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MTA Technology

Subway arrival boards now five years late

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on September 24, 2008

For all its faults, the DC Metro tells riders how long they’ll have to wait. (Photo by flickr user NYCArthur)

Riders in Washington, D.C., know how long they have to wait for the next train. Straphangers in London are told how far away the next Underground subways are. Even Rome, with its graffiti-covered, two-line subway system, has managed to figure out train arrival boards. But not New York.

For years, New York City Transit has announced plans to bring this not-so-nascent technology into the subway system. In fact, they’ve been running a pilot program on the L line for years, and originally, this technology was to be ready for a system-wide roll-out in 2006. After announcing a projected 2009 launch date last December, the MTA has now admitted that the project is five years behind schedule and will not be ready until 2011 at the earliest.

Pete Donohue broke the story:

A project to display real-time train arrival times in 152 subway stations is now behind schedule – by five years. The project, featuring electronic message boards posted above subway platforms, was originally expected to be completed in 2006.

NYC Transit has pushed back that date several times over the years, citing software development problems, technical glitches and other problems. Earlier this week, officials pushed the date back again, this time to 2011. The delays in the $185 million project have frustrated riders and advocates who have seen such information provided in other cities around the world but not here.

“What a drag!” said Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign. “Riders really want to know when trains are due to arrive and when they are delayed.”

Besides the utter obviousness of Gene Russianoff’s quote, this project has turned into one giant joke. The MTA, for reasons both within their control and without it, have been unable to get a technological project off the ground, and now they’re talking about delaying it for five years. If I delivered something at work five years later, I would be fired.

Right now, we need this system simply to enjoy a modern subway system. But considering the price tag — $185 million — the delay and the fact that we’ve lived without it for so long, I have to wonder if this money wouldn’t be better spent elsewhere at this point. We all know the system could use it.

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LIRR

The Long Island Rail Road, where everyone is disabled

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on September 24, 2008

With Google Transit coming to New York and hypothetical service cuts heading our way, we haven’t had any time this week to talk about this past weekend’s great transit story. So without further ado, may I present to you the Long Island Rail Road, churning out disabled workers since 1966.

The fun started on Sunday when The Times published an expose on the “disability epic among a railroad’s retirees.” Four reporters worked on the story, and Walt Bogdanich reported the shocking news:

Virtually every career employee — as many as 97 percent in one recent year — applies for and gets disability payments soon after retirement, a computer analysis of federal records by The New York Times has found. Since 2000, those records show, about a quarter of a billion dollars in federal disability money has gone to former L.I.R.R. employees, including about 2,000 who retired during that time.

The L.I.R.R.’s disability rate suggests it is one of the nation’s most dangerous places to work. Yet in four of the last five years, the railroad has won national awards for improving worker safety.

“Short of the gulag, I can’t imagine any work force that would have a so-to-speak 90 percent disability attrition rate,” said Glenn Scammel, long one of Capitol Hill’s top experts on railroads. “That defies both logic and experience.”

The quartet’s piece goes on to talk about the economic benefits of this scam and the ways in which those in charge at the Railroad Retirement Board, a federal agency that pays these disability claims, allowed this to happen under their noses. Included in the extensive story are tales about retirees on disability playing golf at 50 and a married couple bilking the agency out of $280,000 annually. I wish I could find retirement that paid so well.

Since Sunday, things have really hit the fan. In quick succession, Gov. David Paterson ordered Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to investigate the railroad’s books and the LIRR’s work rules. On Monday, Cuomo unleashed his subpoena power, and yesterday, Federal Agents raided the Long Island headquarters of the Railroad Retirement Board.

Right now, it’s unclear how this impacts the MTA. While the Transportation Authority is not on the hook for these disability payments, they lose significant man hours to early retirees alleging disabilities, and as members of the RRB, they pay significantly more than they otherwise would in certain payroll and Social Security taxes.

For now, this whole scandal simply looks back. It will provide more ammunition for the opponents of the MTA who feel that the agency doesn’t offer responsible oversight and shouldn’t be running the vital transportation network in the New York City area. As the truth emerges, I’m sure many at the MTA and at LIRR will emerged worse for the wear. Perhaps this is the first step toward better oversight both within and of the MTA. If anything, it’ll force the Long Island Rail Road to clean up its act.

