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AsidesNew York City Transit

TAB tabbed for lack of translators

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on September 24, 2010

New York City Transit’s much-maligned Transit Adjudication Bureau has once again come under fire from civil liberties advocates. As Pete Donohue of the Daily News reports today, the NYCLU, in a letter to NYC Transit, claims that these administrative hearings are violating the law by not providing translators to defendants who cannot speak or understand English. “Beyond being unfair, this practice is illegal,” the letter says. “Not only does the Transit Authority’s failure to provide interpreter services violate the Civil Rights Act, it violates the United States Constitution and New York Constitution.”

To bolster this argument, Times reporter Karen Zraick observed one TAB hearing in which a Spanish-speaking defendant had to resort to another person in the waiting room who could offer a bare-bones translation of the proceedings. This is not the first time the NYCLU has challenged part of the TAB process. Late last year, the group won a legal fight to open up the hearings. The MTA has so far declined to comment on this current matter.

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AsidesMTA Technology

A bus GPS tracking system for NYC but not the MTA

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on September 24, 2010

As the MTA struggles to get a bus-tracking system — a late-20th century technology — off the ground, the Downtown Alliance has brought a real-time GPS-based bus-tracking system to its Downtown Connection service. This 37-stop free bus route connects the South Street seaport with Battery Park City, and seven stops along the route now have real-time tracking information, thanks to money from Goldman Sachs, the Department of Transportation and State Senator Daniel Squadron.

“NextBus signs will make a great service—free buses for the Lower Manhattan community—even better,” Squadron said in a statement. “Now, bus riders can spend less time waiting for a bus, and more time enjoying the shops, restaurants, cultural institutions and more in this wonderful neighborhood. I am pleased to have supported this program, and I thank the Downtown Alliance and the DOT for their work in making it happen.”

The MTA, meanwhile, is still struggling with its own bus-tracking pilot program. In the past, the authority has claimed that the city’s tall buildings have interfered with GPS-based systems, but if the Downtown Alliance can bring it — and a live-tracking website — to a route, albeit a solitary one, with some of the city’s tallest buildings, the MTA’s own version shouldn’t be far behind.

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View from Underground

Musings on the way we ride

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on September 24, 2010

This photo is entitled “Pet Peeve.” It’s easy to see why. (Photo by flickr user animalvegetable)

Let me tell you a secret: When I ride the subway, I judge people. I judge the way they board, where they stand, how they sit. I judge what they read and the way they read. I judge their headphone qualities and the volume of their music. I am, in other words, a people-watcher.

Now, don’t get me wrong; I’m not a ruthless critic of New York’s straphangers and their approach to their shared commutes. I watch — and judge — because I enjoy seeing how other people relate to the subways. Do they treat it with respect as they would their own car or apartment or do they eat and discard without regard to the communal nature of it? Are they aware of leaking headphones and music that’s too loud? Do they recognize that taking up two seats is frowned upon and that the elderly and expectant mothers should be offered seats at the right time?

The answers to these questions vary. Many people ride respectfully. They aren’t pole-huggers or door-blockers. They throw out their leftovers in the trash cans and listen to music at volumes that do not disturb others. They don’t spread their newspapers out across three seats during the morning rush, and they do give up their seats when appropriate. The rude ones always stand out, but by and large, New Yorkers are more respectful of each other than the stereotypes say we are.

Yet, etiquette aside, New Yorkers exhibit behavioral tendencies of all stripes on the subway, and in one of her last amNew York pieces on transit before heading to The Post, Heather Haddon and a behavioral psychologist examined those tendencies. What, Haddon asked, does the way you ride say about your personality?

Haddon and her panel of experts — a body language instructor, an etiquette maven and the aforementioned psychologist — looked at six different styles of subway riding: the door-blocker, the pole-hugger, the seat hog, the wanderer, the pole avoider and the corner sitter. As you might expect, the answers are obvious and amusing.

Of the door-blocker, for instance, Haddon and the experts say:

Typically, this is someone who wants to keep his or her options open, is claustrophobic or is a “business guy with complete disregard for others,” Brehove said. These riders spark widespread disdain among commuters. “It drives me crazy when people stand right next to the door,” said Lisa Wagner, 40, of Manhattan. “Usually there’s room in the middle of the car but they just won’t go there.”

