New NY State License Plate Revealed—And Required On All Cars
Cops: Columbia Prof Punched Woman In "White Privilege" Brawl
Despite Gay Brothers, State Sen. Diaz Still Anti-Gay Marriage
GoCaGa, BoHo, iTri, And Other New Neighborhood Names
Flashback: Last Brownstone Standing
Photograph by phrenologist on Flickr
After much speculation and the local papers preparing commuters for what was to come, the MTA made their official budget proposal today and as expected, the cutbacks were dramatic. In addition to the slashing of the W and the Z lines among other cuts listed Tuesday, today's 2009 budget also included the following:
- Increasing weekend wait times by 25% on most lines
- Raising express bus fares from $5 to $7.50
- Getting rid of the X27 and X28 express-bus lines as well as 25 overnight bus routes
- Eliminating a total of 2,700 jobs
- An additional 250+ job cuts on the LIRR and Metro-North
- Slowing down the renovation of Grand Central Station and cutting back on its maintenance and cleaning
- Reducing facility security and truck weight enforcement personnel on bridge and tunnel crossings
- An even greater reliance on E-Z Pass Lanes over Cash ones
- A 23 percent fare and toll increase proposal and alternate year fare and toll increases starting in 2011
While that last point does not specify what those increases will be, it authorizes the MTA staff to begin the public hearing process for potential fare/toll increases and service cuts.
MTA heads were delivered the news with their heads hanging low. MTA Chairman Dale Hemmedinger said, "We can either cut service or we can raise fares. That’s all we can do. If we don’t balance the budget by the end of the year, we could all go to jail.” And MTA Executive Director Elliot Sander who again called the cuts "draconian" added, "They will be painful and no one at the MTA is eager to implement them...It powers our economy and we cannot allow the system to move backward at this critical moment." They both pleaded for more assistance from all levels of government.
(And to clarify the announcement from Tuesday of the "halving of the G" that was included in the cuts, the implementation of that specifically means that train will no longer run beyond Court Square in Queens.)
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/20/nyregion/20transit.html
The authority first began a capital spending program in 1982 in what became a successful effort to pull the transit system out of a catastrophic spiral of decay.
At first the programs were financed with a combination of money from the state and city and borrowing. After George E. Pataki became governor in 1995, he sharply cut state funds for the capital programs and told the authority to borrow more. As a result, the last two five-year plans have been, in the words of the authority’s current executive director, Elliot G. Sander, put on a credit card.
That has made the authority one of the largest debtors in the country — it owes nearly $27 billion — and has hobbled it with fast-growing interest payments.
People are already fleeing NYC because of the economy, I guess the MTA just wants to make NYC even more of a ghost town.
@goodcow--everyone needs to print out that passage and keep that in mind. The MTA is a screwy organization, but it has been hobbled by Albany/Pataki.
Excellent! Taking our money and making us wait longer. I
*I heart NY!
"Getting rid of the X27 and X28 express-bus lines. . ."
You need to clarify that the elimination of the X27 and X28 applies only to the weekends. These express buses will still run on the weekdays.
Hopefully rent will get cheaper as NYC gets more hellish and uncomfortable. I'm seriously running out of reasons to stay here.
"That’s all we can do. If we don’t balance the budget by the end of the year, we could all go to jail.”
they should already be in jail
I take it not needlessly renaming bridges wasn't even considered.
Oh god this is awful. Just awful.
How to Fix the MTA: A five-point plan for saving the subway
By Peter Keating
Originally Published Feb 21, 2005
http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/features/11161/
I suppose there's no way to stop construction on the 2nd Ave Subway, or the 7 line expansion?
and raise the fare for what? there is absolutely nothing to show for other than the occasional new experimental trains, the subway platforms, ceilings and platforms are filthy. i don't want to hear about the "authentic old new york" experience or the "subways are so old" excuses neither. our dollars should be put to use, and with the constant weekend/late night confusion of trains rerouting due to subway maintenance, we might as well reconstruct the subways and make them energy efficient. trust me, we won't notice the difference in subway service. if you want new york to be authentic, don't demolish coney island.
When you see eight or nine workmen on the tracks and only one of them is actually doing anything ressembling work, you'll know why the MTA can't stay above water.
This should spur the city to continue to build, maintain and enforce traffic rules on bicycle lanes throughout the city. There will be less folks using MTA, and more taking to the streets. This could be a positive step to ween some New Yorkers off the pernicious MTA.
