If one ever wondered if there was a rhyme or reason to where those WET PAINT signs show up on subway pillars, the Daily News gives some idea. The paper learned that the MTA made sure to paint the pillars at three major station hubs right before politicians used them as locations for press conferences."I gotta figure a way to get the governor to my station in Brooklyn," quipped Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers......

So much for halting the hike! Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Spitzer have both given their approval of the MTA's proposed 4-7% fare hikes for subway and bus riders. The base fare will remain $2, but the unlimited Metrocard prices will increase. The Mayor (from China apparently) said, "Based on the information that my staff and I have received and reviewed over the past few weeks, I am now satisfied that the MTA budget is a......

Even thought Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign tries to insist that the story is old news and a hit job, the Rudy-NYPD security detail Travelgate situation keeps getting messier. Why? Because even if one agrees that a security detail for Giuliani while he was visiting his then-mistress (and now current wife) Judi Nathan in the Hamptons is a legitimate use of taxpayer money (even if it was randomly billed to various city agencies - which the......

Governor Spitzer's sudden Tuesday announcement that he would ask the MTA to keep the base subway and bus fare at $2 continues to draw skeptics of all kinds. Since the MTA just found an extra $220 million on their balance sheets, though additional revenues, real estate taxes, underspending and debt service costs, Spitzer said that the additional funds could be used to avert a base fare hike. Hurrah? Well, yes, but... ...the cost of unlimited......

The Daily News has been keeping score which MTA officials have actually been showing up to the meetings where the public gets to air its opinions about the proposed fare hikes. And now that the meetings are over, the News names the three MTA board members who were no shows: (pictured, from left to right) Andrew Saul (who is Vice Chairman of the Board), Donald Cecil, and Susan Metzger. And mind you, these are members......

To the surprise of no one, New Yorkers are not in favor of the MTA's proposed fare-and-toll hikes. Residents, transit advocates and elected officials have been speaking at the MTA's public hearings all week, raising a number of questions about the MTA's service, the state's and city's contributions to the MTA, and effect it will have on riders. The Manhattan public hearing reminded of us Festivus, or at least its "public airing of grievances"......

Tonight, the MTA will hold public hearings in Long Island and Queens about the proposed fare and toll hikes. And if Monday night's hearing in Brooklyn is any indication, things will probably be rollicking. Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz earned applause when he said, "Ladies and gentleman, fuhgeddaboutit!" (the Post reported the agency reaction: "MTA board members sat stone-faced") while the Straphangers Campaign's Gene Russianoff brought a life-size cut-out of Governor Spitzer. Markowitz and Russianoff......

MUSIC: It's CMJ, check out one of the zillions of bands playing. Since trying to pick just one show is tough, we'll suggest one for you. Head over to Brooklyn tonight for Dirty on Purpose, A Place to Bury Strangers, Sisters, Coin Under Tongue and Indian Scout. They'll be taking the stage at Death by Audio. Listen: Mind Blindness.mp3 - Dirty on Purpose 8pm // Death by Audio [49 South 2nd St, Williamsburg] And come......

The MTA has announced the times of public hearings where the agency will discuss the impending bus and subway fare hike. There are eight meetings across the five boroughs, Westchester, and Long Island. We've all heard about the two kinds of fare hikes - a traditional across-the-board hike and another hike that would give discounts during off-peak rides. The a single ride would be $2.25, up from the current $2. And the early mentioned......

As part of the deal to advance congestion pricing (and nab the $354 million the feds are offering), the city and state have announced their appointees to a panel to, ur, study congestion pricing and develop a recommendation. The Mayor, Governor, City Council, State Senate Majority Leader, and State Assembly Speaker each get to select three appointees, while the Senate minority leader and Assembly minority leader each select one. Mayor Bloomberg said, "Today we are......

The MTA's CEO Lee Sander says that the agency will consider crediting unlimited ride Metrocards for travel missed on Wednesday, during the subway shutdown due to severe flooding. That's a novel idea from the MTA, but getting credited less than $4 seems like a hollow gesture - what about the overall pain and suffering of riders? The MTA should try to do something more meaningful, though a something it could actually execute escapes us (we......

During a board meeting to present the MTA's 2008-2011 financial plan, MTA executive director Lee Sander confirmed yesterday that, yes, fare and toll hikes would be needed in the future because of looming billion-dollar deficits - even in spite of a current billion dollar surplus. And though some politicians were quick to criticize potential hikes (no pol wants fare increases on their watch), the Straphangers Campaign's Gene Russianoff told the Times, "[The MTA has] good......

Now that MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow has announced his resignation, the newspapers are assessing his tenure. And the verdict is that Kalikow did usher the MTA into an era of high ridership and capital improvement and help ed set up many big projects (Second Avenue Subway, East Side Access). But he also oversaw the agency during the transit strike. The Straphangers Campaign's Gene Russianoff tells the NY Times, "He ended up with probably what was......

Yesterday's Second Avenue Subway groundbreaking was notable for a few things: First of all, as we all know by now, it's was the fourth groundbreaking - three occurred in the 1970s, so yesterday's event was an introduction to the pomp and pageantry of subway groundbreakings for many of us. Second, it was pouring. When it rains at weddings, some people say that's lucky (though we suspect it's just to make the couple feel better).......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a police car crash near Wall Street, a fall victim down a hole at Yankee Stadium, and an all hands call in Times Square. WNBC has some amusing highlights from Federal mafia recordings: "In actuality, to be perfectly honest with you, I shot him in the leg first, and he went down screaming, and then I started taking his arm off with the chainsaw. He couldn't move. He felt......

