We close out the week with the last of the fare hikes for now. As the MTA reminded us last week, at 3 a.m. on Sunday morning, the new toll rates on the MTA Bridges and Tunnels crossings go into effect. Check out the press release for the specifics; it’s far too complicated to reproduce here on a summer Friday afternoon.
As a companion piece to the toll increases, Gridlock Sam chimes in with his take on the East River bridge tolls. His idea actually makes sense. He urges the MTA to lower the rates on the currently-tolled bridges and tunnels while implementing tolls on the currently-free crossings.
After rehashing the problems of the current system, Sam offers up an obvious solution:
So how can we be fair to travel between the boroughs and still raise enough money for transit? First, reduce the tolls at every bridge that has nothing to do with Manhattan. Slash the tolls by $1 from today’s levels at the Whitestone, Throgs Neck, Triborough (Bronx-Queens plaza), Cross Bay and Marine Parkway bridges – and by $2 at the Verrazano Bridge. Freeze these rates by law for a full 10 years.
Next, correct Mayor William Gaynor’s 1911 blunder. The Brooklyn, Williamsburg, Queensboro and Manhattan bridges all had tolls until 1911. Car drivers paid a dime but those on horseback just 3 cents. Then the mayor removed the tolls. I had to live with this mistake as chief engineer of the Department of Transportation in the 1980s, when our bridges were crumbling from lack of funds. Put them back!
Start charging trucks both ways to cross the Verrazano Bridge to reduce the incentive to travel through Manhattan. It’s easy with E-ZPass. The bottom line? A lot of neighborhoods separated by boroughs would be better linked. Lots of people will save money. And we would also raise about a half-billion dollars per year for bridge maintenance and transit.
To which, I say, “Duh.” One day, someone in New York will have the political will and the political guts to see this through. For now, we stumble on.
Below are your weekend service advisories. As always, these are coming to you verbatim from the MTA and are subject to change with little or no notice. Check signs as you travel and be sure to listen to announcements on board the trains.
From 11:30 P.M. Friday, July 10 to 5 a.m. Monday, July 13, there are no 1 trains between Van Cortlandt Park-242nd Street and 137th Street-City College due to station painting and flood mitigation work at 157th Street and the installation of communications equipment between 145th and 181st Streets. A trains, the M3 bus and free shuttle buses provide alternate service. The best route to Washington Heights and the Bronx is to transfer between the 1 and A at 59th Street. Then transfer between the A and the shuttle bus at 168th Street or 207th Street. – For more on this service change, check out this press release. It fleshes out what exactly is going on up there.
From 12:01 a.m. to 7 a.m. Saturday, July 11, from 12:01 a.m. to 8 a.m. Sunday, July 12 and from 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m. Monday, July 13, Brooklyn-bound 2 and 4 trains skip Bergen Street, Grand Army Plaza and Eastern Parkway due to rail installation and switch renewal.
From 12:01 a.m. Sunday, July 11 to 5 a.m. Monday, July 13, downtown 4 trains run local from 125th Street to Brooklyn Bridge due to Broadway-Lafayette Street to Bleecker Street transfer construction.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, July 11 to 5 a.m. Monday, July 13, uptown 4 trains run express from Brooklyn Bridge to 14th Street, then local to 125th Street due to Broadway-Lafayette Street to Bleecker Street transfer construction.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, July 11 to 5 a.m. Monday, July 13, there are no 5 trains between Grand Central and Bowling Green due to Broadway-Lafayette Street to Bleecker Street transfer construction. Customers may take the 4 instead.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, July 11 to 5 a.m. Monday, July 13, Manhattan-bound 6 trains run express from Hunts Point Avenue to 3rd Avenue due to platform edge rehabilitation at Cypress Avenue, East 143rd Street, East 149th Street and Longwood Avenue stations.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, July 11 to 5 a.m. Monday, July 13, uptown 6 trains run express from Brooklyn Bridge to 14th Street due to Broadway-Lafayette Street to Bleecker Street transfer construction.
From 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m. Saturday, July 11, Manhattan-bound D trains skip 174th-175th and 170th Streets due to track cleaning.
From 11:30 p.m. Friday, July 10 to 5 a.m. Monday, July 13, Manhattan-bound E and F trains run local from Forest Hills-71st Avenue to Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue to due to track and roadbed replacement at Grand Avenue.
From 12:30 a.m. Saturday, July 11 to 5 a.m. Monday, July 13, Jamaica-bound E and F trains run local from Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue to Forest Hills-71st Avenue due to track and roadbed replacement at Grand Avenue.
At all times, until further notice, the G route is extended from Smith-9th Sts. to Church Avenue F station due to the rehabilitation of the Culver Viaduct.
From 8:30 p.m. Friday, July 10 to 5 a.m. Monday, July 13, there is no G train service between Forest Hills-71st Avenue and Court Square. Customers should take the E or R instead.
From 11 p.m. Friday, July 10 to 5 a.m. Monday, July 13, G trains run every 20 minutes between Court Square and Church Avenue due to rail repairs.
From 11:30 p.m. Friday, July 10 to 5 a.m. Monday, July 13, free shuttle buses replace L trains between Lorimer Street and Myrtle Avenue due to track chip-out at Jefferson Street station.
From 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m., Saturday, July 11, uptown Q trains run local from Canal Street to 34th Street due to track cleaning. – This reminds me of a trip to the dentist.
From 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday, July 12, uptown Q trains run local from 42nd Street to 57th Street due to track cleaning.
From 12:30 a.m. Saturday, July 11 to 5 a.m. Monday, July 13, R trains are extended to the 179th Street F station due to track and roadbed replacement at Grand Avenue.
(Franklin Avenue)
From 6:30 a.m. Saturday, July 11 to 7 p.m. Sunday, July 12, there are no Franklin Avenue Shuttle trains between Franklin Avenue and Prospect Park due to preparation work for rail repairs. Free shuttle buses provide alternate service.
4 comments
“due to Broadway-Lafayette Street to Bleecker Street transfer construction.”: music to my ears!
To Sam:
OK, so back in those days cars paid a dime and people on horseback paid three cents.
What about pedestrians?
Did they pay one cent?
Or did they pay nothing?
Coming to think of it, what about horse-drawn vehicles?
Pedestrians paid a penny on opening day, three cents afterwards.
Sheep were two cents.
Ben, thanks for the post. This makes me wonder why the pols didn’t offer this concession (i.e. the reduction in tolls for non-Manhattan bridges) in exchange for tolls on the East River bridges. We will never know if such a concession would have improved the odds for passing the East River bridge tolls.