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Benjamin Kabak

FASTRACK hits 8th Ave. tonight

by Benjamin Kabak July 9, 2012

written by Benjamin Kabak on July 9, 2012

The Eighth Avenue FASTRACK removes subway service from western Manhattan.

Apologies for the weekend downtime. My server had some unexpected configuration errors this weekend, and I wasn’t able to get it back online until this morning. Now that I’m back up, let’s get to the administrative stuff: For a few days, the A train ain’t the fastest way to get to Harlem.

FASTRACK hits the IND 8th Ave. line tonight at 10 p.m., and the service changes will mirror those from March. The C train will shutdown at around 10 p.m. while the A will run along the D and F lines from Columbus Circle to Jay St. It will make local stops as the E does as well along the 6th Ave. line with a southern terminus at 2nd Ave. Once upon a time, IND trains via the 53rd St. tunnel ran either to the Hudson Terminal or 2nd Ave., and that is essentially what the E is doing again.

As always, this treatment runs from 10 p.m. – 5 a.m., Monday through Thursday nights this week. The MTA has more info on parallel service. Plan accordingly.

July 9, 2012 11 comments

Service Advisories

FASTRACK on the D, service advisories elsewhere

by Benjamin Kabak July 7, 2012

written by Benjamin Kabak on July 7, 2012

While we know FASTRACK as a Manhattan-based project that halts overnight subway service during the week, a few subway segments a bit of a ways away from the core of the city know it as a two-week long shutdown. This time around, at the height of Coney Island’s peak, the D train will suffer a 16-day outage as Transit engages in a “major switch and track reconstruction project.” The timing is not ideal.

As far as the details go, the service change is a simple one. Starting a few hours ago at 10 p.m. on Friday and running through 5 a.m. on Monday, July 23, D trains will not operate between Bay Parkway and Coney Island. Instead, the ever-popular shuttle buses will run from Bay Parkway to Stillwell Ave. with stops at 25th Avenue and Bay 50th Street.

According to Transit, over the next two weeks, workers will be installing track and switches from Bay 50th Street to Stillwell Ave., and various other routine maintenance and end-of-life replacement work will continue. Transit calls it “necessary,” but I have to wonder if doing it in the middle of summer when many New Yorkers just want to reach the beach is the best of timing.

While you stew over that one, ponder the rest of the weekend service changes.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, July 7 to 5 a.m. Monday, July 9, uptown 4 trains run local from Grand Central-42nd Street to 125th Street due to track replacement and maintenance north of 125th Street.

From 6 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Saturday, July 7 and from 8 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Sunday, July 8, there are no 5 trains between Brooklyn Bridge and Bowling Green due to track replacement and maintenance north of 125th Street. Customers should take the 4 instead. 5 trains run local every 20 minutes between Dyre Avenue and Brooklyn Bridge.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, July 7 to 5 a.m. Monday, July 9, 6 service operates in two sections due to track replacement and maintenance north of 125th Street:

Between Pelham Bay Park and 125th Street
Between 125th Street and Brooklyn Bridge

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, July 7 to 5 a.m. Monday, July 9, Manhattan-bound 6 trains run express from Parkchester to 3rd Avenue-138th Street due to ADA work at Hunts Point Avenue station and track replacement and maintenance north of 125th Street.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, July 7 to 5 a.m. Monday, July 9, Inwood/207th Street-bound (uptown) A trains are rerouted via the F line from Jay Street-MetroTech to West 4th Street, then run local to 59th Street due to electrical and substation work at Jay Street-MetroTech.

From 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday, July 7 and Sunday, July 8, 168th Street-bound (uptown) C trains are rerouted via the F line from Jay Street-MetroTech to West 4th Street due to electrical and substation work at Jay Street-MetroTech.

At all times, from 10 p.m. Friday, July 6 to 5 a.m. Monday, July 23 there is no D service between Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue and Bay Parkway. Additionally, on the weekends of July 7-8, 14-15 and 21-22, there is no D service between Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue and the 62nd Street DN station.

