the MTA is trying to court. Suck up to the wealthy suburbanites for some reason. It doesn't make any sense unless you consider property value.