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MTA Technology

Google, NYC Transit team up for transit directions

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on September 23, 2008

In a ceremony this morning at Grand Central Terminal, Google and the MTA announced a partnership designed to bring New York Metropolitan area transit directions to Google Transit, a feature of the popular Google Maps. Users will now be able to find comprehensive directions for New York City Transit, the Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North and the area’s bus service in one place.

First hinted at thirteen months ago, the service is now available online at both a special page on the MTA’s website and at Google Transit. “It is a very complicated transit system, and it just got less complicated today with the advent of Google Maps for transit,” Gov. David Paterson said this morning.

Currently, New York commuters enjoy numerous trip-mapping options. Independent sites such as HopStop, onNYTurf and Gypsy Maps offer up their own versions of integrated directions for intra-city travel. New York City Transit’s TripPlanner provides an MTA-sanctioned source for directions.

But the new service is the first to offer integrated mapping and directions across all three services. With the MTA’s making comprehensive schedule data available to Google and NJ Transit and Port Authority’s PATH service already on board, New Yorkers can now find directions from one end of the Metropolitan Area to the other.

The key feature here is the inclusion of schedule data. Over the last few years, many of the directionally-minded website developers — with Will at onNYTurf leading the charge — have tried to wrangle to-the-minute schedule details out of the MTA, but the agency has been reluctant to part with this proprietary data. Publicly available schedules, particularly for the subways, are incomplete. But now, users can set a departure time and find the most accurate scheduling information around. Incorporating all of the current features of Google Maps — walking directions, street view, local points of interest — the new service is a step above the others right now.

Both MTA officials and Google executives were quick to praise this partnership. “At a time when the MTA is facing mounting fiscal challenges, we are thrilled to be able to offer this service to our customers at no cost to taxpayers,” MTA Chair Dale Hemmerdinger said. “Google Transit will encourage ridership and underscores the importance of the MTA to the region’s economy and environment.”

“By being able to access station and schedule data for the largest public transit system in the United States via Google Maps, users are exposed to the availability and convenience of public transportation and are better equipped to take advantage of all that the New York metropolitan region has to offer,” John Hanke, director of Google Maps and Earth, said.

It wasn’t easy, however, putting together this project. As Sewell Chan at City Room reported this morning, the MTA delivered a large volume of data to Google, and the information giant had to parse it into a usable format. The MTA and Google plan to make the data available to other developers as well.

With the MTA’s preeminent place in the region, this is a very welcome and long-awaited development indeed.

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MTA Economics

With money tight, MTA gears up for ‘hypothetical’ cuts

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on September 23, 2008

Facing a budget deficit of nearly $1 billion and with no relief in sight, the MTA is preparing an agency-wide cut of 4.5 percent. While officials say they will cut management costs first, if enough money can’t be trimmed, the agencies will be forced to cut operations costs, which, in plain English, means subway, bus and rail service could face the axe.

William Neuman of The Times has more on this dismaying but unsurprising news:

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has begun exploring possible cuts in subway, bus and commuter rail service to shore up its budget in the face of a projected deficit next year of nearly $900 million, officials said on Monday.

The cuts could be necessary if the authority does not receive enough additional money from the state and city or if the economic crisis deepens significantly, the officials said. They cautioned, however, that any service cuts were purely theoretical at this point…

Gary J. Dellaverson, the authority’s chief financial officer, said that he had directed the heads of the agencies that make up the authority…to come up with alternative budgets “in the event either the economy is worse than predicted, which is possible, or assistance from government partners in its entirety is not forthcoming.”

Jeremy Soffin, a spokesman for the authority, said that the agencies were told to explain how they would make cuts of 4.5 percent or so in their expenses. He declined to say how much that would amount to, but a 4.5 percent reduction of the total authority-wide budget projected to be $9.7 billion next year would equal $437 million. “This is an exercise in case of a hypothetical situation,” Mr. Soffin said. “It’s very preliminary.”

While everyone at the MTA stressed the hypothetical nature of this exercise — Doreen Frasca, head of the MTA Board’s transit committee, hopped on that bandwagon too — it’s hard to feel too good about it. New York has yet to experience the economic fall-out from the recent collapse of the investment banking business, and tax revenues — and thus city and state contributions to the MTA — are sure to be down.