Shuttle bus service will operate between Bay Parkway and Stillwell Terminal serving 25th Avenue and Bay 50th Street at all times including rush hours.
During the weekends, service is suspended between 62nd Street and Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Free shuttle buses will be available making all station stops. Customers may transfer between the shuttle bus and D or N trains at 62nd Street.

These changes are due to switch renewal south of Bay 50th Street and track maintenance.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, July 7 to 5 a.m. Monday, July 9, Bronx-bound D trains are express from 145th Street to 161st Street-Yankee Stadium, skipping 155th Street due to a tunnel survey.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, July 7 to 5 a.m. Monday, July 9, E trains run local in both directions between Queens Plaza and Roosevelt Avenue due to track maintenance.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, July 7 to 5 a.m. Monday, July 9, downtown F trains skip 23rd and 14th Sts. due to track roadbed construction north of 14th and 23rd Streets.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, July 7 to 5 a.m. Monday, July 9, F trains run local in both directions between 21st Street-Queensbridge and Roosevelt Avenue due to track maintenance.

From 12:01 a.m. to 6 a.m., Saturday, July 7, from 10 p.m. Saturday, July 6 to 6 a.m. Sunday, July 8 and from 10 p.m. Sunday, July 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, July 9, Queens-bound N trains run via the Manhattan Bridge from DeKalb Avenue to Canal Street due to cable replacement north of Court Street.

From 11:30 p.m. Friday, July 6 to 5 a.m. Monday, July 9, Coney Island-bound Q trains run express from Prospect Park to Sheepshead Bay due to track panel installation south of Kings Highway.

From 10 p.m. to 12 midnight, Saturday, July 7 and Sunday, July 8, Queens-bound R trains are rerouted via the N from DeKalb Avenue to Canal Street due to cable replacement north of Court Street.

July 7, 2012 15 comments

MTA Technology

Free Wi-Fi for straphangers with an advertising twist

by Benjamin Kabak July 6, 2012

written by Benjamin Kabak on July 6, 2012

There is something nearly incongruous about Wi-Fi service in the New York City subway system. On the one hand, the visuals in many subway stations are not appealing as water-stained walls, strange odors and general disarray are common signs of aging infrastructure. On the other hand, the stainless steel rolling stock matches the backs of Apple’s popular iPads, and technology has become, in the minds of some, synonymous with progress.

So, enter Wi-Fi. As part of Transit Wireless’ slow-moving but supposedly steady rollout of cell service to underground New York City subway stations, Boingo will be providing Wi-Fi service as well, and this summer, thanks to Google, the access is free. Beginning this past Monday at the same six stations already wired for cell service, Google, via a promotion run by Google Offers, subsidized the Wi-Fi. For travelers in Chelsea at the 14th St. stations at 6th, 7th, and 8th Avenues as well as the stop at 23rd and 8th, free Wi-Fi can help while away the time spent waiting for a train.

Google’s offer runs through September 7. After that, and at others as they come online, Boingo will be charging an access fee. Is it worth it to pay to surf the Internet for four or six or ten minutes before the next train arrives? I doubt it, but that won’t stop some straphangers from ponying up the dough.

So what’s in it for Google? Why the free summer? The Awl late last week explored the economics of information as Google, thanks to its terms of usage, gets to track everyone’s subway-based browsing habits. Ad Week had a similarly interesting take and one that made me ponder the MTA’s own approach to subway advertising. Tim Peterson wrote on Boingo’s attempts at securing future sponsors for free service:

To better customize its offerings, Google is splicing NYC into three regions, so those WiFi freeloaders who elect to sign up for Offers at one of the SoHo hotspots will receive NYC Downtown offers. Those near Madison Square Garden will receive NYC Midtown offers. “Whether it’s finding a great deal for a new restaurant or an outdoor adventure, Google Offers is all about helping people make the most of their city, while saving money. With free WiFi in subway stations and Boingo hotzones across Manhattan, people can easily browse the Internet or discover great deals from nearby businesses while they’re on the go,” said a Google spokesperson.

