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AsidesMTA Politics

A mayor, not so aware, reveals his true transit stripes

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on May 18, 2010

Jay Walder made headlines last week when he announced an MTA thought experiment. The authority, said the CEO and Chairman, may consider shutting large segments of train lines from Friday night until Monday morning to better expedite the weekend repairs. With larger chunks of routes closed for shorter periods of time, the MTA can be more productive with its capital improvements.

Into this fray went the supposedly pro-transit Mayor Michael Bloomberg. When reached for a comment, the third-term mayor who famously commutes via subway had the following to say to the Wall Street Journal: “I can think of only once in the last eight and a third years where we held for more than a minute or two,” Mr. Bloomberg said. “I never find any service interruptions.”

Bloomberg ran an appealing campaign for his third mayoral term by highlighting a 33-point plan to reform mass transit, but it’s clear that the mayor had no intentions to follow through. This statement simply highlights his mentality. Bloomberg has his drivers take him from his house to the subway, and he uses the 6 train for show during the work week. I’d love to know when the mayor last took a train ride on the weekend that involved service disruptions and diversions. As the MTA struggles along, we certainly shouldn’t expect the mayor to do it a thing about it. After all, the trains run on time for him.

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AsidesLIRRService Cuts

LIRR service cuts now in place

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on May 18, 2010

With little fanfare, the MTA implemented the first of this spring’s service cuts. Yesterday morning, new timetables for the Long Island Rail Road went into effect, and although the cuts are seemingly insubstantial, the commuter rail line just became a little less convenient for its riders. Generally, the cuts consist of the elimination of some overnight trains and peak trips, and the LIRR said that most riders will see waits increase by 10 minutes or less. Still, with these cuts into place, people will find it more burdensome to commute via rail. Trains will be more crowded and now run less frequently. If the purpose of mass transit is to provide convenient and cost-effective replacements for auto trips, cuts always run counter to that goal.

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AsidesMTA Economics

MTA takes on experimental theater company over back rent

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on May 17, 2010

As the MTA looks to maximize its revenue streams, the company’s myriad real estate holdings have come under the microscope. The 270 Jay St. building remains controversial, and the reduced payment for the Vanderbilt Yards have left many raising an eyebrow. Another property dispute — this one involving less money — made some headlines this morning. The authority has begun eviction procedures against 3-Legged Dog, an experimental theater and media troupe currently renting space from the MTA at 80 Greenwich St. The group, which signed a 20-year lease in 2002 after its home at 30 West Broadway was destroyed on Sept. 11, owes the MTA $21,666.67 a month and had fallen behind in its rent payments by $306,000.

The eviction notice did not arrive without controversy. With the company raising a stink, two politicians urged the MTA to reconsider. Supposedly, part of 3-Legged Dog’s debt stems from their need to pay for asbestos abatement on the MTA-owned building. The authority, however, says the troupe is overstating the cost of this work. “I don’t know how anyone can justify letting this tenant rack up hundreds of thousands of dollars in back rent at a time when state cuts and deteriorating tax revenues have forced the MTA to lay off station agents and cut service,” spokesman Jeremy Soffin said to the Wall Street Journal. This move is indeed a prime example of Jay Walder’s efforts to make every dollar count.

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AsidesMTA Absurdity

Look before you don’t leap

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on May 17, 2010

It never makes sense to jump into the tracks. It doesn’t make sense to retrieve an iPod or a wallet, keys or a water bottle. Yet, over the last few months, a handful of straphangers have done just that, often with tragic results. Just last Friday, in fact, an N train killed a man who jumped into the track bed in Astoria to help his companion retrieve a jacket. Over the course of a year, nearly 90 are struck by trains, and most of those accidents occur when people value their material items over their lives.

Today, in The Times, Michael Grynbaum and Rebecca White explore track-jumpers. Some people laugh off the danger as the cost of living. “I can either pay $300 for a new Blackberry, or I can jump down on the track,” Sean Frawley told the paper. Others — and those at New York City Transit — underscore the foolishness of jumping onto tracks that are deeper than they appear. “It’s just not worth taking the risk,” Transit spokesman Paul Fleuranges. “In one instant the coast looks clear, and you think you can hop down, retrieve your item and hop back up. In reality, it’s not that simple.”

The lesson, of course, is an obvious one: It just isn’t worth it. I’d rather see my iPod or jacket run over by a train than my leg or entire body. But if Darwin is going to rule the day, the subway train tracks are a great place to find him.

Addendum: New York City Transit has covered this topic in its TransitTrax podcast series. The transcript of their pro-safety piece is available here, and you can grab the audio right here. Transit officials say workers respond to approximately 12-15 calls per day from straphangers who have dropped their iPods or wallets on the tracks.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

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AsidesNew Jersey Transit

An impact beyond the wallet

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on May 14, 2010

A few weeks ago, New Jersey Transit implemented the largest fare hike in its history as part of an effort to close a $300 million budget gap. The hikes of approximately 25 percent across the board went into effect earlier this month, and today, NJ Transit announced that service cuts will go into effect on May 23. At least two trains per line will be eliminated, and some riders will look to private bus carriers or their personal cars as alternatives. Interestingly, New Jersey Transit anticipates a ridership decline of up to five percent. This figure underscores how service cuts and fare hikes lead to fewer transit riders. Although in New York City, ridership numbers have remained high despite recent fare hikes, at some point, cutting service makes public transit less convenient, and other, less socially-, economically- and environmentally-friendly means of transportation see an uptick in commuters.

