When the MTA raised the fares two weeks ago, the agency announced May 31 as the first day of the new fares. Now, thanks to a New York 1 report, details about the service cuts — the second half of the so-called Doomsday budget — have come to light.
These cuts will roll out over a span of five-and-a-half months with the last of them — the death of a few subway lines — to come in December. On its surface, then, this timetable may give the Senate a few months to get its collective act together as its members attempt to figure out an politically acceptable funding plan for the transit agency. With the first of these cuts, however, set to go into effect in June, time remains of the essence.
So what’s the timeline? Let’s take a look. This information comes to us via NY1 which get its hands on some MTA materials.
June 28
The MTA will eliminate 21 bus routes and increase headway from eight to ten minutes on nearly every lettered subway line. The first cuts include the deaths of the following bus lines:
- In Manhattan: M6, 8, 10, 18, 27 and 30
- In Brooklyn: B23, 25, 37, 39, 51, and 75
- In the Bronx: Bx4, 14, 20, 34 and the Barretto Park Pool Shuttle
- In Queens: Q26, 56, 74, 75 and 84
July 26
Twenty-nine maroon-vested roving station agents will be cut, and 29 token booths will be shuttered. Four stations along the BMT Broadway line in Lower Manhattan will be closed overnight. Those stations include City Hall, Cortlandt St. (if it ever reopens), Rector St. and Lawrence St. along the N line. No N trains will stop at Whitehall St. or Court St., but as those stations are parts of other lines, they will remain open.
September 6
Express service along five lines will be cut. Those lines include the X25, BxM7B, QM22, QM23 and X32. At some point over the summer, overnight and weekend bus service along numerous lines in all boroughs will be eliminated or drastically reduced as well. The timeline does not say when.
December 6
Subway cuts go into effect. The W and Z trains will eliminated entirely (with the Q continuing past 57th St. to Astoria and the J running local in Brooklyn and Queens). The G will be terminated at Court Square at all times, and the M will run as a shuttle. Overnight headway will be reduced to an anemic 30 minutes. Load guidelines will be adjusted to allow for more crowded trains as well.
So enjoy it while you can. Unless Albany acts, unless transit advocates band together and secure a funding plan, New Yorkers will see their transit options slowly whittled down over the next few months. That’s hardly a fun way to spend the summer.
In a tantalizing glimpse of what could be, New York City transit unrolled an 11-car train along the F line last week. With the F not set to receive communications-based train control for a few years, the Long Train is but one way to alleviate overcrowding along one of the most densely-populated subway lines, but don’t expect to see those trains on a regular basis anytime soon. It’s just too costly.
One of the sticking points in the Senate during the debate over the MTA has been the authority’s leadership. Many Senators believe that the MTA’s leadership doesn’t know what they’re doing, that they are misleading the public, that they aren’t cutting enough costs internally.