The campaign is a brand-awareness play for Google, but Boingo is using it as a pilot to test out its sponsor-driven WiFi initiative. “The goal is, by time this runs out, to have another advertiser lined up,” said Christian Gunning, Boingo’s director of corporate communications. Subway riders in particular are a valuable demo for advertisers to target, he said, with more than 70 percent between the ages of 18 and 54 and more than 35 percent exceeding $75,000 in annual income.

In addition to the six subway stations participating in the Google Offers pilot, Boingo plans to add 30 more New York City hotspots by the end of the year and will be selling brands exclusive network-wide sponsorships, Gunning said.

Google, one of the nation’s more successful advertising agencies at this point in its corporate history, seems to think subway riders are “a valuable demo for advertisers to target.” They’re not wrong per se, but it’s a thought that isn’t expressed frequently. It’s certainly true that the MTA has been more aggressive in courting advertisers lately as a fully wrapped Shuttle and 6 train are both common. Plus, dynamic video ads outside stations have upped the ante as well.

Still, I can’t help but wonder about the ad rates when Dr. Zizmor, ASA and Monroe College feature so prominently throughout the system. Pulp novels still take out placards, and many stations feature no ads at all. Perhaps those one-offs maintain some of the lost charm of in-car subway advertising, but perhaps the folks selling the ads could shift focus a bit. If Google thinks we’re a valuable demographic for ads, someone with money to spend should too.

July 6, 2012 5 comments

Asides Brooklyn Buses

For the B61, a BusTime bonus for bad service

by Benjamin Kabak July 5, 2012

written by Benjamin Kabak on July 5, 2012

While it is no substitute for more frequent service or the reopening of the F/G stop at Smith/9th Sts., Brooklyn-based riders of the B61 received a welcome addition to their route this week as Transit brought Bus Time to this beleaguered line. Beginning this past Monday, bus riders from Windsor Terrace to Downtown Brooklyn, by way of Red Hook, are now able to track the buses as they amble down the line. As the B61 is one of the borough’s least reliable routes, riders will now know just how late their buses will be.

In a sense, this type of technological upgrade is a cheap and ineffective substitute for better service. People don’t just want to know their bus is late; rather, they want buses to be on time and frequent. On the other hand though, numerous studies have shown mass transit riders are willing to weather longer waits if they know how far away the next bus is. The complaints shouldn’t cease, but wait times may be more tolerable if the element of surprise is removed.

The B61 joins the B63, the M34 and all of Staten Island as Bus Time-ready routes. The city-wide rollout will be completed by the end of 2013.

July 5, 2012 14 comments

LIRR

Inside another attempt at re-imagining Penn Station

by Benjamin Kabak July 5, 2012

written by Benjamin Kabak on July 5, 2012

Can the MTA, New Jersey Transit and Amtrak work together to overhaul Penn Station?

For many New York politicians and transit executives, Penn Station is a problem. The city has spent decades living down the decision to raze the 1910 Beaux Arts beauty, and everyone is trying to fix the current iteration. It is, after all, a station that needs something. It’s a basement of a sports venue that’s cramped, ugly and crowded. But just what money should we spend on Penn Station anyway?

Word of the latest attempt to remake Penn Station hit the news a few days ago. Ostensibly led by the LIRR but done in conjunction with New Jersey Transit and Amtrak, Penn Station Vision will be the name of a report soon to be released by Aecom. The $1.1 million study — half of which was funded by the MTA — will present a blueprint for restoring some respectability to Penn Station. No one can turn the West Side’s transit gateway into Grand Central, but it could be a far more pleasant station than it is today.

Newsday’s Alfonso Castillo had a report on the contours of the plan. With a focus on better lighting, cosmetic improvements to the dingy and cramped passageways and an effort to relocate some Amtrak back offices, it’s a start but not too much more than that. Castillo offered up an overview:

[LIRR President Helena] Williams said those changes will be phased in over several years, and even decades. She expects to include some improvements in the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s next five-year capital plan, which begins in 2015.

