Archive for May, 2008

With delays on the rise, NYC Transit tries to copy the NYPD

Tuesday, May 27th, 2008

The New York Post would like you to know that subway delays are up.
Subway delays are the bane of any New Yorker’s existence. They hit seemingly at random but also only when the trains are crowded and un-air-conditioned and only when one is running late. Or at least that’s how it seems to feel. According [...]

Getting out of town — or around it — for Memorial Day Weekend

Friday, May 23rd, 2008

Aren’t three-day weekends the best? Memorial Day certainly ranks up there. It’s the unofficial start of summer, and we’re getting some warm weather.
I’ll be out of town through Monday evening, but if you’re around this weekend, there’s a good subway-related event for you to check out. Ryan, a Second Ave. Sagas reader, e-mailed me [...]

Roberts, thinking aloud, yearns for double-decker buses

Friday, May 23rd, 2008

Might New York City’s Fifth Ave. see a return of the days of double-decker buses? If New York City Transit President Howard Roberts gets his way, the answer could be yes. Opining on the state of the city’s buses yesterday, Roberts expressed a desire to bring the tall buses back to the city’s thoroughfares. While [...]

Can Ravitch rescue a system on the precipice?

Friday, May 23rd, 2008

New Yorkers who rely on the subways for their daily needs are prone to complain, and everyone knows the typical refrains. “Another delay on the 7.” “The L train stalled just past Bedford Ave.” “Signal problems on the A/C/E again.”
At times, subway complaining can almost seem like a game. It’s Subway Misery Poker. Did [...]

An Ironic Green Metrocard

Thursday, May 22nd, 2008

Where: Express tracks on the 7 at Shea Stadium
What: A discarded green MetroCard thrown out by a Mets fan heading back toward Manhattan.
For some reason, I don’t think this is what the MTA had in mind when they started their green campaign. A MetroCard thrown on the tracks is litter even if it’s yellow, green [...]

The 14-day Metrocard hasn’t caught on yet

Thursday, May 22nd, 2008

Yesterday, I was planning my next few months of Unlimited Ride MetroCard purchases. My 30-day monthly had expired, and I’m spending two weeks in August out of the city. So I figured I would be able to purchase a monthly for May 21-June 20 and a monthly for June 21-July 21. That handy time frame [...]

Has subway crime reached a nadir?

Thursday, May 22nd, 2008

After a few weeks of random purse-snatches and one escape through a subway tunnel that have led to lingering tensions between New York City Transit and the NYPD, the cops finally arrested the suspected purse-snatcher. While the resolution of this drama is a welcome denouement, the real story comes from an analysis of recent [...]

Inside the subway bathrooms

Wednesday, May 21st, 2008

Matthew Sweeney, an amNew York reporter, ventured where few subway riders dare to go: into the subway bathrooms. In a piece that spends altogether too much time opining on the malodorous smells emanating from these public restrooms, Sweeney notes that the MTA is closing the system’s restrooms from midnight to 5 a.m. While some late-night [...]

An MTA Bus buyout by any other name

Wednesday, May 21st, 2008

MTA CEO and Executive Director Lee Sander’s efforts to overhaul MTA management wrapped up this week when 37-year-old agency vet and MTA Bus President Thomas Savage retired.
Savage’s retirement came just a little over a week and a half after the MTA announced an extensive overhaul of the management at their bus company holdings. As [...]

Sinking subway cars

Tuesday, May 20th, 2008

Man overboard! (Photo courtesy of Reuters)
Last Tuesday, I noted the impending reefing of a bunch of old subway cars. Well, bad weather postponed the sinking of the old cars until Friday, and three days ago, Reuters reporters and photographers were on hand to capture the subways going down to the sea bed. The news wire [...]