June 7, 2008
More Fare Hikes for Less Service is the Future
The MTA's favorite tune is unfortunately recorded on a broken record that keeps repeating itself: commuters need to pay more, but don't expect to see much in the way of improvements for it. The agency is saying that given the huge budget shortfall projected for next year, it's already contemplating another fare hike just three months after the last one went into effect. It would be nice if the next fare hike didn't leave odd amounts of unusable change stranded on Metrocards.
Mayor Bloomberg poor-mouthed the City as a reason for a potential hike, and in no small part blamed the defeat of his congestion pricing plan as the reason for the knife the MTA is planning to introduce into commuters' backs. "I think there is a very good likelihood that we are going to have to face the issue of a fare increase or something else. The city doesn't have any money to give. We are out of money."
And all those capital spending projects that the MTA was planning are likely being placed on the back burner. If one has purchased a "2nd Ave. Subway 2013!" t-shirt in recent months, hang on to it, so you can give it to your still-a-glimmer kids, and they can wear it ironically when they're in their 20s and turn into hipsters living in New York City.
For more current irony, it thus appears that the defeat of congestion pricing as a way to reduce car congestion in the city will lead to higher mass transit fares, thus discouraging even more people to make the choice against single-car commuting into the city.
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And service still sucks because the signals are all crap, there's no reporting mechanisms to tell us when the next train will arrive, and the riders are just as dumb, holding the doors when the next train's headlights can be seen right behind the train they're trying to get on.
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2013? They already announced months ago that phase 1 won't be completed until 2015. I bet that's in doubt now too.
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The budgeting of this city is a joke. It's probably the richest city in the country and we just can't figure it out.
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Bloomie could solve the MTA shortfall by chipping in a spare $1B (heck, he's said philanthropy is a career goal), but yeah, it would set a bad precedent.
Crowded trains: I just wait on the platform till one empty to my liking arrives.
www.forgotten-ny.com
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Fire everyone. Especially the MTA accountants who lose hundreds of millions of dollars only to find it again after instituting fare hikes.
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wtf? A good portion of my paycheck goes to the city, I pay $81/month for a MetroCard, and they're still over budget?! They need some new finance people, stat.
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Always crying for money. It's the same tune over and over again. One day they have a huge surplus and the next it turns into a huge deficit.
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Take cabs.
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I'd rather walk. You fat and/or lazy bastards can ride cabs.
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I love New York City, but I HATE HATE HATE the MTA. They are SO worthless. Trains and stations are filthy. Employees tend not give a rat's ass about their jobs. Rush hour frequently finds me waiting for a train on a crowded platform, only to have a packed to capacity train pull up. Unable to get on, it is then a matter of waiting for a train I can get into to show up. Once I do - forget sitting down - I'm lucky if there's room for me to read my book somewhere. ...That's pretty bad, when there is routinely not enough space for me to hold a book in front of me.
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Remember a couple of years ago when they gave out free rides? How many hundreds of millions did they spend with the "surplus"?
Suck it MTA, I've got a bike now!
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Privatize the shit.
I've already wasted enough breath and keystrokes on how this public authority is so disposable.
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when the warm weather hits I get on my bike and I dont step foot into a MTA conveyance unless I absolutely must. It simply sucks, especially the helL train. Get a bike everybody. It is the best way to get around. the more bikes on the streets the safer it is for all Bicyclists.
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We should bring back the commuter tax.
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Graft and curruption. Period. And Bloomy leads the pack - wolf in preppy clothing. Yech.
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On the one hand, yes, the MTA desperately needs someone to come in and trim the fat from their organization. Preferably someone swinging an axe.
On the other hand, for such a far-flung and complex system serving so many people, the MTA really doesn't do such a terrible job. The simple fact that the average person in NYC doesn't own a car is testament to that.
Try living without a car in New Orleans or Austin and depending on public transit to get you everywhere you need to go, day or night. It makes the G seem like Pegasus.
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Lord Stompo, America is NOT a good place for finding examples of fine mass transit. Travel abroad and you'll see how shitty this country is when it comes to transit.
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What about the $1 billion for the Hudson Yards? The MTA needs to be investigated.
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Absolutely - Paris has it figured out. Rubber wheels, too! No screeching! But then again, it wouldn't be New York if it wasn't loud enough to break your eardrums.
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I totally agree, 15. The MTA should be able to give us amazing service with all the money they have coming in right now. It's obvious that our fares and our tax dollars are going into the pockets of corrupt government officials rather than into maintaining and improving the system. Shouldn't the attorney general be looking into the actions of these crooks?
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Well the old saying you get what you pay for. If I am paying more I should get more not less. With the new fare hikes these MF cant even keep up with the improvements they promised let alone maintain the systems they have. I want to work for the MTA they are not a results driven CO. I am not talking about the hard working people we see every day giving us directions or what have you. I am talking about the people who live in the Ivory Towers who don't even use public transportation who work for the MTA.