The changes could include luring more upscale commercial tenants, improving lighting (including by letting in natural light if possible), adding new signage and getting rid of the main train departure board in the LIRR concourse to lessen crowding there.

Grander changes — including opening up space by relocating administrative offices, knocking down walls, and finding a new use for Amtrak’s waiting area when it moves to the adjacent Moynihan Station — could take much longer to complete. But LIRR officials and their partners in the project said they are committed to seeing it through. “We know the commuter experience can be and should be improved. The idea is to create a new, modern experience for Penn Station,” Williams said.

These are incremental improvements to a utilitarian station, and it’s tough to get too excited about such expenditures. The MTA’s next capital program will be tight on dough, and there are far more worthwhile projects to fund than some efforts to better light Penn Station. Transit experts and advocates expressed similar sentiments to Crain’s New York earlier this week. “How many more people are going to move to Long Island because Penn Station was redeveloped?” Columbia Professor David King said.

Meanwhile, one key element of the plan — better unifying operations and the overall feel of Penn Station — seems to have the support of Amtrak and New Jersey Transit as well. Currently, with three separate fiefdoms operating out of Penn Station, navigating Penn Station can be a challenge. Signs aren’t standardized, and moving from one departure area to the next involves twists and turns through strangely isolated passageways.

“Everybody has had a hand in stirring that pot a little bit, and part of the result, I think, is this almost haphazard look of development that doesn’t create the volume or the architecture of scale that you’d like to see in a grand terminal,” Drew Galloway, an infrastructure V.P. at Amtrak, said to Newsday. “It doesn’t work well today. Anybody who takes a walk down there today at 5 in the evening will agree.”

Still, MTA Board Members are skeptical that Amtrak is willing to cooperate. “To us, Penn Station is the one place where almost everybody who rides the Long Island Rail Road ends up. To Amtrak, Penn Station is one of many stations,” Mitchell Pally said. “It’s never going to be their No. 1 priority.”

Ultimately, I wonder if it even should be the MTA’s. It’s a better use of money to get better train service into Penn Station than it is to spend resources on improvements that do little to nothing to boost transit capacity. Penn Station is what is is, and putting lipstick on that pig won’t change anything.

“The basement atmosphere,” Bruce Becker, head of the Empire State Passengers Association, said, “I don’t think there is much that can be done with that, other than perhaps sprucing it up.” How much money from a limited pot of funds do we want to spend on sprucing something up anyway?

July 5, 2012 31 comments

Manhattan

Little clarity into Bleecker St. transfer delays

by Benjamin Kabak July 3, 2012

written by Benjamin Kabak on July 3, 2012

The signs are in place but the Bleecker Street transfer is not open yet.

Nothing it seems has captured the attention of a certain group of commuters quite like the Bleecker St./Broadway-Lafayette rehab. The construction — well over budget and at least seven months behind its initial schedule — promises to deliver a key transfer between the uptown East Side IRT local and the IND Sixth Avenue line, thus streamlining commutes for many.

As recently as February, the MTA had vowed to open the transfer by the end of June, but the end of June has come and gone. There is no transfer, and there is no real date yet of an impending ribbon-cutting. Over the past few weeks, I’ve tried to gain some clarity into the situation but few details have emerged.

What I do know is that some departments at the MTA seems to giving out certain information through certain channels while an official opening has yet to be determined. Last week, I caught wind of a July 2 opening and posted it on Twitter. Officials denied that opening date to me on the record, and I never posted here it here as it ended up being poor information.

Yesterday, a Subchatter reportedly received an email from MTA Customer Serivce with an August opening date. Again, though, Transit spokespeople denied such a date. The August date is incorrect but officials “haven’t determined” an exact launch. A recent photo shared by Kris Arnold on Twitter shows work still in progress. With one department at the MTA saying one thing and another saying something else, the left and right hands do not appear to be working together.