"We can either cut service or we can raise fares. That’s all we can do."
Or you could do both. Oh, wait, you have done.
And once a line is removed it doesn't come back, ie. KK service from Canarsie to 6th Ave, the Culver Shuttle, Manhattan els (the promised 2nd Ave subway never materialized) etc etc
www.forgotten-ny.com
oh boy, the joy
just hope Broomberg gets the tax increase for the city so i can move the hell out.
@ cncrocket: don't let the door hit you on the way out.
I, too, am frustrated and annoyed by a fare increase for increasingly awful service. But this reminds me of the stupid T-shirt discussed yesterday. It's expensive to live here overall, so please stop suggesting you're going to leave due to a fare increase. Nobody lieks a whiner. You're here because you'd rather be here than anywhere on Earth, and you feel fortunate that you live here. Not a day goes by that I'm not thankful to be able to raise my kids here. Yes, that means I write an awful lot of checks, but that's the cost of doing business. If it's not important to you, or it's too painful, adieu. Move to Jersey and pay for gas and make car payments.
If NYC had a climate like San Diego then a bicycle will better off than the MTA. Riding a bicycle in the winter for 4-5-6+ miles is not fun.
The MTA makes me sick. Sure it costs plenty to live here, but they have the whole city by the fucking balls. Those greedy cocksuckers shut down the whole system for a fucking raise. What good does that do them now? The MTA has no clue on how to balance their checkbook. If they have all of this debt because of loans, why the hell have they offered these discounts on Metro cards all of these years? Fuck them...
I think this issue makes it very clear MORE should be done for bicyclists. I feel this helps everybody. There should be free bicycle wash stations. Rest stops with fresh spring water for bicyclists. Every Thursday there can be designated bicycle advocates (volunteers mind you - not paid by those rats at the MTA) to give pats on the back to bicyclists for "keepin' it green" and helping the city.
Bicycles!
Bicycles!!
Bicycles!!!!
Did you know all of the city traffic and commuter problems can be solved with bicycles? I should know because I ride a bicycle and once read an article about Bicycles. I even rode in a couple of those Critical Mass rides.
In your face gas-guzzling automobiles!!!!
Ha, the G barely ever ran past Court Square to begin with.
W, I will miss you.
Pataki, I hope you feel guilty right now.
If the fare is raised to $2.50, we can live with it. It'll still be less expensive than most international transit systems.
I can't believe they are in such debt. What kind of management allows for that to happen?
What kind of magical surprise costs did they incur since the last fare hike?
The number of riders has steadily increased over those years, shouldn't that translate into exactly where they wanted to be?
There was no justification for the last fare hike, but this time all of a sudden debt is the reason?
I don't think so. I will slap the train conductor next time I see one with their head poking out for all of you who only wish they could.
Good point, Kojak. There are still no zones in the NYC system, like in London. Using a zone system, a trip from Coney Island to Midtown could cost $7-8, but today it is only $2. It's still a tremendous bargain. We're just spoiled. If only the quality of service wasn't absolute rubbish.
Dale Hemmedinger and Elliot Sander why don't both of you take a pay cut as well?
Are they cutting service on the Kill Van Kull zipline that goes from the North Tower of the Verrazano Bridge to Battery Park?
I'm waiting for the populist grandstanding from our politicos about how a fair hike is an unfair tax on working class New Yorkers. Come on, Congressman Weiner, we're ready to hear it.
Hemmedinger doesn't get paid (I don't think) -- board members are uncompensated.
And he earns every penny.
I think I speak for everyone here when I say AAARRRRRRGH.
Can I run the MTA? Please?
The MTA should've been raising the fare more if the cost of maintaining and operating the system was getting more expensive rather than taking out loans.
If they had done that, at least the more recent fare hikes would actually be going to bettering or maintaining service rather than paying off the interest on the loans they took.
The service the MTA provides is abominable. If a health inspector stepped on the F train from Queens on any given morning they would condemn it. I would love it if they charged a zone fare, provided they dramatically upgrade the service. So for what they charge now, riders can stand in someone else's vomit for $2! A bargain to some, but this is insane. To cut the service, raise fares, and reduce staffing is criminal. That scumbag Peter Kalikow should have been in jail years ago.
Hey captain blackout: MTA can fund itself through municipal bond issuances that have very low interest rates. This allows for extra flexibility than being solely reliant upon fares to fund the system. I believe the MTA would be billions short each year....so you can infer what that gap would translate to in terms of a fare hike.
who was watching over this band of thieves?
