Comments on: Planned service upgrades going… going… gone

By: Boris

Boris — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 01:37:18 +0000

Come on, you know I meant ownership, as in owning shares, not being the management. You hire professional managers for that. Riders should have a voice the same way we vote for our politicians or buy stocks.

By: Alon Levy

Alon Levy — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 21:23:44 +0000

There isn’t a government agency anywhere that’s ever improved by choking it of funds.

By: Alon Levy

Alon Levy — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 21:20:24 +0000

For a large rapid-transit system, our fares are among the lowest in the world

Except that they’re not: Paris and Madrid have cheaper subways, especially relative to their overall cost of living, which is higher than New York’s. Of course, Paris and Madrid never underwent the same large-scale neglect as New York; in Berlin, which did, riding the U-Bahn costs slightly more in Euros than riding NYCT costs in dollars. But let’s not peddle the myth that NYCT is cheap for the average commuter.

By: Second Ave. Sagas | A New York City Subway Blog » Blog Archive » Service increases — fewer than planned — to arrive in July

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 19:30:53 +0000

[...] this morning’s item on the end of the planned service upgrades, it seems that the Daily News sources weren’t 100 percent correct. According to The [...]

By: Second Ave. Sagas | A New York City Subway Blog » Blog Archive » Millionaries on MTA Board fight for their perks

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:50:24 +0000

[...] 2nd Ave. Subway History « Planned service upgrades going… going… gone [...]

By: Marc Shepherd

Marc Shepherd — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:58:55 +0000

The subway should be controlled by those who use it- by the riders.

That’s a bit like an amateur baseball fan thinking he could manage the Yankees.

By: Marc Shepherd

Marc Shepherd — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:57:26 +0000

Boris, the problem with that argument is that the MTA has incurred huge debt service to pay for what we have now. If service is improved, the funds to pay for it have to come from somewhere. If you increase service without increasing revenue, then you just increase a deficit that is unacceptable to begin with.

By: Boris

Boris — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:39:26 +0000

The subway should be controlled by those who use it- by the riders. It would probably be more efficient (economies of scale) to have the city run it, rather than private firms. And Bloomberg should be assigned to lead it, if he doesn’t become governor.

By: Boris

Boris — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:37:07 +0000

Marc,

This is true, our fares are pretty low, but they are fair. They match the level of service. What we need is service improvements first, and fare hikes later, not the other way around. This can be done by bond issues, good financial planning, and coordination with Albany.

By: Marc Shepherd

Marc Shepherd — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:48:21 +0000

I suppose, by that argument, the fare should still be capped at five cents. Remember what happened when they did that? The subway nearly collapsed. For a large rapid-transit system, our fares are among the lowest in the world, and we live in one of the world’s most expensive cities, and ours is one of the few that run 24/7. In modern times, farebox revenues have never—never—covered operating costs, no matter who was running the agency. Fact.