The person who takes up more than one seat, they say, is either confrontational or inconsiderate (or both). The pole hogs, says one rider, are the worst. “Clueless and ignorant immediately come to mind,” Regina Iulo of Brooklyn said. But my favorite is their assessment of those who seek corner or aisle seats:

Our experts agree that this is likely an anxious person seeking refuge from the masses. “It’s like crossing your arms in front of yourself. They want to be as far away as they can get,” Fitzpatrick said. “I am a big fan of personal space,” said Danielle Marie, 24, a Manhattan rider who prefers the corner. “I don’t want anyone to crowd me and I don’t want to crowd anyone else.”

Who can be faulted for wanting to take a bit of refuge from the maddening crowd? The middle seats, after all, are a recipe for a sandwiched and uncomfortable commute.

New York’s subways are, as I’ve said in the past, a great social incubator. Millions of people come together for the shared experience of riding the rails every day, and this diverse crowd comes from all walks of life and all backgrounds. How we ride speaks volumes about the way we interact with others. Whether we like it or not, someone else is always watching and probably judging too.

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AsidesEast Side Access Project

MTA renews East Side Access management space lease

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on September 23, 2010

The MTA’s East Side Access project is expected to be ready by mid-2016, and in the meantime, the authority has to make sure it has space to house the management offices. So, reports The Observer, the MTA has renewed its lease for three floors — one of which is devoted entirely to the East Side Access project — at 469 Seventh Ave. The MTA is taking out 68,000 square feet of space at the building, and landlord Eric Meyer had been asking for $35 per square feet for a total of $2.38 million. Meanwhile, 370 Jay St. in Brooklyn is still awaiting its $150 million renovation.

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MetroCard

On the not-so-imminent death of the MetroCard

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on September 23, 2010

Since Jay Walder arrived at the MTA nearly one year ago, the MetroCard and its future have been on the minds of New Yorkers. Picking up on internal fare-media development efforts, Walder has all but declared war on the familiar blue-and-gold piece of plastic that allows us unlimited access to the city’s subways and buses. While New Yorkers may be fond of the swipe and the seemingly ubiquitous messages urging us to “swipe again at this turnstile,” many at the MTA see the MetroCard as a symbol of the subway’s touchy relationship with technology. The MetroCard is early 1990s — or even late 1980s — technology, and it’s the Twenty Teens. Let’s get with the program already.

And so the battle for the MetroCard replacement has been launched. In late 2009, Walder announced that the MTA hoped to implement new fare payment technology by 2014, and the effort for a replacement would extend beyond the current market leaders. London’s Oyster card and the WMATA’s SmarTrip program may seem high-falutin’ to New Yorkers who have no exposure to contactless cards, but even those technologies are out-of-date. The follower for so long, this time around, the MTA wants to be a leader.

So far, the MTA has offered the public glimpses at its long-term strategy. A small pilot program currently in place in station salong the East Side IRT and numerous Manhattan bus routes involves automatic fare deductions from credit and debit cards. MasterCard led the pilot with its PayPass technology, and yesterday, Visa announced that its payWave would now be accepted at these stations as well. Furthermore, a new smartphone app will allow straphangers to use cutting-edge mobile payment technology as well. This — and not an RFID smart card — is how the MTA sees the future of subway fares.

The question, of course, remains why. Despite some glitches, the MetroCard appears to do the job. So what is pushing the MTA to kill it after just 16 years? In an extensive overview of the quest to kill the MetroCard, Cody Lyon at the Gotham Gazette answers just that very question. It is, not surprisingly, a matter of cost. As Lyon writes and as I’ve explained in the past, the MTA spends 15 cents per fare dollar on maintaining MetroCard infrastructure and collecting money. The MTA employs 124 workers whose sole tasks involve keeping MetroCard Vending Machines up and running, and Transit says it received 28,456 service calls for those machines in one month — this past July.

What, then, can smart cards do? By reducing fare infrastructure costs, the MTA says it will save $55 million for every cent they shave off that 15-cent total, and the proper new technology could result in nearly $200 million in increased revenue. “Transit industries across the country are finding it costs them a lot of money, in machines and service, and collecting cash out of them, to be able to operate the transit ticketing and fare payment services they offer,” Randy Vanderhoof, the Executive Director of the Smart Card Alliance, a group meeting with the MTA this week, said to Lyon. “Anything transit agencies can do to reduce the number of tickets they have to sell, and the number of machines they have to supply in the stations, will allow them to save money.”

Lyon’s pieces touches upon other goals and concerns with a charge card-based system. As he notes, the concerns focus around those who do not have credit or debit cards. For that not-insignificant percentage of New Yorkers, the MTA would have to make pre-paid cards of some shape available for purchase, and the authority wants to better integrate fare payment across its subagencies before wading into that economic experiment.

