AsidesPublic Transit Policy

Who will succeed Liu as Council Transportation Committee head?

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on January 5, 2010

For the last eight years, Comptroller John Liu had served in the City Council as a bumbling fool the head of the Transportation Committee. Tasked with city oversight of the MTA, the Transportation Committee could, in the right hands, be a vehicle for positive change, and as Cap’n Transit explored in depth yesterday, transit advocates should rally around a pro-transit candidate. The Cap’n ran down the list of potential contenders and noted that friend-of-cars James Vacca (D. Bronx) — a leading supporter of that five-minute parking grace period bill — seems to be the leading favorite for the seat. Vacca comes from a car-heavy district and has shown little love for mass transit. The Cap’n notes that Dan Garodnick is also interested in the spot and would be a better, transit-friendly choice.

This morning, Bob Kapstatter reported that the “powers that be” are pushing for Vacca to assume the head of the transportation committee. An appointment would give Vacca a launching point for a higher office while boosting the power of the Bronx delegations. That is not, however, a good reason to give away an important chair at a vital time in the city’s transit history. Time is of the essence, and the best way to avoid a Vacca-inspired committee is by telling Christine Quinn to appoint someone else.

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View from Underground

The sounds of anything but silence

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on January 5, 2010

In 2005, iPod ads were everyone in the subway. Today, bleeding headphones have become ubiquitous. (Photo by flickr user t_a_i_s)

I found myself on Monday evening awaiting a downtown 4 train on the IRT platform at Union Square. As the downtown 6 pulled out and an express idled on the uptown tracks, it was loud. The automated PA voice kept warning me to stand back from the moving platform; the downtown trains screeched around the sharp curve into the station; and the heated system on the idling uptown express hummed.

It is little wonder then that the noisiest spot in New York City is at a subway station. According to a recent study by Hear the World, the noisiest spot in the city with trains roaring by is the B/D/F/V stop at 42nd St./Bryant Park. The noise levels reach 93 decibels at the subway system’s 18th busiest stop.

According to hearing experts, that level of screech is enough to cause permanent hearing damage, and Craig Kasper, a Columbia doctor who works with Hear the World, urged people to be mindful of the noise. “Once you reach anything over 85 decibels, you are really at risk,” he said. “If you hear a loud noise, just put fingers in your ears.”

Outside of Bryant Park, subways in general were the fourth most noisiest part of New York City, behind the West Side Highway and the bus lanes on 42nd St. east of Fifth Ave. A typical subway ride exposes a straphanger to 80 decibels of sound. Although the new R160s are designed to reduce noise levels both as trains ride the rails and as they brake, there’s only so much engineering can accomplish, and sounds are aplenty underground.

Interestingly, this survey seems to reduce the noise levels found this summer when one group warned of 100+ decibel exposure at some subway stations. Those built around curves are the loudest as trains make more noises braking through twisted sections of track. If only we could go back in time to fix those errors of original engineering over 100 years ago.

Noise on the subways, meanwhile, is not a new phenomenon. As Bill Bahng Boyer, one of my guest columnists over the summer, explained in August, New Yorkers have been complaining about the noise since October 29, 1904, one day after the IRT opened for business. What is a new problem however is headphone bleed. Have you tried to take a relatively silent ride lately? It’s impossible.

Once upon a time, boom boxes were the scourge of New York City subway riders. Those with their noises in magazines would dread the arrival of a gang of youths with a loud radio on for all to hear. It was the ultimate in obtrusive noise pollution, and eventually the combination of a crackdown and the onset of personal audio devices saw boom boxes become a relic of another era.

Today, though, we are subjected to subpar headphone earbuds. Brought about by the iPod revolution, nearly everyone is now satisfied with tinny headphones that leak sound all over the place. Some riders listen at volumes that are death to the ears, and nothing is worse than hearing the strains of something from 15 away in a a half-empty subway cars. Others simply don’t know how bad their headphones are. One day, I imagine, New York City may see an increase in the number of people suffering hearing damage, and the iPod earbuds will be to blame.

For now, we should be mindful of the noise. Obviously, the subways are noisy, and those sounds can impact our life. We tend to tune out the sounds of metal-on-metal, the sounds of air conditioner drones, the screech of brakes. But it’s there, hurting our ears decibel after decibel.

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MTA Economics

Assembly rep re-writes history to bash MTA

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on January 4, 2010

Let me take a minute to introduce you to Aileen Gunther. Ms. Gunther, pictured at right, is the Democratic Assembly representative from the 98th District. She represents parts of Orange and Sullivan Counties, and based on her biography sounds neither clueless nor stupid.

Gunther has served in the Assembly since a special election delivered her to Albany in 2003. She has amassed a generally left-of-center voting record. She has won reelection every time she was up for it and is probably well-respected in her district — or at least as well-respected as any no-name Assembly representative can be. How then can she be so utterly clueless and in fact reckless when it comes to taking about transit policy in New York City?