So we’re left still waiting. It’s now taken longer to rebuild and properly connect this station than it did to build the entire first part of the IRT in the early 1900s. At some point this summer, the transfer will open, but for now, an ongoing delay continues to plague the project.

July 3, 2012 38 comments

Public Transit Policy

On the imposition of federal safety standards for subways

by Benjamin Kabak July 3, 2012

written by Benjamin Kabak on July 3, 2012

Late last week, the dysfunctional members of Congress managed to come together for a few minutes to pass something resembling a federal transportation bill. The two-year measure is short on reform and couldn’t, for instance, find a way to bring tax breaks for transit riders in line with those for drivers. Steven Higashide offered up a transit advocate’s view on the bill at Mobilizing the Region yesterday, and I don’t have qualms with his analysis or conclusions.

I want to instead focus on an insidious provision buried toward the back of the bill that concerns federal oversight of subway safety. As I’ve mentioned before, a few Washington politicians led by Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski have decided that DC’s problems and everyone’s. When a few high-profile Metro crashes, caused generally by human incompetence and a poorly-designed system, made headlines, Mikulski sprung into action, and for three years, she’s been trying to foist federal safety standards onto subway systems that just do not need them.

Finally — and unfortunately — she succeeded this year, and the new transportation bill contains the National Public Transportation Safety Program. As with many federal mandates, these underfunded requirements will put some burden on local transit agencies. Once President Obama signs the Transportation Bill, the Secretary of Transportation will promulgate interim safety standards and a certification process. State agencies that want federal dollars will have to comply with these regulations or else forfeit the federal investments.

As a carrot, Mikulski has oh-so-generously dangled a whopping $66 million to be split up in whatever ways Ray LaHood deems necessary to help transit agencies to adopt the safety regulations. It’s a laughable contribution, but the Senator from Maryland didn’t seem to care.

“My promises made are promises kept,” she said in a statement. “After the tragic crash in June 2009, I promised two things to the workers at Metro and my constituents that ride Metro. One, I would deliver the $150 million in dedicated funding for Metro’s capital improvements in the annual spending bill which I have done every year. Two, pass legislation giving U.S. Department of Transportation the authority it needs to establish safety standards for metro systems across the country. Today, this legislation delivers on that promise. We always say a faithful nation will never forget. Then we move on and nothing is ever done. Well, not this time and not with this Senator.”

It’s hard to get around such woeful tunnel blindness. Mikulski and her fellow representatives seem to think that Washington’s problem is everyone’s when clearly it is not. So because their local papers featured stories of WMATA’s inept practices, they think everyone needs some help. Now, our MTA will likely be burdened with mandates it can’t fund and rules that limit future rolling stock upgrades. Our subway cars, already too heavy, may need to be heavier, slower and clunkier all because Washington, DC, couldn’t better manage its employees.

It’s telling that all representatives in praise of these standards cite to Washington’s accident record. In New York, we’re far less concerned with such safety issues but we’re going to have to pay anyway. Sometimes, no policy might be better than a bad one.

July 3, 2012 53 comments

Asides MTA Economics Staten Island

Staten Island leading the way in bus fare evasion

by Benjamin Kabak July 2, 2012

written by Benjamin Kabak on July 2, 2012

As the 2012 focus on fare evasion continues, The Daily News has learned that the city’s most porous buses can be found on Staten Island. According to Pete Donohue’s latest, the S44 and the S74 are the citywide leaders in fare evasion with a greater percentage of riders opting not to pay. Three routes in the Bronx — the Bx19, Bx36 and Bx11 — rounded out the top five.

MTA Board Member and State Islander Allan Cappelli continued his crusade against free-loaders. “The problem is so pervasive it’s really going to require a sustained and publicized effort,” he said. “In order to eradicate it, we need to change people’s perception that they can get away with not paying, and that there’s no penalty for doing it.”