Meanwhile, these hypothetical cuts do not preclude a fair hike. So, in other words, we could be in for both another fare hike in 2009 as well as across-the-board service cuts. Clearly, that’s not news anyone in New York wants to hear right now.

As riders, our options are limited. The best we can do is lobby our elected representatives and urge them to find more money for the beleaguered transit agency. Since voting them out of office didn’t pan out, our options are severely limited. Maybe now will be a good time for the MTA to ask Richard Brodsky for some money. After all, he promised them funds last July if only they would ask.

In the end, though, I bet the rest of us, through service cuts and fare hikes, will have to pay. That, sadly, is the way of it in New York City these days.

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AsidesMTA Absurdity

Keep on minding that platform edge

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on September 22, 2008

A way back in February, a few newspapers created a stir at the MTA when they reported on the bad conditions of the platform edge at numerous subway stations around the City. While New York City Transit has since inspected every platform and has made temporary emergency repairs to a good number of them, amNew York reports that the platform edges still pose dangers to passengers.

The free daily contends that splintery and wobbly temporary platforms lend an aura of action to station in disrepair but no guarantee of safety. While passengers should not be spending too much time — if any — on the platform edge — the MTA should continue to ensure the safety of passengers. At some point, the agency will need to find a permanent solution to this problem. I hope they can do so before a bad accident befalls an unsuspecting straphanger.

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New York City Transit

With mixed reviews, MTA set to expand line manager experiment

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on September 22, 2008

Despite facing a fare share of criticism over and some mixed results from its line manager program, the MTA is set to expand their program after a 10-month experiment.

Last year, when the Rider Report Card results highlight deficiencies in service and general feelings that the MTA was out of touch with its riders, New York City Transit President Howard Roberts introduced the line manager program. In the intervening months, the L and 7 served as guinea pigs, and now the MTA will spread the joy of oversight to other subway lines but on a more limited basis.

According to William Neuman of The Times, with money tight at the MTA — the agency is facing a potential $1-billion deficit — other subway lines will get only managers and not the other amenities, such as 24-hour cleaning crews, that the L and 7 currently enjoy.

Neuman has more:

Mr. Roberts said that the rest of the numbered lines would get general managers this fall, with the new positions being phased in over the next several weeks. Early next year, the rest of the lettered lines will shift to the new structure. Each line will also be part of a group of four to seven lines that have common responsibilities. For instance, the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 lines share several miles of track, so track maintenance would be the responsibility of a group manager.

Mr. Roberts said that once the reorganization is complete and the employees are moved to their new jobs, the changes will result in a slightly leaner work force, with 70 fewer positions and a savings of $7.3 million a year.

Meanwhile, the results of the current line managers are decidedly mixed. The MTA highlights on-time statistics to show the effects these managers are having, but numerous lines without the managerial oversight have enjoyed increased on-time numbers as well. Furthermore, as Neuman notes, on-time numbers for the 7 and L are actually off pace from the days before the line manager program.

Riders themselves have not noticed widespread improvement in the system, and I have a feeling that the latest round of rider report cards will reveal similar or identical grades as those doled out last year. Some riders, Neuman writes, say “they had noticed small improvements like trains arriving at stations with greater regularity, easing rush hour crowding in the cars. And many said that stations and train cars on the two lines were noticeably cleaner than elsewhere in the subway system.”

In the end, I have to like this program because of its intent. It saves the MTA money, and it shows that the agency is willing, finally, to listen to its customers. We can’t expect overnight results from an organization that has long resisted change, but we can hope that, as the powers-that-be receive more feedback and suggestion from the riders, they’ll be willing to take the steps necessary to improve our subway service.

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Subway History

Taking a Nostalgic final ride to Yankee Stadium

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on September 21, 2008

As Yankee fans across the city know all too well, this evening marks the final regular season game at Yankee Stadium. Nothing quite identifies the Yankees as the ride north on the 4 train to the stadium. When the trains come above ground after leaving 149th St./Grand Concourse, Yankee Stadium looms majestically over the tracks, and astute fans know to keep their eyes out for that glimpse inside the stadium from the tracks.