In a piece over the holidays in the Times Herald-Record, Gunther opined on the MTA’s financial picture. She wrote:

Jay Walder, the MTA chief, who has been blaming the Legislature for the MTA’s problems, has an excessive — and baseless — $350,000 salary. In addition, the MTA failed to put tolls on the New York City bridges, which would have generated vital revenue for the state. It is that kind of frivolous spending and financial mismanagement that has put the MTA in this awful predicament — not the Legislature.

Where to begin? Where to begin?

We’ll start with the claim — the laughable, ludicrous, downright stupid claim — that the MTA itself “failed to put tolls” on the city’s bridges. Perhaps Ms. Gunther missed the brouhaha last spring, but it is up to her august legislative body and her colleagues across the hall in the State Senate to approve bridge tolls for New York City. Lest we forget, five State Senators quashed the toll plan in March and proposed the current funding plans a week later. The MTA would gladly have accepted tolls but couldn’t because of Albany and not some “financial mismanagement” as Ms. Gunther would have you believe.

Now, what about Gunther’s claims of Jay Walder’s “excessive” and “baseless” salary? Well, Walder was a top executive in London and is now in charge of thousands of MTA workers. He’s earning a salary barely comparable to other transit executives who oversee smaller authorities, and as Chris O’Leary at On Transport pointed out, he is in line for a pay reduction due to the budget crisis.

In the end, this piece by Gunther is an irresponsible hack job. She’s not representing anyone to the best of her ability and is displaying an utter lack of knowledge about recent transit problems in the area. Yet, her piece goes unanswered by the MTA for days and festers in its ignorance online. As O’Leary asked at his site, where is the MTA’s P.R. department to combat these spurious articles? Where are the editors of The Times Herald-Record?

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Buses

Transit begins bus partition trial program

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on January 4, 2010

New plexiglass partitions will protect Bus Operators from out-of-control passengers. (Photo courtesy of New York City Transit)

When a New York City Transit bus driver was murdered by an irate passenger in Dec. 2008, the MTA promised a bus partition pilot program aimed at keeping drivers safer. Late last week, that pilot program debuted in Bus 5052 along the B46, the same route that played host to Edwin Thomas’ murder.

The partition is a step up in the world of bus driver safety but it is not without its problems. The divider is made of a piece of plexiglass one inch thick and with non-glare coating, and it nearly isolates the driver from his riders. It does not, however, fully enclose the driver. There is an opening at the top and side so that the driver can access the fare box.

“It’s difficult to come up with a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to this simply because our Bus Operators aren’t one size,” Transit spokesman Paul Fleuranges said. “Each has to position the wheel, seat, mirrors to their preference, and the same is true for something like a partition. They all have to be comfortable with the environment the partition creates as they drive. Our overriding goal here is to provide both a safe and comfortable environment for our Bus Operators.”

Right now, Transit plans to order 100 partitions for one model of the RTS buses similar to those in use along the B46, and according to the Daily News, that is so far the only model approved by the union. Transit and the TWU are working to develop partitions for other bus models as well.

It’s tough to speak out against bus partitions. After all, bus operators in 2008 reported over 235 assaults, and Thomas’ murder, the first of a bus driver since 1981, certainly highlighted the extremes of driver safety. Because cops do not often patrol buses, drivers are often left to fend for themselves. As long as the operators can still assist disabled riders and can still interact with passengers when they have to, Transit and the union should do all they can to ensure driver safety.

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Public Transit Policy

A transit wishlist for the new year

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on January 4, 2010

As I wrapped up the Year That Was in Transit for 2009 late last week, the sheer amount of bad news stuck out the most. From January to December, from Transit to Capital Construction, from operating costs to project timelines, the MTA faced more bad news in a year than some agencies face in a decade.

We saw budgets shrivel and die. We saw service cuts threatened, a bad financial package approved, fares go up and more service cuts arrive on our laps as a New Year/holiday present. We saw the timeline for the Second Ave. Subway get delayed by two years (or more), and we saw the opening of the new South Ferry station delayed for months because of a one-inch engineering error. Despite peak ridership figures and great crime and safety numbers, 2009 was not a banner year for the MTA and mass transit in New York City.

As we arrive on the first business day of the New Year, then, I offer up a wishlist of sorts for transit in New York City for 2010. Some of these items will be easier to realize than others, but if all come to fruition, the beleaguered transportation network will be better off for it.

1. A true source of dedicated funding

Right now, this lead item is a no-brainer. The MTA has its financial back to the wall because the piecemeal funding package — one relying on taxi surcharges, payroll taxes and car registration fees — simply didn’t work, and it didn’t work for very obvious reasons. It didn’t work because payroll taxes are too heavily dependent on the economy. It didn’t work because fees and surcharges don’t drive people to transit. It didn’t work because, tautologically, it left the MTA $100-$200 million short of the money it was expected to deliver.