What did pataki do during those 12 years? oh I know, never an on time budget.
we should be protesting Pataki's residence.
Just raise the base fares to $2.50, then incrementally raise the fares about 15¢ yearly so it's not such a shock to everyone's budget.
Keep in mind, the 2nd Ave subway is mostly being funded by the feds and the 7 line extension funded by the city. That money can't easily be shifted elsewhere since it isn't really theirs to spend.
"We can either cut service or we can raise fares. That’s all we can do."
What about advertising revenue? Google can wrap every train in NYC for all I care.
So now instead of waiting 45 minutes for a J train at night and on weekends, I can look forward to waiting an hour? An hour in the leaky pit that is the Canal platform, or worse the Bowery platform where chunks of the ceiling fall and waterfalls of greasy toxic water pour all winter?
Hey MTA, Fuck off.
The people are fault for this. If the subway was still privately operated, this never would have happened. Security would have always been good, and subway fares would have been decided by market conditions and ridership, not by the direction of city council fools looking for a vote.
The subway was built by investors interested in a long term return. Barely any maintenance was done for a half century because it was constructed to such a high level of quality.
Now, the game is up. Somebody has to pay. We can keep playing these games, but the fact is the people who use the subway should pay. Raise the fare to $5.00 a ride. Then we'll see some real progress.
#38: They already signed an $800 million multiyear deal with some ad company, I suppose this budget takes that into account. They could do more, though.
Oh noes! Not the G! Like it ever runs past Court Sq anyways.
I'm tired of being angry about the MTA. they should seriously just Eat Shit and Die.
Move to Jersey and pay for gas and make car payments.
The US spans and entire continent so there are a few more options than moving to New Jersey.
And they should do zone pricing. I might be more willing to take the subway a few stops if it were $1. I'll walk 15 blocks to get some exercise rather than drop $2 each way. I don't need a monthly pass since I walk to work.
#40: "The subway was built by investors interested in a long term return. Barely any maintenance was done for a half century because it was constructed to such a high level of quality."
This is just simply false. The subway was built by the city and leased to private companies for operation, and they could never make any money. They were all sold to the city in 1940.
Give NYC artists free reign to redecorate stations.
Tracer, considering that everything that #40 said was the opposite of truth, I actually assumed it was satire.
Drewo, don't worry, once we have fewer agents in the stations or cops on the street, graffiti artists will once again have free reign over the stations.
more government! give them more! let them run everything! make everything a publicly run entity! socialize it! bleh!
Anybody got a bike for sale?
@ #2, yeah, right, this is a ghost town.
And yep, #49, bikes, scooters, whatever. I bought me a nice xooter this summer. Easier to carry and store. Will be using it whenever possible.
Maybe it's time for a commuter strike. I mean, what if all New Yorkers refused to pay for the subway, and just jumped the styles by the thousands. They'd have to close their doors just because there wouldn't be time to arrest everyone.
And then they'd really make no money.
COMMUTER STRIKE!
COMMUTER STRIKE!
@45
The subway was built by the city and leased to private companies for operation
It was designed by a committee, bankrolled by the city, but was built and operated by private companies mostly financed by August Belmont who would later incorporate the IRT which held the lease to operate the original line(s).
and they could never make any money.
The BMT made a profit and paid dividends to it's shareholders right to the end, in spite the five cent fare. After World War I, inflation made keeping the original 1904 five cent fare a detriment which contributed to the IRT's bankruptcy.
The MTA could do a better job of explaining just how they are going into such a big deficit to begin with. Did they suddenly lose 2 million customers? No. Did the cost of employing some sweaty fat piece of sub-educable garbage to stand there behind greasy glass suddenly soar? No. They are a public entity. Either they are lying to us now or they've been lying all along.
my blood is boiling. i live in bay ridge & nearly had a heart attack when i saw that the x27 was being eliminated.
calmed down when i realized it was only on wknds.
then i realized that they want to charge me $15!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! a DAY to ride a city bus?!!
if the N/R line didn't suck into infinity x 1000 maybe id ride the subway...the reason i stopped taking it was because of the panic attack inducing AM commutes.
im sorry but right now i HATE this city!!!
Anybody want to teach me how to ride a bike?
As long as rent goes down, I can ride my bike and get anywhere in the city faster than the subway.
"We can either cut service or we can raise fares."
Aren't they doing both?