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MTA announces short-term 7 line repairs

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on May 18, 2011

For the past few months, commuters and politicians along the IRT Flushing line have grown even more impatient with the MTA than they usually are. At various points this winter and spring, the 7 line has faced numerous unplanned delays due to its aging signal infrastructure and flood-prone tunnels. To speed up repairs, the MTA will institute a series of weekend outages, Transit announced today.

This weekend and again for a weekend in June and one in July, there will be no 7 service between Queensboro Plaza and Times Square so that crews can work in the Steinway Tunnels. The work, says Transit, includes signal circuit repair, removal of silt and muck from the roadbed, power system improvements in the area and grouting of tunnel walls to address water intrusion. This work will provide some short-term relief as the longer-term installation of a new signaling system is ongoing.

“The recent deterioration in service illustrates clearly why this work is so vital and why we must perform it at this time, and I have to be frank, performing this vital work will require major planned service disruptions for some time to come,” NYC Transit President Thomas F. Prendergast said. “We are committed to improving service along the Flushing Line and we will keep everyone informed of service changes and how the work is progressing.” As of now, there is still no word on the Court Square entrance, another long-term problem plaguing part of the 7 line.

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AsidesRolling Stock

Slideshow of the Day: The end of reefing

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on May 18, 2011

For the past decade, the MTA has disposed of old subway cars through a reefing program. In fact, more than 2500 cars, stripped of their valuable and toxic parts, have been dropped to the ocean floor to create a home for ocean life and a destination for water tourists. (Check out a video on reefing here.) In a slideshow for The Times over the weekend, though, Michael Grynbaum reported on the end of the reefing program.

According to Grynbaum’s MTA sources, the newer cars aren’t fit for reefing. “After 10 years,” he writes, “the authority determined that its newer subway cars would not be suitable for this fate; those trains have more plastic parts than their predecessors, making them more expensive to prepare for reefing. The era of the underwater subway graveyard officially came to an end.” The authority will try to find a “more efficient manner of disposal.” The reefs then will stay as they are, and the photos of cars being sunk will remain as dramatic as they ever were.

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AsidesMTA Politics

Fernando Ferrer to replace Doreen Frasca on the MTA Board

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on May 17, 2011

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has named Fernando Ferrer, the one-time mayoral candidate, to the MTA Board. The one-time head of the Drum Major Institute for Public Affairs and current lobbyist will replace Doreen Frasca, whose term expired in 2010. Ferrer, the Bronx Borough President from 1987-2001, will have to be confirmed by the State Senate, but he likely won’t face a significant opposition in Albany.

Interestingly, this move could have an impact on the board’s makeup. Frasca, an expert in the financing of complex transportation infrastructure projects, has been one of the more outspoken members of the MTA Board. For instance, she has long cast a wary eye toward the Atlantic Yards deal. Ferrer, on the other hand, is a relative unknown in the transportation sector; rather, his expertise lies in housing policy. Ferrer, an outspoken opponent of Mayor Bloomberg during his 2005 mayoral campaign, will have to prove his transit mettle.

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AsidesNew York City Transit

Bloomberg: ‘There aren’t very many panhandlers’ in the subway

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on May 16, 2011

While speaking with reporters this morning, noted subway rider and billionaire mayor Michael Bloomberg declared the subways relatively free from panhandlers. A reporter discussing underground cell service asked him if the subways were the “last bastion of quiet, except for panhandlers,” and the mayor responded in turn. “There aren’t very many panhandlers left, in all fairness to the MTA, come on,” he said, praising the MTA for “work[ing] very hard to fix that.”

Homeless advocates disputed this claim. Joel Berg of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger called it an “absurd” remark that “bears no relation to reality.” “I’d love to live in whatever city the mayor lives in,” Berg said. “It’s an entirely different one from the one that I and eight million other New Yorkers live in.” Others noted that, under Bloomberg, homeless levels in New York City have reached record high.

I constantly see homeless folks in the subway; in fact, I had one living in my station a few weeks ago. Panhandlers too are a common sight. They might be less aggressive than they used to be, but they’re still there. Not all of us can ride the trains with same security detail the mayor takes with him, and his comments certainly strike me as a bit wrong-headed here.

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AsidesTaxis

Council approves higher fines for recalcitrant cabbies

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on May 13, 2011

As Mayor Bloomberg and the Taxi & Limousine Commission continue to search for ways to provide better cab service outside of Manhattan, the City Council took a step that should create greater incentives for cranky cabbies. The Council has voted to increase fines for cab drivers who refuse passengers a trip anywhere within the five boroughs. Under the new fine structure, cab drivers who are found in violation of the rules will be fined $500 for the first offense and $1000 for a second offense within two years. A driver found guilty of three offenses in three years will likely lose his or her license.

The new fines represent an increase of $150 for first-time violations. “This legislation is designed to send a very specific message, and that message is that no cab driver should refuse a person access to a cab based on where they want to go,” James Vacca, chair of the Council’s Transportation Committee said. “These days are coming to an end. People have a right to go where they want to go.”