As part of the pre-game ceremony honoring the House that Ruth Built, New York City Transit is planning on running a special nostalgia train along the 4 line from Grand Central up to Yankee Stadium. Via the agency’s press release:

What better way to celebrate the end of an era than hopping aboard a vintage IRT Jerome Ave. express to get to the game.

The four-car “Nostalgia Special” is scheduled to leave Grand Central-42nd Street at approximately 6 p.m., arriving at 161st Street-Yankee Stadium about 30 minutes later. The cars, originally operated by the Interborough Rapid Transit system, began service in 1917 and it is possible that at least one of them carried fans to the game on the first opening day.

The Lo-V subway cars, veterans of more than five decades of service before they were retired in the 1960s, serve as a splendid illustration of just how far subway car technology has advanced over the past 100 years. Customers will be able to sample the modern comforts of NYC Transit’s New Technology Cars on the trip home.

It’s quite the way to honor the closing of the stadium. Fans can pretend it is the early days of Yankee Stadium all over again. The four cars will be from the Lo-V series which operated along the IRT lines from 1917 through 1964. I believe the car numbers, for the rail aficionados, are 5483, 5443, 5292 and 5290.

Personally, I’m heading to this game later this afternoon. While I’d love to take the Nostalgia Train to Yankee Stadium, I’m probably shooting to get the stadium earlier than 6:30. But this is a great way to send off a New York City institution, and the folks who find themselves on this train, intentionally or otherwise, are in for a treat.

Photo via NYC Subway.

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Service Advisories

Self-promotion and the weekend service advisories

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on September 19, 2008

Let’s talk a little self-promotion. It’s been a while since I’ve plugged ways you can stay in touch with Second Ave. Sagas, and so I’m going to borrow a few minutes before the service advisories to let you know.

You can subscribe to Second Ave. Sagas by e-mail. Browse to this link, insert your e-mail address and receive new posts in your inbox. Neither FeedBurner nor I will use your e-mail address for any other purpose.

For those of us addicted to social networking, you can become a supporter of Second Ave. Sagas on Facebook. Spread the word.

And finally, you can subscribe to Second Ave. Sagas’ RSS Feed. I recommend Google Reader or Bloglines for all of your web-based RSS subscription needs.

Without further ado, the weekend service advisories:


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 20 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 22, 2 and 3 trains run local between 96th and Chambers Street due to 96th Street station rehabilitation.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 20 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 22, there are no 4 trains between Utica and Brooklyn Bridge due to track and station work for the Fulton Street Transit Center. The 3 and a special J train provide alternate service.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 20 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 22, there are no 5 trains between 42nd Street-Grand Central and Bowling Green due to track and station work for the Fulton Street Transit Center. The 4 and special J trains provide alternate service. Customers should transfer between the 5 and 4 at 42nd Street-Grand Central.


From 4 a.m. Saturday, September 20 to 10 p.m. Sunday, September 21, Flushing-bound 7 trains run express from Queensboro Plaza to Willets Point-Shea Stadium due to track panel installation between 74th Street and 82nd Street.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 20 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 22, free shuttle buses replace A trains between 168th Street and 207th Street due to structural and tunnel lighting at 168th Street.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 20 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 22, there is no C train service between 145th Street and 168th Street due to structural and tunnel lighting at 168th Street. Customers should take the A instead.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 20 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 22, uptown Aand C trains skip Spring, 23rd, and 50th Streets due to Chambers Street Signal Modernization.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 20 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 22, Queens-bound A and C trains skip Ralph and Rockaway Avenues due to station painting at Ralph and Rockaway Avenues.


From 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m. Saturday, September 20, Manhattan-bound D trains skip 167th, 161st, and 155th Streets due to track and roadbed cleaning. – Note: This will not interfere with any travel to and from Yankee Stadium this weekend.


From 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday, September 21, Bronx-bound D trains skip 155th Street due to track and roadbed cleaning.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 20 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 22, there are no E trains between West 4th Street and World Trade Center due to the Chambers Street Signal Modernization. Take the A or C instead.


From 11:30 p.m. Friday, September 19 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 22 (and weekends through October 6), Manhattan-bound E trains run local from Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue to Queens Plaza due to a track-chip out north of Queens Plaza.