The Sun has some hilarious quotes about the new "real time" information signs the MTA has put up in L train stations. Our favorite is from designer Christian Rudder, who said, "If it were conceivable to walk when the wait was going to be long, I might leave. But in Brooklyn, there's no other option, so what's the point of even knowing?" Ha! Other riders were underwhelmed, too, perhaps hoping for something more flashy......

On Wednesday, NYC Transit Authority President Lawrence Reuter announced he would be leaving his post in February. Reuter will be headed to Florida engineering firm Parsons Brinckerhoff - and to be closer to his grandchildren. Reuter has been president for 11 years, and we've had some good times with him. Remember when he told subway riders it would take 3-5 years to fix a broken signal room from the Chambers Street fire, but then it......

Op-ed pieces are always very hopeful, but we will remain optimistic that Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer will be able to take the one written by lawyer Gene Russianoff of Straphangers' Campaign seriously. Russianoff offers a roadmap to help navigate the MTA, given the huge deficits ahead and the reliance on mass transit that many New Yorkers enjoy. You should read the essay yourself, but here are the points: 1. Appoint transportation professionals - "not political......

Whoa, is this an early holiday present to Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer? Or is this a fake-out to appease him for now? MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow told a state Assembly oversight hearing that he'll leave office "sometime in the second quarter": "There are things that I want to get finished. When they are finished I would like to resign." Those things being getting funding for the Second Avenue Subway and other capital projects secured. Kalikow was......

With the Citigroup buying the naming rights to the new Mets Stadium, MTA executives are hoping to hitch a ride on the company's money train. On Tuesday, the Daily News reported that the MTA will be in discussions with Citigroup about renaming "two MTA stations: the Shea Stadium stops on the subway and commuter railroad systems, an authority spokesman confirms." There were two opinions in the article: An MTA board member who said he would......

Newsday has a good article looking at the transportation issues the next governor will deal with - the biggest being the MTA. The MTA, which already announced fare hikes for next year, faces insane budget deficits in the coming years: $905 million in 2008, $1.13 billion in 2009, $1.48 billion in 2010. The Straphangers' Campaign's Gene Russianoff says of the MTA, "They borrowed a ton of money to fix a system, and now the bill......

We love this time of year, when the Straphangers Campaign hands out the Pokey Awards for the city's slowest buses. Usurping last year's winner M34 from the slowest spot this year was the M14A, which goes between 11th Avenue and Avenue A, and then down to Grand Street, and travels at an average of 3.9 MPH, which is what a healthy New Yorker speedwalking can do easily (average pedestrian walking speed is 3 MPH).......

Guess what? The MTA is unhappy with Siemens, who promised them real-time information boards, because the company has failed to fix its software! The Post reports that the MTA already paid Siemens $45 million out of the $160 million contract, but the agency is now looking for another contractor to finish the job. This is very good to know - you don't actually have to finish a job in order to get paid by......

Well, looks who is Mr. Helpful all of a sudden: MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow is opposed to service cuts the MTA was planning to consider in its budget. The service cuts, which were reported yesterday in the NY Times, would have been extensive, piling on many minutes of waiting time for subways and buses as service. Critics - including our readers - freaked out, and especially considering plans to increase the subway and bus......

The Straphangers have released their annual State of the Subways Report Card for 2006, and like last year, the 6 train rules and the N train is the worst. The W also joined the N train as being the worst, confirming everything Queens residents have been saying. The newer subway cars on the 6 line (as well as the 2/3 and 4/5) help elevate scores in breakdowns, cleanliness and announcement adequacy; other factors include......

It feels like 2005 again! TWU President Roger Toussaint and Straphangers Campaign attorney Gene Russianoff want the MTA to delay its vote on the West Side rail yards. The vote, scheduled for Wednesday, would consider the city's $500 million bid for the area Mayor Bloomberg hopes to turn into Hudson Yards. After the Jets stadium debacle last year, the rail yards were appraised at $923 million, which is why Toussaint and Russianoff are asking that......

- The Straphangers' Campaign's Gene Russianoff has a blog! - Forty-nine MTA workers were saluted for their “bravery and selfless acts in aiding those in need” and given medals from the NYC Transit president Larry Reuter. One subway worker rescued a woman who fell in the tracks, and bus driver Courtny Granston helped nab a thief: “I saw the cops pass me, and then I picked up this guy two blocks later,” Granston recalled.......

Five different riders' groups - the Straphangers Campaign, the Empire State Passengers Association, the Institute for Rational Urban Mobility in New York, the New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers and the Lackawanna Coalition in New Jersey - sent a letter to NYC officials citing concerns that plans for railways and a commuter terminal are dangerous. The MTA and NJ Transit are planning new tunnels and a station that are 100-150 feet underground, and the natural......

MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow called the Transport Workers Union December 2005 transit strike a "criminal act committed against riders" and refused to revote on the post-strike offer that the TWU rejected then accepted. He also told the MTA board that he begged Transport Workers Union head Roger Toussaint to continue negotiatingduring pre-strike negotiations last December."I pleaded with Roger Toussaint not to leave. I begged him. I can't remember the last time I begged somebody to......

The testimony for the NYCLU's lawsuit agains the NYPD for the subway bag searches has ended, and after reading the NY Times article, it seems that both sides pull out the stops for crazy quotes. NYPD did admit that the bag searches occur very rarely, but tried to scare Judge Richard M. Berman. Deputy Commissioner for counterterrorism Michael Sheehan said, "There is no doubt in my mind that the introduction of bag searches - even......