Every weekend, New Yorkers suffer through massive work-related service changes that turn subway service often incomprehensible and leave many travel stranded. According to the Transit, the changes are a necessary part of an “ongoing $11.2 billion Capital Rebuilding Program aimed at upgrading and maintaining our tracks, stations and signal systems in order to continue to provide our customers with safe and reliable service,” but both the New York State and City comptrollers are beginning to question this claim. The two announced today a joint audit that will examine both the necessity and fiscal impact of the myriad service changes. While I’ve often criticized Liu, I think the two comptrollers are on the right track here.
“It often seems that the MTA is most reliable for its perennial shutdowns of subway service, citing necessary track work,” Liu said in a statement. “There’s little question that repairs and upgrades are needed throughout the system. But people need far greater assurance that the MTA is planning the shutdowns and actual track work tightly so as to minimize the disruptions to riders and the economic impact to small business owners. Our examination of the MTA will shed light on whether ‘necessary track work’ has become an overused black hole of an excuse.”
According to the release sent out by DiNapoli’s office, this audit is the first joint effort between city and state comptrollers in ten years, and the two will examine service disruptions since January 2009 with an three questions in mind: (1) Is the maintenance and capital work scheduled to promote efficient, cost effective maintenance? (2) Is the maintenance and capital work scheduled to minimize service disruption? (3) Is the riding public adequately informed of potential service disruption? Although the examination will take a few months, I’m eagerly anticipating the findings.
5 comments
It’s very difficult for me to believe that Liu, who has so often shown himself clueless about the MTA, will suddenly figure out how to do something useful. It is far more likely that he will waste the agency’s time while solving nothing.
What’s more, there’s arguably a zero-sum game here. The time spent auditing this issue is time not spent trying to address more pressing matters. For instance, why aren’t they auditing the agency that promised the MTA higher revenues from the commuter tax, only to discover that their estimate was off by hundreds of millions of dollars?
This can’t possibly end well.
I can already answer these three questions:
1)Is the maintenance and capital work scheduled to promote efficient, cost effective maintenance?
For the most part yes. Having to work around partially operating trains, on nights and weekends is still going to be done at a higher premium, no matter what.
2) Is the maintenance and capital work scheduled to minimize service disruption?
Probably. Though I suspect some subcontractors cause issues occasionally that lead to redundant disruptions. That’s life in construction.
3) Is the riding public adequately informed of potential service disruption?
No. Everyone knows that. The disruption notices are written in the incomprehensible “TA Speak” where even MTA employees are only mostly sure of what’s going on. How come “Subway Weekender” can produce a clear depiction of the changes, but the MTA, with paid staff, can’t?
Im 100% certain that Liu and DiNapoli are completly unqualified to audit this process.
They have no chance of grasping this issue
[…] cuts and Homeland Security grants, the two comptrollers for New York State and City announced an impending audit of the MTA’s service changes. Although the authority has to adjust weekend service to allow […]