From 12:30 a.m. Saturday, September 20 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 22, Queens-bound E trains run local from Queens Plaza to Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue due to a track-chip out north of Queens Plaza.


From 12:01 a.m. to midnight Saturday, September 20, Manhattan-bound ER trains run express from Forest Hills-71st Avenue to Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue due to a pump room repair north of Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue.


From 12:30 a.m. Saturday, September 20 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 22, Queens-bound F trains run local from 21st Street-Queensbridge to Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue due to a track chip-out north of Queens Plaza.


From 11:30 p.m. Friday, September 19 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 22, (and weekends through October 6), Manhattan-bound F trains run local from Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue to 21st Street-Queensbridge due to a track chip-out north of Queens Plaza.


From 8:30 p.m. Friday, September 19 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 22, there are no G trains between Forest Hills-71st Avenue and Court Square due to a track chip-out north of Queens Plaza. Customers should take the E or R instead.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 20 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 22 (and weekends through October 6), Manhattan-bound N trains run on the D line from Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue to 36th Street (Brooklyn) due to track panel installation.


From 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, September 20, Q trains run in two sections due to track rail and plate removal:

  • Between 57th Street (Manhattan) and Brighton Beach and
  • Between Brighton Beach and Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue
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7 Line Extension

City, MTA officially kill planned 7 stop at Tenth Ave.

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on September 19, 2008

The Tenth Ave. station is no longer.

The MTA has scraped plans to build a station stop at 10th Ave. and 41st St. as part of the 7 line extension to the Hudson Yards area. Let’s not mince words: This is a terrible mistake.

NY1 has the story:

Transit officials dropped plans to build an additional 7 subway line station Thursday. Officials eliminated the plan to build a station at 10th Avenue and 41st Street when they were unable to obtain the $450 million to complete the project.

The Bloomberg administration said a station is not necessary since the neighborhood is already developed…

In a statement, the MTA said, “While we would prefer to include a station at 10th Avenue, it is not critical to the success of the overall project. If funding is identified at a later date we will revisit the issue.”

I have long advocated for the inclusion of this station in the final project. If the city is going to spend the time and energy expanding west, they should be as inclusive as possible. To omit this station now would be to give up on it forever. Just ask proponents of the Second System.

On many levels, this news is dismaying. First is Bloomberg’s dismissal of the station because the neighborhood is already developed. The purpose of subway expansion isn’t to spur on to development but rather to offer public transportation to neighborhoods currently lacking in that regard. The area west of 8th Ave. in Hells Kitchen needed this station. Drawing Bloomberg’s logic to a proper end would result in our questioning the need for a Second Ave. Subway too. After all, the Upper East side is “already developed.”

More alarming is the cost of this project and its ultimate result. The City and the MTA will now be spending a few billion dollars to extend the subway one stop. At a time when the system is falling apart, when maintenance projects are being deferred, when expansion plans are slowly crawling to a halt, spending billions of dollars simply to placate some real estate developer in charge of a project at least a decade away from completion doesn’t strike me as the best use of funds.

Update 3:00 p.m.: CityRoom has a more detailed story up about this news. This William Neuman piece features a statement from Senator Chuck Schumer: “Failure to build a full 7 train extension is a huge missed opportunity to promptly realize the complete potential of the Far West Side.”

Well said, Chuck. Well Said.

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Subway History

Dreaming of the Second System: Where the subways should go

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on September 19, 2008

For nearly eight decades, the New York City Subway system has sat in stagnant. Since unification in 1940, the City has witnessed the birth of just a handful of new lines with even fewer planned. Yet, subway inertia wasn’t always the norm.

In 1929 and again in 1939, New York City planners dreamed big. Before cars came to dominate our transportation landscape, the city knew that extending the subway would truly complete the system and usher in unprecedented boom times for New York. Thus, along came the IND Second System.

Yesterday’s post on the uncompleted remnants of a Brooklyn subway stop hints at the scope of this ambitious plan. Today, we delve deeper into this vast civic undertaking. The city wanted 100 miles of new tracks connecting every borough to one another. The map at right (click to enlarge) is a work of subway art, and the plan is a beauty.

Read on for an in-depth look at the great Second System plans.
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