Police have so far responded in turn as arrests for fare evasion have increased by over 100 percent this year. With renewed focus on the economic losses due to fare evasion — nearly $100 million across the bus and subway networks — police enforcement will likely increase over the next few months. Is it money well spent? The jury will remain out on that question for some time.

July 2, 2012 8 comments

Asides Second Avenue Subway

For SAS Phase I, federal funding all in place

by Benjamin Kabak July 2, 2012

written by Benjamin Kabak on July 2, 2012

A few weeks ago, Rep. Carolyn Maloney issued a pair of press releases touting the release of the final rounds of federal funds for Phase I of the Second Ave. Subway construction. The House Transportation, Housing & Urban Development appropriation included over $123 million for the project, and the FTA released $197 million as well. These were, as Maloney noted, the final pieces of the federal funding puzzle.

In a press release, Maloney, who touted job growth and transit expansion, issued her perfunctory statement. “I am gratified that the Second Avenue Subway and East Side Access, the two largest mass transit initiatives under construction anywhere in the country, are receiving merit-based, bipartisan support from the House of Representatives,” she said of the House grant. “I am particularly proud that this appropriation would be the final installment of the federal government’s commitment to the first phase of the project that I have worked my entire congressional career to achieve.”

So now that Phase I funding is in the books, Maloney can reaffirm her career-long commitment to the project by shifting her focus. She could become a leading voice for Phase II investment. While still project to cost a few billion dollars, the northern section of SAS includes tunnels that are already in place. Pre-built infrastructure should not lie fallow, and although the MTA has yet to make a push for Phase II, some assistance from Washington will only help to inch this never-ending project a little closer to completion.

July 2, 2012 4 comments

Service Advisories

Weekend work impacting nine lines

by Benjamin Kabak June 30, 2012

written by Benjamin Kabak on June 30, 2012

A bit late with these this week. My apologies.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, June 30 to 5 a.m. Monday, July 2, there is no 1 train service between South Ferry and 14th Street due to concrete work south of Chambers Street for Port Authority.

Free shuttle buses provide alternate service between Chambers Street and South Ferry.
1 trains run express in both directions between 34th Street and 14th Street.

2 and 3 trains run local in both directions between 34th Street and Chambers Street.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, June 30 to 5 a.m. Monday, July 2, 2 trains run local in both directions between 34th Street and Chambers Street due to concrete work south of Chambers Street for Port Authority.

From 6:30 a.m. to 12 midnight, Saturday, June 30 and Sunday, July 1, 3 trains run local in both directions between 34th Street and Chambers Street due to concrete work south of Chambers Street for Port Authority.

From 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday, June 30 and Sunday, July 1, Flushing-bound 7 trains skip 82nd, 90th, 103rd and 111th Streets due to installation of cable tray brackets for Flushing CBTC.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, June 30 to 5 a.m. Monday, July 2, Coney Island-bound D trains are rerouted via the N from 36th Street to Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue due to station and line structure rehabilitation at 25th Avenue.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, June 30 to 5 a.m. Monday, July 2, E trains run local in both directions between Queens Plaza and Roosevelt Avenue due to track maintenance.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, June 30 to 5 a.m. Monday, July 2, downtown F trains skip 23rd and 14th Sts. due to track roadbed construction north of 14th and 23rd Streets.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, June 30 to 5 a.m. Monday, July 2, F trains run local in both directions between 21st Street-Queensbridge and Roosevelt Avenue due to track maintenance.

From 4 a.m. Saturday, June 30 to 10 p.m. Sunday, July 1, M service is suspended due to track panel installation at Wyckoff, Knickerbocker and Central Avenues. Free shuttle buses provide alternate service between Metropolitan Avenue and Myrtle Avenue, making all station stops.

From 11:30 p.m. Friday, June 29 to 5 a.m. Monday, July 2, Coney Island-bound Q trains run express from Prospect Park to Sheepshead Bay due to track panel installation south of Kings Highway.

June 30, 2012 0 comment

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