So how soon will the post-MetroCard era dawn? Walder’s early 2014 prediction may be too optimistic. MTA officials told Lyon that the timeframe may, in the grand tradition of MTA projects, be elongated. “The new smart card program will see full subway and train implementation in the coming years,” Aaron Donovan, authority spokesman, said. It’s anybody’s guess how soon that will be.

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Fare Hikes

Coming soon, a $104 monthly MetroCard?

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on September 23, 2010

Now that the MTA’s fare hike hearings have ended, the waiting game begins. We wait for the MTA Board to meet; we wait them to vote on the fare hike; we wait for the fare hike to go into effect. From the sound of things, New Yorkers will also be waiting not so expectantly for the first triple-digit MetroCard in subway history.

According to MTA CEO and Chairman Jay Walder, public sentiment is firmly behind maintaining the MetroCard status quo albeit with higher prices. As City Room reported, Walder discussed the fare hike hearings earlier this week while speaking with the New York Building Congress. “It’s safe to say there hasn’t been a tremendous amount of enthusiasm for the capped pass,” he said.

As part of its fare hike offerings, the MTA had put forward two proposals — a capped and an uncapped one. Under the capped proposal, the more expensive offering would cost $99 and would be valid for either 30 days or 90 rides, whichever came first. According to the MTA, only a very small percentage of subway riders swipe their cards 90 or more times a month, but the MTA’s justification for the capped proposal, as I explored last week, has seemed sparse.

Under the more traditional fare hike, the MTA would retain the 30-day unlimited card, but the costs would shoot up even higher. The 30-day card could cost $104 while the seven-day card will cost $29. Under both proposals, the little-used one- and 14-day cards will be eliminated entirely.

According to Walder and the MTA’s analysis, the fare hike, which would send the cost of 30-day cards up by nearly 17 percent, impacts those who can better afford to pay. “One of the points about the 30-day pass is that the median household income for the 30-day pass is nearly double the household incomes for some other products,” Walder said.

But many transit advocates dispute the MTA’s assertions on the dueling fare hike proposals. Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign has been hammering the MTA on its rationale behind the hikes and believes the authority has not answered his questions to the fullest extent possible. “What will it mean to cap the ride? Will it discourage people from buying the pass? Will more people move to pay-per-ride? Will ridership go down? I’d like to know the answers to those questions,” he said to NY1’s John Mancini.

Even MTA Board members, says Mancini, want “to learn more on the fare hike options.” This tidbit about the Board is part of a larger narrative about the MTA’s proposed fare hike. Although Walder continues to insist that the fares must go up because money isn’t flowing in from elsewhere, transit advocates are calling for better solutions. The Straphangers, the Tri-State Transportation Campaign and others have called for tolling solutions, and the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA has done the same.

While PCAC recognizes that the MTA is in dire financial straits, it also objects to “shifting of the burden of support for MTA services increasingly onto the backs of the riders.” The group has called upon the MTA to fight for the restoration of $143 million the state legislature moved from the transit fund to the state’s general fund last year and has asked the MTA to push through East River bridge tolls before trying to raise the fares. These solutions do not appear to be politically palatable right now even as they remain more practical than yet another steep fare hike.

And so we wait. We wait for solutions that do not come. We wait for politicians who do not answer the call. And we wait for the inevitability of higher fares over and over again.

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MetroCard

Visa payWave, mobile app added to contactless payment trial

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on September 22, 2010

As the MTA forges ahead with plans to bring next-generation fare payment technology to the subways, Visa announced yesterday that its users can pay for their transit fares with both the payWave contactless technology and a new mobile application. While Visa’s payWave joins MasterCard’s PayPass trial, the ability to pay for transit fares with a mobile phone application at stations along the East Side IRT and on select bus routes forges new ground for the MTA.

“Transit agencies the world over have one primary goal – to get their customers to where they need to go quickly and efficiently. What transit agencies and riders recognize is that using Visa on buses, subways and trains is the logical evolution in terms of improved speed, security and convenience,” Jim McCarthy, a Visa executive, said in a statement. “For commuters, paying with Visa means no more fumbling for change or worrying about lost transit cards. For transit authorities, accepting Visa means better customer service, integrated collections and the potential for increased ridership.”