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AsidesService Advisories

DiNapoli, Liu to joint-audit weekend service disruptions

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on May 13, 2010

Every weekend, New Yorkers suffer through massive work-related service changes that turn subway service often incomprehensible and leave many travel stranded. According to the Transit, the changes are a necessary part of an “ongoing $11.2 billion Capital Rebuilding Program aimed at upgrading and maintaining our tracks, stations and signal systems in order to continue to provide our customers with safe and reliable service,” but both the New York State and City comptrollers are beginning to question this claim. The two announced today a joint audit that will examine both the necessity and fiscal impact of the myriad service changes. While I’ve often criticized Liu, I think the two comptrollers are on the right track here.

“It often seems that the MTA is most reliable for its perennial shutdowns of subway service, citing necessary track work,” Liu said in a statement. “There’s little question that repairs and upgrades are needed throughout the system. But people need far greater assurance that the MTA is planning the shutdowns and actual track work tightly so as to minimize the disruptions to riders and the economic impact to small business owners. Our examination of the MTA will shed light on whether ‘necessary track work’ has become an overused black hole of an excuse.”

According to the release sent out by DiNapoli’s office, this audit is the first joint effort between city and state comptrollers in ten years, and the two will examine service disruptions since January 2009 with an three questions in mind: (1) Is the maintenance and capital work scheduled to promote efficient, cost effective maintenance? (2) Is the maintenance and capital work scheduled to minimize service disruption? (3) Is the riding public adequately informed of potential service disruption? Although the examination will take a few months, I’m eagerly anticipating the findings.

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AsidesEast Side Access Project

Dig tunnel on time; get free steak

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on May 12, 2010

Here’s a fun little gimmick for the foodies among us: While the disruptions from the Second Ave. Subway have garnered headlines, in the eastern reaches of Midtown, the infrastructure for the East Side Access project has led to some obstructed sidewalks and partial street closures as well. To that end, Maloney & Porcelli, a steakhouse on 50th St. between Madison and Park Aves., has come up with a clever gimmick to attract customers as a ventilation shaft is sunk in its front sidewalk. If the MTA wraps the project in November, as they’ve promised the restaurant, the work crews will earn a free steak dinner, and the restaurant will host a few open bars for club members. The restaurant has set up a website for customers to join the club and plans to host three open bars this summer as long as work remains on schedule. Why not join? I’d take a lapel pin and some free drinks any day. Hopefully, the workers can earn their free steaks too.

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AsidesTransit Labor

An MTA labor war heads home

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on May 12, 2010

The battle between Jay Walder and the TWU continues to heat up in a major way this week. Today, in the Daily News, the editorial board lays out the case for common-sense changes to the MTA’s work rules. Included among their suggestions are the not-so-controversial proposal that the MTA be allowed to use the same snow-removal equipment at shows run by various unions, that Transit Authority garages be permitted to service buses run by multiple unions and that workers stop abusing the sick day system. “I genuinely believe if we can get a different dialogue going with labor, some of this is avoidable,” Walder said. “Even some of the station agents. If we have a different dialogue, it might be possible to bring back people and do things through an attrition process, but you won’t get there unless there’s a different dialogue going on.”

But the TWU, protesting Walder’s agressive stance and the dismissal this week of 250 station agents, has upped the ante. As amNew York’s Heather Haddon details, the TWU has taken its protest and the familiar inflatable rat to the Tribeca streets outside of Walder’s home. With signs protesting “an $800 million payout to Wall St. crooks,” union members are there to stay as this battle brews. “It’s indefinite for right now,” TWU head John Samuelsen said of the rat outside of Walder’s home. This is getting ugly indeed.

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AsidesService Cuts

Do the MTA cuts leave straphangers lost in bad weather?

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on May 11, 2010

When a severe rain storm knocked out the subway system in August 2007, New York City Transit spend considerable resources investigation ways to better prepare the subways for weather-related emergencies. Although the raised storm grates should protect the system from massive floods, the MTA still needs to communicate with its passengers, and to that end, an internal report suggested doubling the number of full-time staffers handling weather issues from 32 to 64. Now, those folks are on the chopping block, and amNew York wonders if this will leave straphangers without the necessary notifications in the event of weather-related delays.

Of course, the usual suspects bemoan the cuts. “I think it’s a terrible mistake,” Gene Russianoff said. “They are as integral to the system as the trains and electric power.” But as I think about it, I can’t help but wonder why the MTA needs 32, let alone 64, full-time staffers whose sole responsibilities include announcing weather-related delays that simply do not crop up that frequently. Maybe it snows a handful of times over the winter; maybe one rain storm causes some minor delays. The August 2007 storm was an anomaly, and the reaction to it shouldn’t unnecessarily handcuff a fiscally-strapped agency.

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AsidesTWU

The cost of a station agent injunction

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on May 7, 2010

As the injunction stopping the dismissal of 475 station agents will last through the weekend, the MTA says the restraining order will cost it $100,000 per day. A hearing is set for Monday morning, and even if a Manhattan Supreme Court judge on Monday sides with the MTA, as the authority expects, Thursday’s injunction will have cost half a million dollars, adding to the agency’s sizable deficit. The TWU claims the MTA is obligated to hold hearings concerning the impact the firings will have on neighborhood safety, but I see neither a law mandating those hearings nor signs of any impact whatsoever.

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