Results tagged “thestraphangers”

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...

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"...

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 off-peak fare was $1.50, but now the Daily News finds that the off-peak fare might be higher at $1.75.

It's that time again! The Straphangers Campaign has released its annual State of the Subways report, and this year, the 1 train topped all other lines. This is amazing news for the 1 train - it was only in 2005 when the Straphangers found the 1/9 to be the schmutz-iest! The 1 train got high marks for "frequently scheduled service, arriving with more regularity, fewer dirty cars, and better announcements," but it did perform "below average on: a chance of getting a seat during rush hours, and delays caused by mechanical breakdowns."

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.

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.

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.

You know those "Emergency Exits" at subway stations with the panic bars? And how even though they are "Emergency Exits," they are inevitably the ones that people with big packages or strollers often use, whether with help from a station agent or just setting off the "WEE!! WEE!! WEE!!" alarm? Well, that kind of usage is causing the alarms to break down and malfunction frequently.

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 is coming due."

Love it! The MTA's board says free newspapers are what caused subway flooding in 2004. Which contradicts an April report from the MTA's inspector general, who found that the agency was at fault for severe flooding that shut down much subway service on a September day (September 8, 2004 - when Hurricane Frances came to town and wreaked transit havoc). The April report noted the MTA's "historic neglect" of valves, difficulties Transit Authority first responders had in arriving to the scene, lack of TA command centers, and trash and muck clogging drains. MTA board member Barry Feinstein, however, said, "These hand-distributed free newspapers have been and continue to be a major cause of clogging the drains."

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 the MTA. And Siemens claims they can fix the software, but this is apparently on deaf MTA ears (Siemens must have majorly screwed up if the MTA isn't having any of this!).

- The Straphangers' Campaign's Gene Russianoff has a blog!

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 worry is that it will take too long to evacuate people in an emergency. The MTA's East Side Access plan, which would make the Long Island Rail Road available from Grand Central, would have passengers takes "16 high-speed escalators" that would take them 150 feet below, while NJ Transit is planning for new tunnels (can't trust Amtrak's!) under Herald Square. The NY Times reports that the groups made the letter public after they got a cursory response from the NYPD - they sent the letter to Commissioner Ray Kelly, who had one of his people send a letter to MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow to "[take] any action you deem appropriate."

The Straphangers have released their annual Subway Shmutz survey for 2006, and the E and M lines have the dirtiest cars! If you remember last year's survey, the 1/9 was the worst, and the year before that, the C was grossest, so Gothamist can only imagine that the Subway Shmutz survey will cycle around to name all the lines the worst - at least the ones with the old subway cars.

Oh, snap.

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 do something, but I did that night. I said, 'Roger, don't leave,' and Roger got up and walked out and sent his union out on an illegal strike."

Interesting news from Albany: MTA Executive Director Katherine Lapp told the legislature that the MTA doesn't want to increase fares again, saying, "What we're hoping is that the [2007] fare increase will not be needed." There were fears of fare hikes in 2006 and 2007 even since the 2004 50-cent fare increase. The MTA may not have to raise fares if real estate tax revenues remains sweet, because the MTA does have big budget deficits: The MTA would need "$240 million in additional revenue would be needed in 2007 and again in 2009 to avert the proposed hikes." The Straphangers Campaign is happy, though they pointed out the MTA did have a $1 billion surplus last year. However, as with anything the MTA says or does, hold your breath.

Staten Island: S61, at 11.9 mph - between the Staten Island Mall and Ferry Terminal11.9 MPH in Staten Island? That is SPEEDING for a Manhattan bus. The Straphangers have various suggestions on how to improve bus efficiency, such as wider bus lanes, longer stops, and our favorite, "bus lanes with physical means to discourage other vehicles from violating bus lanes." Newsday points out that since most people walk at 3 MPH, you could conceivably outwalk the M34. Well, definitely during Christmas when it's all out crazy.

The Straphangers Campaign has released its annual State of the Subways Report Card and yet again, the 6 train is named the best line while the N is the worst. The other trains, from best to worst, were the 1/9, 7, 4, E, J/Z, L, 5, Q, 2, 3, V, F, A, D, R, M, B, W, C. So, overall, it seems that the crappiest grouping of lines are the B, D, F, V - which comes as no surprise, as though cars are really old and crappy. The 6 gets its high rating because the train cars are newer, which means more comfort (if not more seats), more clear announcements and less breakdowns, whereas the N gets slammed because it performed below average on these four measures: "arriving with regularity, seat availability, cleanliness and announcements." If you look at the data (there are a bunch of PDFs available at the Straphangers), it seems to suggest that shorter lines - and ones with the newer subway cars - tend to rise to the top. Newsday, though, gets a quote from MTA spokesman Paul Fleuranges who says, "The subway system was never designed to offer everyone a seat during rush hour, particularly at the most crowded point along the route." Yeah, so suck it up, New Yorkers!

The NY Times points out that the huge financial problems were foreseen and that the blame can be attributed to both NYC mayors and the governor, but Governor Pataki wields the most power when making decisions about the MTA, and we feel one of the worst ones was Chairman E. Virgil Conaway who "adopted a new capital program, without any new sources of aid, that relied more heavily on borrowing than in the past." Really, the article is depressing, but Gothamist strongly urges you to read the article and become familiar with the names of officials involved, because on the election day, perhaps you'll be able to vote for Assembly members and State Senators who have our interests at heart. For a lucid explanation of the fare hike, look at this Straphangers' press release. The Straphangers also have this handy page that explains how can get involved in telling your elected leaders/MTA officials what you think.

However, some people make the best of the situation, saying it's a great way to see the city, provided you're on the right route. Gothamist just cautions anyone recommending their out-of-town friends to take the bus: Tell them not to take it during rush hour.

It's that time again: The Straphangers have released their State of the Subways report card again, and they say the report card "paints a positive picture of the subways." This year, the 6 train gets top honors, followed by the 7, D, E and 4. The worst line is the N, along with the A, R, W, and C - ah, it figures for the Never/Rarely/Whenever line! Subway lines were judged the following factors: amount of scheduled service, regularity of train arrivals, mechanical failures, chance of getting a rush hour seat, floor and seat cleanliness and adequacy of announcements. One reason the 6 line rates high is because many of the trains on that line have been replaced with newer cars which break down less. The NY Times says this is the best report card the Straphangers have ever given, though the non-profit feels the subway could get better; however, the Straphangers are realistic, with their staff lawyer Gene Russianoff saying, "We're not talking about perfection here. This is the New York City subway."

-Renee

The Fulton Street Transit Center project will bring together the A, C, J, M, Z, 2, 3, 4 and 5 lines. For more information about the project, visit the MTA's site. However, the project will be introduced today at the Center for Architecture, 536 La Guardia Place, between Bleecker and West Third Streets, at 4PM. The Times says that "models, computer animations and drawings will be on view at the center through mid-July, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays."

One C-train rider tells the Post, "These trains are always dirty. It's really hard to get a seat sometimes because everything is so sticky." And another C-train rider told the Times she "seen everything from doors smudged with dog feces to seats soiled by spilled milkshakes," but added, "But the worst is a dirty pole. I can do without a seat, but when it's crowded and the train is rocking, I need something to hold onto." Word up...and how did she know it was dog feces, and not some other kind of feces?

S62/92 (7.8 mph) Runs between Travis and the St. George Ferry Terminal

The appeals courts unanimously allowed the MTA's various fare and toll hikes to stand, overturning two lower courts' decisions. The main points, from NY1: