Archive for October, 2011
Oct
21
On the $1 million taxi medallions
Posted by: | CommentsTaxi medallions — a better investment than gold or a house over the past 30 years — reached a new milestone this week. As Michael Grynbaum reported yesterday, two medallions sold for $1 million. With so few medallion-owners willing to sell, corporate buyers jump at the chance to get their hands on this precious commodity. “It’s a lot of money, and it is an investment that someone would not make without being confident in the industry and the future of the city,” David S. Yassky, head of the Taxi and Limousine Commission, said.
While the $1 million mark provides a nice round number and a bit of news for the transit media, the sale underscores the absurdity of the taxi industry. By artificially limiting the number of medallions available, the City of New York has ensured that only potential buyers with deep pockets can buy medallions, and the city has ensured that cabs will operate in profitable areas without providing comprehensive service. No wonder the rich medallion owners have mobilized to beat back the taxi reform bill currently awaiting Gov. Cuomo’s signature.
Even if and when Albany hammers out a compromise on the plan to allow livery street hails outside of Manhattan’s Central Business District, with proper enforcement the medallion owners will not see their investments decline. Yellow cabs — the only cars permitted to pick up street hails in the lucrative areas — will continue to dominate the business while the rest of us who need taxis but can’t find them will have more options available for travel. Albany is beholden to the $1 million medallion owners when it’s the riders whose needs should come first.
Oct
21
Judging Jay: The Chairman’s final day
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For two years, Jay Walder served as the center of attention at the MTA. (Benjamin Kabak/Second Ave. Sagas)
For the MTA, today is the end of a tumultuous four-year era during which its Executive Director has been known more for his transit background than anything. Today is Jay Walder’s last day as the MTA CEO and Executive Director, and after two years of Lee Sander followed by two years of Walder, the authority will soon welcome Joe Lhota, a leader some have called a “fiscally prudent and seasoned manager,” into the fold. I’ve heard rumors of a $70-a-head going-away party for Walder, but I’m much more concerned with this transportation legacy and lasting impact on New York City.
When then-Gov. David Paterson nominated Walder back in July of 2009, the nominee said all the right things. His top priority — and one he never realized — was a fully funded capital plan, but he knew he had to deliver more.
“There’s no question,” he said, “the taxpayer and the riding public need to understand, need to demonstrate, need to see and need to believe that they’re getting value for the money in the way we operate the trains and the buses and the bridges and tunnels, in the way that we undertake the massive capital investments that are underway. And that has to be an immediate focus. We must restore the public trust and confidence to this organization. We won’t have the credibility to argue for the capital program that this system needs unless we restore the accountability of public trust and public confidence. I believe we can do that. I’m certain we can achieve that.”
At the time, I offered up my own list of the challenges that awaited Walder. Before we knew the depths of the MTA’s fiscal crisis and the ways in which Albany would repeatedly twist the knife into the wounded authority, we thought Walder would lead an MTA renaissance. He would see stalled technology projects through to completion while earning Albany’s trust through a convincing PR battle. He would add service in exchange for fare hikes and find a way to work out a funding plan for the five-year capital project.
So how did he do? Due in part to circumstances beyond his control and those very much under his control, Walder’s tenure atop the MTA has been a rocky one. On the bright side, the MTA has indeed entered the 21st Century. Perhaps it’s still trying to catch up with the rest of city, but the authority has embraced technological innovation like never before. We have countdown clocks, touch-screen info centers, Help Point intercoms and a real-time bus-tracking program in the works. While Walder may not have created these programs, he pushed through to completion. It was supposed to be his crowning achievement, and for that he deserves praise.
Yet, technology is not the only barometer. Jay Walder is leaving a system that has less service than we he began and costs more. In the eyes of the public, that’s his final legacy. Trains are more crowded and they run less frequently. Stations are dirtier and staffed with fewer people. Crime — thanks to gadget theft — is on the rise, and subway fares went up in 2009 and 2010. They will go up again in 2013 and 2015, if not sooner.
As far as the capital program is concerned, Walder’s approach was the best the MTA could do, but it’s far from perfect or complete. The MTA is proposing another round of debt-based funding that will lead to higher debt service payments and more pressure on the operating budget. Furthermore, while Walder pledged in 2009 to focus on capital budget funding, he has not succeeded in securing that funding as he heads to Hong Kong.
Finally, with union negotiations set to begin in January, the relationship between management and labor hasn’t been this frigid since 2005. Walder, who earned $350,000 a year as MTA head and took a lot of grief for it, was unsympathetic toward labor and cut numerous jobs. Meanwhile, departments like the Business Service Center continue to serve as magnets for charges of bloat in the bureaucracy. Thanks to Walder’s focus on making every dollar count, the MTA is more efficient today than it was two years ago, but it’s hardly a model of lean operations.
As with most outgoing MTA heads, then, Walder leaves behind a mixed legacy and one I believe to be unfinished. He’s departing before the job is through. We don’t know what the future holds for the MTA’s capital budget or its union negotiations. We may or may not see a MetroCard replacement plan see the light of day by 2015. We hope the Second Ave. Subway and East Side Access will continue apace. Everything, though, is very open-ended.
And so two years after taking the reins and riding in as a potential savior, Jay Walder will depart this afternoon. He likely was the most qualified transit guy to head up the MTA in recent years, but his tenure is over, a fleeting and incomplete one. So I leave you then with a question: Did he leave the MTA better off than when he started? I think so, but it’s not as good as it could have been.
Oct
20
Lhota named to replace Walder atop the MTA
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Joseph Lhota, a former Giuliani official, has been named chairman and CEO of the MTA.
Jay Walder’s replacement atop the MTA now has a name and a politically pedigree, but much like the new incoming head of the Port Authority, he doesn’t have a resume replete with transit experience. After conducting an extensive search and interview process over the last few months, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has named Joseph Lhota, a MTA Board member and one-time deputy mayor during the Giuliana Administration, to succeed Jay Walder as CEO and Chairman of the MTA. Nuria Fernandez will serve as the authority’s Chief Operating Officer.
“I am pleased to accept the recommendation of the extraordinary search committee and nominate Joe Lhota to be the next chairman and CEO of the MTA,” Governor Cuomo said this afternoon. “Joe Lhota brings one-of-a-kind managerial, government, and private sector experience to the job and a lifelong commitment to public service that will benefit all straphangers. I look forward to working together as we continue to reform the MTA, reduce costs, and improve service for New Yorkers. I thank the members of the MTA Search Advisory Committee for their diligent work and thorough review.”
The search committee had also recommended Neil Peterson and current Transit president Thomas Prendergast as potential replacements for Walder, but Lhota earned the Governor’s stamp of approval. “Millions of New Yorkers depend on the MTA every day and they deserve the most efficient and effective service. Throughout my career in both the public and private sectors, I have initiated reforms that are performance-based and that cut costs, and I look forward to bringing this same approach to the MTA,” Lhota said.
Lhota, who will begin serving as the interim head of the MTA later this year and must face a Senate confirmation process, first came to light as a potential candidate last week. At a time when the MTA must confront intense union negotiations and a multi-billion-dollar gap in the capital funding plan, Lhota will be expected to serve as a manager during tense times. No stranger to New York State government, Lhota served as the Deputy Mayor for Operations under Rudy Giuliani and spent time as the city Budget Director as well.
While Budget Director, Lhota, according to the governor’s press release, “cut costs, led agency reorganizations and consolidations, and implemented performance-based strategic planning,” and it’s clear that he is expected to do the same with the MTA. Fernandez, his new COO, was the one-time head of the Chicago Airport Systems and has served as an executive with the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and the Chicago Transit Authority. She has significant transit planning experience in the private sector as well.
Lhota, who will receive a salary that will be five percent less than Walder’s, has a full plate. Senate Republicans are still making noises about repealing the payroll tax — a move that would cripple the MTA — while riders want more frequent service and cleaner trains without having to pay a higher fare. Few people, it seemed, really wanted to inherit the CEO/Chairman job, and Lhota will have to convince skeptical New Yorkers and transit advocates who fear more service cuts that he’s up to the task.
Various members of the governor’s search committee praised the selection — some with more hyperbole than others. “The ideal candidate to lead the MTA is experienced in finance, business, and government, and cares deeply about public service. Joe Lhota meets all of these criteria, and I can think of no one better suited to this critical position,” Richard Ravitch said.
Other advocates were a bit warier. “We hope Mr. Lhota’s business acumen will help guide the agency towards more sound fiscal footing without compromising service and affordability for the system’s 8.5 million daily riders,” Kate Slevin from the Tri-State Transportation Campaign said. “We also hope he will continue the innovative service improvements executed by his predecessor, including subway countdown clocks, rapid bus service, and nonstop tolling.”
Lhota, who Robert Yaro of the RPA called a “fiscally prudent and seasoned manager,” will face increased scrutiny over the next few months as he readies for the job and undergoes what is sure to be a loud confirmation hearing. As Paul Steely White, the head of Transportation Alternatives, said, “To succeed, Joseph Lhota must continue Jay Walder’s commitment to transit riders. With the MTA facing a $9.9 billion gap in its capital budget, New Yorkers want an MTA Chair will ensure that elected officials increase the funding needed to maintain the public transit system and prevent further fare hikes and service cuts.” Savior or stop-gap, Lhota will have to deliver.
Oct
20
Ravitch: Bridge tolls should help fund transit
Posted by: | CommentsAs the whispers grow louder that Gov. Andrew Cuomo will nominate former Giuliani confidante Joseph Lhota as the next MTA head, former authority leaders and transit advocates are weighing on the challenges facing Jay Walder’s replacement. Yesterday, we heard from Gene Russianoff, and today, Richard Ravitch chimes in. In an interview with New York 1, he warned that the next MTA head will face a tough job environment.
With Albany reluctant to act sensible measures designed to identify sources of transit revenue and protect MTA funding, the MTA and person leading it must become a politician willing to ask tough questions, Ravitch said. “You have to persuade a lot of people to spend a lot of money, whether they are taxpayers or whether they are transit riders,” said Ravitch. To maintain and grow the system, to provide better service and cleanear subways, as everyone wants, it’s going to cost money.
To find the dollars, Ravitch continued to pound the drum he’s been beating since he released his report urging sensible funding mechanisms for the MTA: toll the free East River bridges. Keeping these bridges free while other crossings aren’t harms the city’s economy by creating congestion and the environment. Ultimately, fare hikes every two years are inevitable as the MTA’s debt payments escalate, but until Albany stops forcing the MTA to pay for its capital program with credit card, that’s the price we all have to pay.
Oct
20
Inside the way we pay for our subway rides
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In my Brooklyn neighborhood, over 40 percent of commuters use a 30 day unlimited ride MetroCard. That figure is well above average. (Source: WSJ)
Over the past few months, as my schedule has allowed for it, I’ve spent some time poking around inside the MTA’s datasets. I’ve explored turnstile numbers along the L train in Brooklyn, and I’ve looked at glimpses of exit and entry data at various times of the day. If I had the time and coding skills, I would have explored the fare media breakdown across the system. Luckily, The Wall Street Journal has seemingly done it for me (and you and anyone else who gets lost in data about the subway).
The visualization — available right here in its interactive glory — is a near-textbook use for governmental datasets. Two Journal reporters have provided an unprecedented snapshot into the way we pay. They’ve broken down MetroCard use — pay-per-ride, senior fares, 30- and 7-day Unlimited swipes — by station over time periods both before and after the December 2010 fare hike. It’s quite the glimpse into ridership patterns.
In an accompanying article, Andrew Grossman and Albert Sun discuss their methodology and findings. Essentially, they mapped a few different variables. First, they categorized every MetroCard swipe by type of card. Second, they looked at changes in use during the 27 non-holidays before and the 27 non-holiday days after the December 30th fare increase. They explained some highlights of their findings:
Users of 30-day unlimited MetroCards tend to be wealthier than those who pay per ride, MTA surveys show. Their growing use in neighborhoods such as Greenpoint (up 11.8%) and Bushwick (16.7%) in Brooklyn could point to gentrification under way there. The monthly MetroCard use in those areas came despite a Dec. 30 fare hike pushing the cost from $89 to $104.
The fare hike appears to have hit other neighborhoods harder. In Broad Channel, Queens, about an hour from Midtown Manhattan by subway, use of monthly passes dropped 15.5%. Riders said they had stopped buying it because of the cost. “You are paying more per month if you are only using it going back and forth to work,” said Teri Bautz, a Verizon worker who rides the A train to Manhattan from Broad Channel. “Some months, you have an entire week off. In the beginning it was beneficial, now, not so much.”
According to recent MTA data, overall use of the 30-day card is now around 31 percent. Before the fare hikes, around 33 percent of straphangers used a monthly unlimited. But if anything, the decrease represents a market correction. As I explored last October, MTA demographics surveys revealed that 25 percent of 30-day card users did not reach the break-even point. At the time, that point came on the 46th swipe. When the MTA raised fares, the break-even point for the $104 card moved to 50 rides, and in October 2009, 36 percent of 30-day card users did not reach 50 swipes.
Similarly, Grossman and Sun found that seven-day card use has increased. Although few riders used the 14-day card, it’s likely that many of them switched to the seven-day card either because use patterns or personal economics dictated the expense. Furthermore, some 30-day card users who couldn’t afford to pay $104 at once for a MetroCard likely downgraded to a seven-day card as well. They may pay more over the course of four weeks, but the seven-day purchases allow them greater flexibility for start dates. Still, in 2009, nearly 36 percent of seven-day card users never reached the break-even point (as compared with a pay-per-ride discount), and that trend likely continues today.
Anyway, the map is fascinating. It’s broken down into neighborhoods based upon the areas surrounding the closest subway stops, and the data is tremendous. We can see across-the-board increases in the use of pay-per-ride cards after the fare hikes. In fact, the only stations that didn’t enjoy such an increase were closed due to construction work. The use of 30-day cards declined in the city’s less well-off areas, and seven-day cards rose in popularity at nearly every subway stop after the fare hike.
Over the next few weeks, I’d love to spend some more time with the data. It seems, for instance, that MetroCard purchases break down across socio-economic lines as well as neighborhood and borough, and the data could raise some interesting questions concerning the MTA’s pricing schemes. For now, just enjoy the visualization. It’s a great example of the creativity that can emerge from open data.
Oct
19
Patrick Foye, MTA Board member, to head Port Authority
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Patrick Foye, a current MTA Board member and one-team downstate head of the Empire State Development Corporation, has been picked to run the Port Authority, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced this morning. Koye is a lawyer who has worked for powerhouse law firm Skadden Arps and served as a Nassau County Deputy County Executive under Ed Mangano.
In announcing the appointment this afternoon, the New York Governor took another swipe at Ward. The two have been battling it out in the press since the outgoing Port Authority head slammed New York and New Jersey for playing politics with Port Authority budgets. “The Port Authority must meet its potential as a major economic engine that plans for the region and attracts business on an international scale,” Cuomo said. “We must also improve its operations and maximize the value out of every dollar spent so that it is financially responsible and respects the tax and toll payers.”
For transportation advocates, Foye’s choice sets a tone at the Port Authority that, at a time when concerns over Port Authority expenditures are running rampant, money management will trump development or growth. Foye, a lawyer with close ties to Long Island real estate industry, has worked in economic policy throughout his political career. A Spitzer nominee to the Empire State Development Corporation, he led the ESDC as it put forth controversial plans to redevelop the Javits Center and was instrumental in securing support and funding for the long-awaited Moynihan Station. The impact and expense of this new Amtrak depot are both hotly-contested issues.
Recently, Foye has served as one of Cuomo’s top economic advisers, and in a statement, he expressed his enthusiasm for the job. ““I am honored to be recommended for Executive Director of the Port Authority,” he said. “Under Governor Cuomo’s leadership, we have begun to re-energize New York’s economy and pave the way for job growth in the state. I thank Governor Cuomo for this opportunity and look forward to working closely with him and the Board of Directors at the Port Authority on maintaining and improving the New York metropolitan region’s vital transportation, infrastructure and economic development assets.”
At this same time, Cuomo announced today that he would be folding both the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and Moynihan Station Development Corporation into the Port Authority. “Too many different agencies doing the same or closely related work makes little sense,” he said in a statement. “The Port Authority is best situated to oversee the development at Moynihan Station and the orderly wind down of the LMDC and these changes will consolidate responsibility within the Authority.” Foye’s work then on Moynihan Station will continue.
As a transportation wonk, Foye’s experience has come via his time on the MTA Board. He was appointed by Mangano in 2010 for a term that ends in 2015, and it is unclear how this appointment to the Port Authority will impact his Board seat. Fellow Board members praised his service though. “He’s delved into operating details of the system, communication issues with commuters and fare structure,” Mitch Pally said to Transportation Nation.
Although I’m hesitant to read too much into one appointment, Cuomo’s decision to name an economics adviser to the PA’s top spot portends a similar outcome for the MTA. It certainly strengthens the rumors that Joe Lhota will be nominated this week, and it showcases how Cuomo seems more focused on budgetary and management issues than with transportation and transit operations. Yet, on the other hand, the Port Authority is more akin to a traditional economic development agency than the MTA is, and in that sense, Foye’s background makes him a fairly solid candidate for the post.
Oct
19
Russianoff: Next MTA head must be ‘vocal advocate for transit’
Posted by: | CommentsIn two days, Jay Walder will depart from his position atop the MTA and begin to prepare for his lucrative move to Hong Kong. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, then, will become front and center in the debate over transit. He will have to own up to the impact of making his own choice for head of the MTA and can no longer fall back on the idea that Walder was someone else’s choice and the MTA someone else’s problem. With rumors of Joseph Lhota’s impending nomination swirling, Cuomo has yet to make an official announcement, but that likely could come before Friday.
Once Cuomo does name names, all eyes in the transit community will shift to that person. We’ll inspect the process behind his nomination, his credentials and his plans for an agency eternally mired in an economic crisis. To that end, Gene Russianoff, head of the Straphanagers Campaign and a member of the search committee tasked with finding candidates to lead the MTA, has some ideas for Jay Walder’s eventual replacement. Ride the system, know the riders and their concerns and be an advocate for them, he says in a column in today’s Daily News. It’s obvious advice, but past heads have no always heeded such a call.
Beyond the need to restore customer relations as a priority at the MTA, Russianoff also urges the next MTA head to wade into the explosive politics surrounding transportation. The next MTA head needs to work with unions to smooth over rocky relationships while improving efficiency, and the person Cuomo names should urge the Governor to sign the Transit Lockbox Bill. Reducing borrowing while further improving transparency are on the list as well. It’s tough to argue with Gene’s list, and now we wait to find out if the next MTA Chair and CEO is up to the task.
Oct
19
The Underground Mysteries: 76th Street
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The IND Second System plans included a subway extension past 76th Street to Cambria Heights near the Nassau County border.
For students of the history of New York City and its subways, abandoned stations and half-built shells offer up an alluring reminder of what was and what could have been. Scattered throughout the city are various platforms now shuttered and lost to the era of longer trains, and of course, the provisions that remind us of the grand plans for the IND Second System capture the imagination. We know of the shell at South 4th Street and a similarly hidden one at Utica Ave. But what of the other subway mysteries?
One long-standing urban rumor has concerned a station along the IND Fulton line just east of Euclid Avenue and past the walls that mark the end of the C local train. This is the 76th Street station, an urban fable kept alive by an old April Fools joke, some mysterious construction barriers and track maps that hint of an unbuilt subway extension. The 76th Street station itself is a mystery. If it exists, it would be found at the area of 76th Street and Pitkin Ave. in Queens. Officially, it was never really built, and no one has photographic evidence of it. But there’s long been lingering doubts in the minds of even the most ardent subway historians.
The immediate tale of 76th Street begins where many subway legends start: on SubChat. A recently revived thread from February covered the discussion of a potential C extension down Pitkin Ave., and one person claimed to know someone who had the seen station. The topic comes up now and then, and in 2001, rumors of the station’s existence were prevalent.
What we know today are snippets of rumors and in complete images. The story is fueled by a cinderblock wall past Euclid Ave. and a signal that’s facing the wrong way. For some reason, subway construction crews at one point decided to brick up the area at the end of the local tunnel, and all that remains are stubs on track maps and signal schematics. A 2007 post by the LTV Squad simply fueled speculation, and like any good urban legend, the story doesn’t die.