Visa explains that the New York pilot uses a small electronic chip embedded in either a mobile phone or payment card that communicates with the contactless readers at the fare gates. Simply by holding payWave-enabled cards or phones near the designated reader will deduct a fare from the chip, and open the gate. Visa has also issued a payWave-enabled commuter benefits card called the TransitChek QuickPay Card. This card allows those participating in the trial to pay their fares using the so-called “tax-advantaged flexible spending accounts.”

According to BankTech, iPhone users who opt in to the Visa payWave trial can’t use only their phones to pay. Because iPhone technology doesn’t include a memory card slot, iPhone users will have to keep a MicroSD chip in their cases. Other smartphone users should be able to install the proper chip into the memory card slot.

For the MTA, bringing Visa on board for the last few months of this six-month trial represents the next step in the hunt for the future. By allowing smartphone payments, the MTA is trying to skip what is, in essence, already preexisting fare payment technology. Various transit agencies throughout the world have used RFID-enabled contactless cards for years, and one of the MTA’s goal in searching for the MetroCard replacement involves finding something not already obsolete. I’ll have more on that aspect of this fare payment trial tomorrow.

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AsidesBuses

Report: 178 bus drivers reprimanded for texting behind the wheel

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on September 22, 2010

Since the beginning of 2010, the MTA has reprimanded a total of 178 bus drivers for texting while driving, a report in The Post said today. According Tom Namako and Joe Mollica, an additional seven drivers were summonsed for eating while behind the wheel, and another seven were caught reading. The Post tracked down a few New Yorkers who were outraged by the behavior — “That’s extremely troubling,” said one — but the MTA’s numbers tell a different story. The 192 cited in the article represent just 1.9 percent of the MTA’s staff of bus operators.

The MTA says it takes reports of driver misconduct seriously and will often dispatch agency officials to monitor bus drivers. Rider complaints, they say, a big part of the process. “The MTA views this as a very serious safety concern and we employ several methods of policing cellphone use behind the wheel,” Transit spokesman Charles Seaton told The Post.

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Subway Advertising

MLB/TBS in-car video ads a first for Transit

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on September 22, 2010

Jorge Posada's likeness greets straphangers on the 42nd St. Shuttle. The wrapping and video screens are part of the MTA's increased push for more advertising dollars. (Photo by Lorenzo Bevilaqua/TBS)

The 42nd St. Shuttle now features in-car video advertising. (Photo via MTA)

The MTA’s fleet of shiny new R160s all come equipped with video screens on the FIND displays. Originally intended to show a rotating mix of MTA announcements and advertisements, these screens have served only as self-promotional vehicles for New York City Transit. This week, though, the MTA announced the introduction of video advertising to its favorite marketing guinea pig, the 42nd St. shuttle.

As part of an effort to milk every last dollar out of potential advertising opportunities, the MTA in conjunction with TBS and Major League Baseball unveiled 10-inch video screens in a fully-wrapped shuttle car that allow TBS to air its ads, sound-free. While the authority declined to reveal how much TBS had paid for the video screens as well as a fully wrapped shuttle train complete with seats resembling those found at a baseball stadium, the authority drew in over $127 million in ad revenue last year. That total is up from nearly $89 million in 2004, and the authority has only begun to tap into its branding potential.

“The MTA earns more than $100 million per year from sales of advertising space, mostly through traditional print media, but this traditional advertising has suffered as a result of the recession,” MTA Chairman Jay Walder said in a statement. “Our uncertain finances mean that we have to think creatively to maximize the value of our physical assets. One way we are doing that is by creating more dynamic advertising opportunities.”

TBS and Major League Baseball have branded one of the 42nd St. Shuttles in anticipation of the upcoming baseball playoffs. Mariano Rivera presides over subway benches made to resemble stadium seats. (Photo by Lorenzo Bevilaquia/TBS)

Shuttle wrapping has become de rigueur lately, and in fact, the 6 recently received a wrapped car of its own. The video screens, however, mark the first time that moving images have been used for the purposes of in-car marketing campaigns.“The MTA is creating new, dynamic advertising opportunities utilizing the latest technology to both increase ad revenue and communicate better with our customers,” Walder, in a buzzword-laden statement, said. “Inviting advertisers to “wrap” entire trains and the use of digital displays will generate a buzz among customers and advertisers alike.”

