As had been predicted Governor Andrew Cuomo today announced that the new head of the MTA will be Joseph Lhota, a former deputy mayor under Giuliani and current executive at Madison Square Garden. He'll be replacing current Chairman Jay Walder, who is leaving to seek his fortunes in Hong Kong. In addition to Lhota, Cuomo is also appointing Nuria Fernandez, a transit exec who's worked in Chicago and DC, as the Administration's chief operating officer, the second-highest position there not to mention Karen Rae as his new deputy secretary of transportation. And people seem okay with the choices! more ›

It has been almost two months since Jay Walder announced he'd be leaving his job atop the MTA to make some real money in Hong Kong and a little more than a month since Governor Cuomo set up a committee to find his replacement. So how's that going? Pretty well, it seems. The Daily News reports that the running is now down to six finalists with Joseph Lhota, a city budget director under Rudy Giuliani, as the front runner. more ›

MTA head Jay Walder is soon to depart the troubled agency (for various reasons), so who will replace him? Today Governor Cuomo has set that task before a committee of union leaders, transportation professionals and mass transit advocates. "This committee will help conduct a national and international search to find and recommend the most talented candidates for the next chairman of the MTA," the Governor said in a statement. "I am committed to appointing a new chairman who will put straphangers first and who will continue to reform the MTA by reducing costs and waste, while improving efficiency and service." In addition to the committee, Cuomo has hired the headhunting firm Krauthamer & Associates to help find a replacement for Walder. Whoever gets the nod will still be subject to a State Senate confirmation. more ›

After MTA chairman Jay Walder announced his surprise resignation to go work in Hong Kong last week, almost everyone was upset that the financially shaky MTA was losing a "world class transportation professional," as Bloomberg put it. Walder officially stated he was leaving because of a "compelling offer" he couldn't refuse, but the scuttlebutt now is that Walder's chilly relationship with Gov. Andrew Cuomo played an important role in the decision. more ›

Last week after the surprise resignation of MTA chairman Jay Walder, an MTA insider told us that among the many reasons he was leaving was the bleak promise of either more fare hikes or service cuts in the next two years. And today, the MTA announced their five-year financial plan, which will include two fare hikes in 2013 and 2015, avoid service cuts, and bring "fragile stability" to the MTA, according to Walder. more ›

How many people have to get slapped in the face before MTA chairman Jay Walder does something about the scourge of subway eating? Earlier this week, in the wake of the subway spaghetti scuffle video that rocked a nation, MTA board members discussed banning eating on the trains, in order to starve the rat population into submission and put the litterbugs out of business. Sure, it would be totally unenforceable unless city forms a special elite unit of MTA food police, but it seems that Walder lacks the political will to drive the eaters from the temple that is our subway system. more ›

MTA head Jay Walder says that despite a proposed $100 million budget cut to the Authority, he does not want to pass the burden onto customers. “We will not look to service cuts and we will not look to fare increases. We will look, as we have been doing, for ways that we can continue to reduce our cost structure," he said in front of the state budget committee in Albany yesterday. Of course, that pretty much leaves layoffs as the most obvious way to cut costs, and he didn't rule out that option: "Well we've said and I'll continue to say is that we’re working on a plan right now to be able to deal with that." more ›

At a pres conference with the mayor today, MTA chairman Jay Walder talked about stuck buses and missing chains for a bit. "We have multiple types of buses, chains are put on articulated buses—they have the most probability of being stuck. We typically have not had difficulties with stuck buses with the types of buses we have today. The hybrid buses we use are typically able to get through the snow but for whatever reason this snow they didn't get through. I'm not a snow expert to tell you why." Which is how we got images like these. more ›

Five years ago this week transit workers struck, bringing the city to a standstill. So what is MTA Chairman Jay Walder getting transit employees for their wooden anniversary? Not a raise, if he gets his way. more ›

When a graffiti artist tags MTA property, it's generally cleaned or painted over in a somewhat timely matter. However, when a graffiti artist uses a sidewalk outside of a Dunkin' Donuts in Coney Island to diss MTA Chairman Jay Walder, it becomes a "priority job." The MTA has dispatched a crew to clean a spray-painted message reading, "LAYOFF WALDER! REHIRE WORKERS!" from two stretches of sidewalk on 86th Street, Avenue U and West 13th Street. NYC Transit spokesman Charles Seaton said, "This is absolutely proper use of NYC Transit personnel and resources. It is our social obligation to remove graffiti critical of the MTA or its managers." more ›

The sneaky campaign to make straphangers appreciate the next round of fare hikes seems to be going as planned. Yesterday, it was "leaked" that the MTA was considering a $130 unlimited monthly MetroCard—a $41 hike from the current $89, and $26 over the initially floated $104. Today, the MTA said in a statement, "This is not an official MTA proposal. I'd be very surprised if that's where we end up." And cue thankful riders forgetting all about the still-steep $15 hike and those "limited unlimited" cards, right? more ›