An MTA board offers hope that the 76th Street station truly exists. (Photo via LTV Squad)
Early in the decade of the double aughts, two subway historians brought tales of the 76th Street station to light. In a comprehensive posting on April 1, 2002 that included some excellent Photoshops, Joe Brennan created a history of 76th St. He even claimed the station had been in revenue service but was shuttered as part of a city cover-up. That, of course, was an April Fools joke, but Randy Kennedy’s 2003 column on 76th Street was no laughing matter.
Kennedy spoke with one man who insisted the station exists, and his evidence was similar to that found by the LTV Squad. An electric board says 76th Street; the cinder block wall is an oddity; other transit workers and police officers claim the station exists on the other side of the wall. It’s a case based on circumstantial evidence, but until someone returns with photos, 76th Street will remain forever a debated part of subway lore.
And yet, we do know what was supposed to go past that cinderblock wall sixty-plus years ago. As part of the IND Second System, the Fulton Line was to split near Euclid with one section continuing along Liberty Ave. and the other heading east to 229th St. in Cambria Heights, right near the Nassau County line. Some plans called for the IND to use the LIRR right-of-ways, but the details are immaterial. Eventually, due to costs and some engineering concerns, the plans for such an ambitious extension were scrapped. It is true that a signal schematic references the “future 76th Street interlocking,” but that is ultimately a future that never came to pass.
Oct
18
US DOT doles out dollars for NYC buses
Posted by: | CommentsThe U.S. Department of Transportation released nearly $1 billion in funds for localities to spend on various livable streets and bus facility upgrades this week, and New York City and the MTA secured over $134 million of that total for a variety of badly-needed projects. “These grant funds will make sure that bus service in our communities remains reliable and desirable while putting thousands of Americans to work at the same time,” Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff said.
According to the grant list (available here as a PDF), the MTA will spend on the money on vehicle replacement and a bus command system while the NYC Department of Transportation will invest $3.4 million into a plan to improve bus access in and around the Broadway Junction area. The new command system, which will receive $34 million in federal funding, has been to designed to address communications failures that arose during last winters crippling blizzard.
Meanwhile, as the MTA’s bus fleet ages and buses break down more often, the authority will use over $60 million in federal funds to purchase 112 new vehicles. “This is welcome new funding and is a much needed investment that will go a long way toward updating our equipment and bus fleet,” authority spokesman Kevin Ortiz said to the Daily News. “It will help improve service and reliability for our customers.”
Oct
18
For London, a comprehensive bus tracking system
Posted by: | CommentsBus riders in London are for a treat as Transport for London announced yesterday that its real-time bus tracking system is now available “anytime and anywhere.” With over 8000 buses running via 700 routes and making 19,500 stops in the U.K. Capital, the system is one of the most complex in the world, and the new system allows bus riders to check the locations of all buses within 30 minutes of a select stop, street or post code. The information is available via the web, mobile browsers and text message.
TfL officials also announced they will be replacing 2000 digital signs and adding 500 more in an effort to better inform riders at popular stations throughout the city. Later this year, the agency will release datasets so that mobile developers can release bus tracking apps. “Over six million bus journeys are made every day in London and this fantastic application of bus data will now enable people, wherever they are, whatever they are doing, to have at their fingertips the power to know exactly when their bus will reach any one of the Capital’s 19,500 bus stops they want to use, at any time of day or night,” Kulveer Ranger, Director of Digital London, said. “This technological step forward will revolutionise the way people use London’s buses and will banish the need for them to ever wait at a bus stop again.”
New York, meanwhile, is working its way toward a similar system. Transit teams are developing a bus-tracking platform for Staten Island that will be modeled after the B63 pilot. If all goes according to plan, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx will see a rollout over the next few years as the technology grows and funds are released. Our system won’t come with MTA-installed screens; rather, that’s a decision local merchants can make using the live streaming data. Still, it’s a worthwhile endeavor, and one, as London will show, that can truly change the way people view and use the bus system.