For the first few days, the in-car video screens will simply promote the upcoming baseball playoffs on TBS while star players — Jorge Posada, Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera from the Yankees; Cliff Lee from the Rangers — decorate the outside of the cars. Once the playoffs begin, however, TBS says the video ads will include highlights from the previous night’s games and “up-to-the-minute information” on match-ups to come. “As people are commuting home and making decisions on what to do with their evening, Turner will reach millions of potential viewers in a creative way with messages about the excitement of the Postseason,” MLB Vice President Tim Brosnan said.

While executives can spew on-message quotes, baseball fans are the ones who are latching onto the ads. “It’s too bad I can only take this train one stop,” Anthony Polini told The New York Times. “I’d do this in my room, but my wife wouldn’t let me.”

Of course, while New York City Transit is celebrating an advertising first for them, City Room reminds us that PATH had video ads installed in 2009, and subway systems in cities such as Boston, Buenos Aires and Madrid have used video screens for years. The MTA says the agency’s budget problems will lead to more ad opportunities. “Customers in a transit environment can expect increasing levels of sophistication in advertising,” Aaron Donovan, agency spokesman, said.

Advertising will now appear on the outside of LIRR train cars. (Photo via MTA)

The video screens on the shuttle — sans sound — aren’t the only new frontiers unveiled this week. The authority also set the first commuter trains with external display advertising on the rails. Fifty of the LIRR’s M7 cars are displaying ads along the bottom as many IRT subway cars do today. The ads, says the authority, are visible to those boarding at stations as well as drivers and pedestrians who pass the train. If this three-month trial is successful, the LIRR fleet may see an uptick an ads. The MTA, however, did not say by what measure “successful” will be judged.

Over the years, subway advertising, whose revenues were once called a balm for hurt minds, has become more intrusive. Moving images will do nothing to stop that forward march, and the MTA says it is going to explore 3-D images and in-tunnel advertising as well. As much as we may bemoan — or look forward to — the themed subway cars, the MTA’s economic situation demands it.

After the jump, a video describing the new advertising initiatives and a behind-the-scenes look at the way MTA crews wrapped the shuttle and prepared the new video screens.

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Subway Security

Security cameras in key hubs now feeding NYPD

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on September 21, 2010

Over 500 subway cameras in three key stations are now hooked into the NYPD’s Ring of Steel monitoring system, the MTA and Mayor Bloomberg announced yesterday. As part of the MTA’s boondoggle of a camera program, live streams from 507 new security devices in Grand Central, Penn Station and Times Square will feed into the NYPD’s Command Center down near Wall St. to assist the cops in fulfilling the goals of their Manhattan Security Initiative.

“The safety and security of our customers is the MTA’s top priority, and I am thrilled to partner with Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner Kelly to keep customers safe at our busiest transit hubs,” MTA Chairman and CEO Jay H. Walder said in a statement. “This is one more step in finally putting the proper focus on technology at the MTA. For too long, the MTA has failed to deliver on key technology projects, but you can see that changing all across our system.”

The Mayor, who hasn’t found the willingness to foot the bill for transit upgrades, nevertheless pledged dollars to keep his security efforts running. “We will take whatever steps necessary, regardless of cost in Federal or City funds, to protect New York from terrorists,” he said. “Access to these cameras is a big step in providing the NYPD with the tools it needs to keep transit riders safe – something we urged during the mayoral election campaign last year.”

According to the Daily News, this camera program will serve as the NYPD’s own version of the MTA’s “See Something, Say Something” campaign. The technology used at the monitoring station includes the ability to sound the alarm if an unattended bag is spotted or if people are “entering restricted areas.”

These camera, said the MTA, are just one part of the agency’s Integrated Electronic Security System. While the 507 at the transportation hubs will be monitored, not all of the MTA’s other 3200 feeds will be. Walder did say that cameras at other key stations including those in Lower Manhattan will eventually feed into the NYPD’s system.

For the MTA, this announcement served as a milestone of sorts as the surveillance project has been best by legal, technical and economic problems. Originally designed by Lockheed Martin, the cameras were to be in place years ago, but the two sides engaged in a bitter legal dispute when the contractor claimed it couldn’t access certain areas and the MTA claimed Lockheed missed deadlines. “For too long, the MTA has failed to deliver on key technology projects,” Walder said. “But you can now see that changing all across our system.”

Still, while 1400 have installed over the past six months, more are on the way even as civil liberties groups view these surveillance programs with wary eyes. “Do we really believe that 500 video cameras in three hubs is really going to ramp up our security and not undermine individual liberty and is better than putting more cops on the street?” Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said to the Wall Street Journal. “New York City is going to be a go-outside-at-your-own-peril kind of place in no time. Maybe it already is.”

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