That’s an excellent idea. And there are many possible variations on this theme. For example, station maintenance can be “outsourced” to a company that would keep a certain percentage of ad revenue as long as the station meets some minimum cleanliness criteria.

On the other hand, as Ben’s broken escalator post pointed out, sometimes private companies in charge of stations in their buildings fail in their responsibilities to keep things in working order- presumably because there are no consequences. So maybe it’s better to stick with non-profits or BIDs for station maintenance. In any case, something must be done, and soon.

Many stations in disrepair are in great neighborhoods. There are community boards, local business interests (BIDS), and other institutional stake holders that would benefit from a spiffy station stop. Why not set up a model where stakeholders can share or even assume the meager expense of maintenance. What is it, a part time janitor, routine replacement of light bulbs and an annual paint job? There’s no excuse for filth on the walls & floors, missing tiles or peeling paint (looks like no-one has touched it in 25 years).

There are 468 stations that could be placed into commercial leasing portfolios. Incredible to me that these ‘holes in the ground’ are in the same city that plays host to projects by Vornado, Related, General Growth, Simon, Tishman Speyer etc. These firms are expert at leveraging foot traffic to create new revenue streams (MTA can hold the reigns to keep it all reasonable). We should have the best subway stations on Earth! The MTA just sealed a deal with Related for the Westside rail yards. They have all the contacts in-hand to make these deals. Every time I walk thru Union Square, Times Square or Herald Square – I keep thinking about missed opportunities.

Where are the dollars going from advertising and sponsorship revenue? I would like to know when the ad contract is up – as it does not appear CBS is truly taking advantage. Every day we don’t demand more there is inventory moving thru the stations (and its us!). Technology has moved on. Cemusa’s street furniture campaign is closer to state of the art. The advertising contract should include the cost of new high resolution information displays (let’s say we need 2500 LCD monitors – another sponsorship oppty!), and high quality public address systems, let’s think big – how about sponsored platform doors and air-conditioning! And again, there should be enough money left over to empty the garbage, wash the floors daily, replace broken tiles and annually paint.

Adopt A Station. Perhaps local residents, classrooms, churches or other organizations may want to pitch in to be part of the solution. It could be a joint fund-raising opportunity. Groups raise money all the time to build a play-ground or fix the local park. The MTA could provide a conduit for locals to contribute resulting in 50% toward the station and 50% to the local group.

We have many incarcerated people who would probably would like the chance to get out and do something productive. Union’s aside (sure it would be an issue); these are often a ready and willing work-force.

Naming rights. Two major donors (whom I’ve never heard of) have put their name on the NY State Theatre and our Library. There are 468 naming opportunities out there.

And finally, and likely the easiest, the MTA vending machine could ask with every transaction if we (the riders) would like to add $1 more to the station rehabilitation trust fund. I bet we’d find $500 million dollars in the first six months.

That’s enough.