We’ve debated the economics of fare refusals for a few weeks now as the city looks to find a way to add medallion cabs for people to hail to the streets of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. The argument essentially boils down to Vacca’s statement. Not only do people have the right to go where they want, but cab drivers licensed by the city must follow the city’s rules. If they don’t, they’ll have to pay.

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AsidesSelf Promotion

Talking MetroCards on NBC New York Nonstop

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on May 11, 2011

As the MTA moves its long-standing plans to replace the MetroCard into gear, the city’s media outlets are starting to take notice. Will we see a debit/credit card-based system? Proof-of-payment expansion? A proprietary card? Or perhaps a combination of all four? Tonight, as part of NBC New York’s Nightly News with Chuck Scarborough, I’ll be on NBC Non-Stop’s 7 p.m. show. I’m not sure what specific time my segment will air, but it’s will likely be between 7:15 and 8 p.m. For channel listings, check out this page. Be sure to tune in, and for those who miss it, I’ll try to post a video tomorrow.

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AsidesMTA Absurdity

This post is delayed by Internet traffic ahead of us

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on May 11, 2011

Time Warner problems struck just as I was settling in to write this evening’s post. Barring a miraculous resurrection of my Internet within the next hour, I won’t have new content up until the morning. In the meantime, Gawker has a video of a racist naked guy on the 6 train. Only in New York, folks. Only in New York.

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AsidesMTA Economics

APTA: NYers save $14K annually by taking the subway

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on May 10, 2011

New Yorkers who eschew daily driving in exchange for a subway ride can save almost $15,000 a year, the American Public Transportation Association announced today. In its monthly “Transit Savings Report,” the group says that spiking gas prices and high parking rates lead to a monetary drain on the average commuter’s wallet. “Americans need relief from current high gas prices and increasing transportation costs,” William Millar, APTA’s president, said, “And riding public transit is a sure way to lower costs without sacrificing mobility or access.”

The current results are available right here, and New York, with its high gas prices and extensive public transit network, leads the pack. To reach the savings, APTA compares the cost of a monthly transit pass — now $104 in New York — with the 2011 AAA average cost of driving formula. This formula includes variable costs such as gas, maintenance and tires as well as fixed costs such as insurance, license registration, depreciation and finance charges. The formula also assumes that the average person would drive 15,000 miles a year or 41 miles per day.

I have to believe these numbers are slightly inflated for New Yorkers. It doesn’t seem to consider the fact that many daily subway riders are still car-owners, and it seems to overestimate mileage totals. A trip from Bergen Beach to Midtown, for instance, is only 13 miles one way, and someone driving from Riverdale to Lower Manhattan would put less than 30 miles on their car. Still, the cost savings from public transit are tremendous compared to the costs of owning a car. For those New Yorkers who don’t own a car, this report can help take some of the sting out of the city’s high rent rates and general cost of living.

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AsidesMTA

‘She’s got a ticket to marry…’

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on May 10, 2011

In frivolous MTA news, board member Nancy Shevell and her long-term beau Paul McCartney are getting married, Christine Haughney of The Times reported this week. Shevell, who cut her transportation teeth in the freight and shipping industries, has made headlines in the past for her relationship with the former Beatle and for skipping out on MTA Board meetings. She was appointed to the board in 2001 by then Gov. George Pataki, and her appointment expires at the end of June. It’s unclear if Andrew Cuomo will reappoint her or use the first vacancy on the MTA Board during his term to appoint someone he knows with more rail experience.

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AsidesSecond Avenue Subway

Second Ave. Subway breach: harmless explorers or security breach?

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on May 9, 2011

Security breach! Everyone panic! That, at least, is the word coming out of the Second Ave. Subway this morning, but should it be? The story, as reported sensationally by The Post, goes as follows: Four twenty-somethings who label themselves urban adventurers were arrested and charged with criminal trespass early Sunday morning when they were spotted entering the Second Ave. Subway tunnel at 112th St. The Post, trying to equate this development with a PATH tunnel breach as well, claims these incidents are indicative of a lack of security surrounding the city’s rail infrastructure. I’m not so sure the two are analogous.

What happened underneath Second Ave. is, whether we admit it or not, a common happenstance. A savvy, if unsubtle, group of explorers who know about the preexisting parts of the Second Ave. Subway well north of and disconnected from the current launch box at 96th St. hopped into the abandoned tunnel to take photos. Despite The Post’s reporting, these trespassers were not able to gain access to any areas of the Second Ave. Subway under construction. This happens at abandoned stations and shuttered areas of the subway system all the time. It’s happened at South 4th Street with the Underbelly Project; it’s happened at City Hall in that abandoned station. It simply shows that off-limits areas of the system are not immune from penetration.

The bigger question concerns our personal safety. Should we be worried about the porous nature of the subway system? I’ve written in the past about how vulnerable our subway system is, and in the post-Bin Laden era, that still holds true. It’s nearly impossible to protect and guard over 700 miles of track and open-ended tunnels. I doubt terrorists are going to target an abandoned half mile of subway along 112th St. and Second Ave, but access is easy enough for those willing to try.

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