The wild cards over at the MTA just sprung a third option for the fare hike on the monthly MetroCard. Last month their budget proposal suggested options for a $104 monthly MetroCard or a $99 "limited unlimited," which would give riders 90 rides over 30 days. But yesterday, MTA CEO Jay Walder threw a curve ball at straphangers, and suggested making the unlimited monthly card $130. more ›

An avuncular MTA employee who was caught on camera sleeping inside the token booth at the City Hall R station has put in his request for retirement. The unidentified worker, whom we'll just call Sleepy, got in trouble earlier this month when NY1 obtained a photo of him with his face down in the booth. In an interview, Sleepy claimed he wasn't napping, just bent over to closely inspect the money, because, "I always check money and everything else and look at it carefully. Because I've found errors in the money, there are, slightly misprints, what do you call. In fact, I've shown clerks the same, what I've found." more ›

Last month, it was reported that MTA Chairman Jay Walder had purchased a $1.6 million condo at Central Park West and 96th Street. The three-bedroom abode is near five subways (the B/C and 1/2/3), not to mention a number of buses, which makes it easy for Transit Workers Union members to protest! TWU Local 100 president John Samuelson told the Daily News that Walder's pricey home, high salary and vacation home in France "demonstrates he's a rich elitist completely out of touch with New York City transit workers and riders." more ›

MTA chairman Jay Walder recently bashed union work rules that are allegedly keeping the Authority from increasing efficiency. Calling them "the shame of the system," Walder blasted things like the "swing shift," a period of time that lasts up to four hours where bus drivers receive half pay between morning and evening shifts. Many spend it playing pool in bus depots. Walder told the Daily News, "That has to change. It might mean some of our bus drivers aren't as good at playing pool as they are now, but we might have to bear that cost." more ›

At a meeting with New York City students who are angry about the MTA's cost-cutting plan to abolish student MetroCards, MTA chair Jay Walder said he will postpone his agency's vote on the controversial measure. "We'd like to have as much time as possible for discussions with the state and city and hopefully find a way through this difficult situation," Walder said. According to the Post, he added that he hopes "students can make a decision about what school they would like to attend without them worrying about how they will get there." more ›

After a series of contentious public hearings in which four people were arrested, the cash-strapped MTA announced that is considering saving several bus routes that had been slated for elimination. According to the Daily News, a "small number" of bus routes might be spared, though a final decision hasn't yet been made. By making administrative cuts, MTA chief Jay Walder told the Post he can save about $5 million and keep some previously endangered bus lines running. "We have listened closely to our customers and will respond by making changes where we can," he said. Student MetroCards and the W train remain on the chopping block. more ›

Last night's Manhattan public hearing about the MTA's proposed cuts—cutting subway and bus service, eliminating student Metrocards, getting rid of 1,000 workers—was not the chaotic, arrest-filled scene that occurred on Wednesday in Brooklyn. But emotions were just as high, as students, members of the Transport Workers Union, politicians, and others protested outside the Fashion Institute of Technology, with many police officers on hand in case things got heated. more ›

There's already talk that the MTA will raise fares by more than the expected 7.5 percent next year—but now transit experts say the cash-strapped agency might increase the cost of commuting before the end of 2010. With a budget shortfall that's only gotten worse in recent weeks, MTA chairman Jay Walder told the Times: "[I]t has been my intent to hold to that scheduled increase...I believe that having regularly scheduled increases is preferable to increasing fares and tolls in other circumstances, and we're trying very much to stay in that mode." But trying very much doesn't necessarily mean will, according to insiders. "He very consciously did not rule it out," warned one transit watchdog. more ›

Alongside other cost-cutting moves that will eliminate subway and bus lines, nix free student MetroCards, and reduce service, the MTA has announced that it will fire more than 1,000 workers. In an effort to save a projected $50 million, the agency will lay off more than 600 unionized and non-unionized administrative workers, cutting 15 percent of the MTA's administrative payroll. The agency will also deliver pink slips to up to 500 NYC Transit station agents, who are represented by the Transport Workers Union. more ›

As the Metropolitan Transportation Authority considers far-reaching service cuts that could eliminate free Metrocards for students and nix entire subway lines, the MTA's chairman unveiled a series of agency-wide goals intended to make commuting easier. MTA Chair Jay Walder said the city's public transit needs a "top-to-bottom overhaul" because "many service improvements are long overdue and ... customers are tired of hearing excuses." more ›

Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Jay Walder is pushing the State Assembly to draft legislation that will allow him to install cameras in bus lanes to keep cars from obstructing the mass transit paths. Like the stop light cameras used to ID drivers who run red lights, the proposed program aims to clear the way for buses by cracking down on motorists who turn bus lanes into parking lanes, according to NY1. more ›

Here we go again. As mentioned yesterday, the cash-strapped Metropolitan Transportation Authority is looking for a way to cut costs — meaning that just about all of the extensive service cuts that were approved and then rescinded last year are on the table again. more ›