Earlier today, the Federal Transit Administration released the list of local transit projects set to receive New and Small Start Grants, and New York’s big-ticket projects are set to benefit. Both the Second Ave. Subway and one of the City’s planned Select Bus Service routes will see federal funds flow its way. Elana Schor of Streetsblog was all over this story this morning, and she reports that SAS will get $197 million in federal funding and that the Nostrand Ave. BRT route will receive $28 million. FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff praised NYC DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Kahn for her “leadership on this and other related projects.”
The BRT grant is an interesting one because the Nostrand Ave. corridor has been subject to some car-based politicking. Local business owners who will lose their personal parking spots are not too happy about the project, and the vocal minority voices often tend to trump the silent majority who stand to benefit from faster surface transportation and a less congestion business area. While 19 elected officials have support the 1st and 2nd Ave. Select Bus Service plan without federal funding, politicians who represent the Nostrand Ave. neighborhoods have yet to speak out in favor of the Brooklyn-based plan despite the obvious need to speed up the painfully slow B44. Noah Kazis hopes that federal funds will change that anti-transit attitude. Either way, these grants are good news for some of the city’s cash-strapped projects.
10 comments
OT: Would be nice to see a post about which transit systems are 24-7-365 like NYC. A definitive list.
PATH, PATCO, and Copenhagen Metro are the only ones I know about. The Chicago L runs two lines 24/7, but headways late at night are insanely long – either half an hour or an hour, I forget which. JR East runs some of its Tokyo commuter lines 20/7, with 5-minute frequencies until after midnight.
There are numerous bus systems that run all night.
(And 20/7 doesn’t count for much.)
You’re right about buses – I was thinking of urban rail systems.
SEPTA’s Market-Frankford El used to run 24/7 until sometime in the 80s when a late night accident gave them an excuse to replace it with buses after 1am. But the night owl buses on the MFL (and the Broad Street subway) run every 20 minutes, which I would argue give those lines better late night coverage than the long headways on the 2 lines in Chicago.
It doesn’t really matter in much of the country because such a tiny percentage of the population is traveling during those late night hours.
It’s my understanding that the Moscow subway runs 24/7. The New Orleans St. Charles Streetcar almost counts, but there is a break between 2am and 4am, and long headways after 12:30.
The “not too happy” link should be required reading for anyone who still thinks either of the major parties represents the average voter.
I’ve never seen a 24 hour train system anywhere outside of the US, although I did notice 24 hour buses in Hong Kong. There’s a rumor that Tokyo might try 24 hour service on its subway system, but considering that it isn’t built with a 3 track design like the NYC subway I don’t see how they would be able to keep up with the maintenance.
The Copenhagen Metro only became 24/7 last year.
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