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Photograph by ianqui on Flickr
NYC Transit President Howard Roberts Jr. doesn't seem to have a very positive self-image when it comes to the 468 subway stations he governs over. In an interview in today's NY Post, Roberts admits that maybe 100 of the stations are in good condition saying, "There's nothing out there that anybody's proud of."
What's worse is that Roberts admits that even with the proposed fair hikes, no improvements can be expected. The two hikes over the next three years would "only maintain the status quo." That's a status quo that MTA advisory-board member Andrew Albert says riders are reasonable to be upset with. "When something looks decrepit, it looks like management doesn't care about their riders," Albert said.
With fare hikes not being enough to whip the system into shape, the NY Times reports that another funding idea is creeping its way back into the discussion: congestion pricing. Naturally Mayor Bloomberg is quick to jump on that idea saying, “Unless the commission, which is actually made up of some very smart people, unless they can discover the fountain of youth, I think that that’s exactly what is going to come out of it.”
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The only certain thing at this point is that the argument over the deficits in MTA funding and the larger NYC budget is going to get good and ugly before it is resolved.
Just an idle thought, but perhaps it might not be a bad idea to prohibit transit workers from retiring on full pensions at disgustingly young ages.
Maybe they should revisit the 20 year retirement program? Nothing like a job where you'll likely collect benefits for twice as long as you worked.
Poor conditions are caused by poor management.
bust the TWU for starters
biggest waste of money is right there
It has to be time to start discussing a radical overhaul of NYC transit. As in completely get rid of the MTA management structure. The current system is obviously broken.
Wow, I'm speechless. The people running the MTA are utterly incompetent.
if unions are the problem, then how do you explain the excellent public transportation system in france?
I think the commenter was saying that it is the TWU, specifically, that is the problem.
Transit workers are disgusting animals. Cut their salaries and their pensions to monies consistent with jobs that do not require a college education.
I know I'm not the only one who experiences-- every single time there is a service change requiring running up the stairs, across, and down the next flight of stairs-- the incoming train on the opposite track seemingly intentionally closing the doors and pulling away, even as people yell "Wait!" and almost kill themselves running as fast as they can to make the transfer, knowing that it will be a good 20 minutes before another train comes again.
I can't wait for the TWU to illegally strike again so I can not support them and laugh as they are hauled off to jail.
Angry much? Yeah, a little. The trains have become un-ridable on the weekends because of the service change, get off here, go up and over to the other side and come back bullshit where the incoming trains don't even communicate with each other. I actually think they do it on purpose.
I think the problem is the people actually involved in the union, who care far more for steady increases in their pay than getting the job done. You need to boot out pricks like Toussaint.
I'd love for the TWU to come forward with a union president who is willing to say, "Our workers are important, what they do is vital to the city and they deserve protection. But they are not more important than the police or emergency services, and that we make at least 5 to 10k more than a cop with comparable tenure is appalling."
That doesn't mean that the MTA board isn't full of morons and leeches too, though.
erm, rapid transit is very expensive. we don't publicly fund ours enough. this is why our stations & service are so pathetic compared to paris, moscow, london, etc. the american way is to cash-starve public bureaucracies to the point that they're entirely ineffective, and then loudly bitch about how public bureaucracies are always ineffective. you deserve what you pay for, kids.
The workers AND the management need to be cut severely. Automate the system as they do throughout the world and the rest of this country. The only other system with this level of non-automation is in the outlands of India. Once we get rid of most of the workforce the long term costs will come down significantly and you can have more trains operating on the tracks. The MTA collects billions so they are obviously not cash starved, the money is completely wasted on totally incompetent employees at the top and bottom.
I have an idea for congestion pricing: make Broadway a completely pedicab-only 2-way lane between 116 and Canal Street.
People can walk to wherever they're planning on going east or west of it. Maybe they'd be healthier too.
And I stand by my proposal to puree commuters and pour them into subways to fit more people in.
Talos is right: the Parisian subway was great. I paid a LOT of taxes there, though -- but somehow felt it was worth it for what I got in terms of public transport and health care.
Joclyn: congratulations on managing to complain both about late service, and about conductors not waiting for stragglers on the platform. You've officially won this week's "...and the portions are so small!" award for braindead entitlement issues here on Gothamist. What's your prize, you ask? It's a one-way Greyhound ticket to a smaller city. Enjoy your $4.50/gallon commute!
Meanwhile, I'm just waiting for someone, anyone to explain why we should believe any financial numbers that come out of the MTA, ever, since they were caught running two sets of books back in 2005 and nobody got disciplined, fired or arrested.
Pardon me, that was 2002 when the MTA management got caught cooking their books, not 2005.
*fair* = fare
Every part of the MTA except track and equipment maintenance should be privatized. Let contract personel run the system and send the union packing. Unions made sense right on up to 1970.
Bongo, you seem upset. Rough weekend in the Hamptons with Muffy and Binky?
There is only one answer.
Privatize the MTA
if unions are the problem, then how do you explain the excellent public transportation system in france?
Higher fares and a 20% sales tax?
Privatizing the MTA is a terrible idea. What do you think will happen if the MTA is privatized? Fare hikes and service cuts to areas that aren't as profitable. Time Warner Cable is a private company with a monopoly in some areas of the city and is anyone happy with THEM?
We are still one of the richest countries on earth and live in the wealthiest city in that country, right? It is both embarrassing and appalling how barbaric our subway system is in the year 2008. I waited nearly 20 minutes on the scorching hot platform for the A/C train at the Columbus Circle station on Friday -- during rush hour!!! -- and had to leave before the train arrived because my shorts and t-shirt were literally soaked through from sweating. Not to mention I felt like I was going to pass out. It should be a crime to force commuters to endure such third-world conditions.
A-8
True, #23, which is why you privatize the personel and management of MTA but not the critical support and maintenance functions. Service cuts would be a political, not a mangerial issue but day to day operations could be much more efficient and cost less than what we have now. Saving a few billion over the term could mean MORE service and maybe even more lines.
if unions are the problem, then how do you explain the excellent public transportation system in france?
oh, you mean the one where the transit workers strike twice a year?