For 2010, the city and state have two choices: Either the MTA will cut services — including the Student MetroCards for which the MTA should not foot the bill — or the government can find a dedicated revenue source. And just what should that revenue source be? I believe it should be either congestion pricing or East River Bridge Tolls. These proposals will generate a set level of revenue for the MTA while also encouraging transit use among those who do not need to drive. It is a far more equitable way to fund the agency than the payroll tax is and also provides an environmental boost to a heavily polluted region.

Also on the table for 2010 will be a handful of far less likely proposals. The state could reenact the commuter tax. The city could restore its pre-Giuliani Era subsidies to the MTA. The agency could raise fares through the roof. Tolls or congestion pricing remain the better, if not the best, solution.

2. A better, more cohesive advocacy and public relations campaign by those who care

As I’ve written on more than one occasion, transit advocacy in the city is disjointed. The Straphangers Campaign advocates for riders while a few other smaller groups are pushing for region-wide transit solutions. No one is actively lobbying for transit funding, and no one is in front of the cameras pushing support for transit as the economic driver of the New York Metropolitan region.

For 2010, those of us who care about transit should work together to get out a better message. That message should focus on support for the MTA, and it should not focus around old wives’ tales about two sets of books or John Liu’s inability to understand basic economics. We should not allow State Senators to claim that few of their constituents take the train by choice when, in reality, the vast majority of those constituents don’t even own cars. We must stand up for transit funding, for transit expansion and for transit solutions. Right now, seven million New Yorkers ride the trains every day, and no group is really doing the job here.

3. Rapid technological innovation and adaptation

When Jay Walder assumed control of the MTA, he spoke at length about the need to bring technological innovation to the MTA. While train arrival boards will be activated along the A Division in early 2011 and the MetroCard may be replaced within a few years, Walder can push now for better and faster technological innovation. He can start by overhauling the MTA’s website so that it is suitable for 2010 and not 1999. The MTA is currently the largest agency without open data, and Walder could improve access for developers and the like by a simple stroke of the pen.

4. A solution to the chilly labor relations

As 2009 drew to a close, the new TWU leadership had no love lost for the MTA. The agency had just lost its appeal of the raises awarded via arbitration, and the union leadership was not happy about the legal battle. Over the next few years, the MTA’s pension and salary obligations to its workers will continue to rise as its financial picture worsens. To work through these fiscal problems, the MTA and TWU will have to set aside their differences and agree to at least talk. I don’t expect the TWU to set aside hard-fought raises or hard-earned pensions, but the MTA is in real danger of defaulting on its payments in a few years. Union leadership has to recognize this reality just as the MTA must work to avoid alienating its workers.

5. A fully-funded five-year capital plan

On a day when few were around to notice, Gov. David Paterson’s representative to the state’s Capital Review Board vetoed the MTA’s 2010-2014 capital plan. Due to a $28.8 billion funding hole, the CRB could not approve the new plan, and the MTA is left with just emergency rollover funds as work continues on the Second Ave. Subway and the East Side Access project. (The 7 Line funding from the City is safe.)

Early this year, the MTA must redraw its capital plan and present a proposal without a 35 percent funding hole in it to the CRB. To continue to meet service demands, the MTA must keep expanding and maintaining its current system, and to do that, it needs a capital plan in place. The Second Ave. Subway must night die; the state of good repair plans cannot die.

* * *

In the end, this list is but a start for transit in 2010. With money tight across the board, it will be a rough ride for all, but in the end, we can’t simply give up on the MTA. The system might need some fixing, but it’s far too important to New York for it die the slow and painful death that we’re currently witnessing today.

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Service Advisories

Ushering in 2010 with some service changes

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on January 1, 2010

Updated 3:15 p.m. (Saturday): Please note that Transit has canceled the work on the 7 line. The service changes below reflect that update.

* * *

With the holiday season over and the New Year in the rear view window, the MTA has started to ramp up the work again. This weekend sees a full slate of service advisories with travel to and from Brooklyn on the IRT lines the hardest hit. The 2 and 3 aren’t running in between Chambers St. and Atlantic Ave., and even though the 4 and 5 are making stops in Brooklyn, the trains are running local one way only. Welcome to 2010.

Anyway, you know the drill. All the changes are below. Don’t forget to check out our map from Subway Weekender that shows just how the subway changes impact travel. Download this week’s version right here or by clicking on the image below. Remember: These weekend service changes come to me from the MTA and are subject to change without notice. Check signs in your local station and listen for on-board announcements for up-to-the minute changes. The specific alerts follow.


From 11 p.m. Friday, January 1 to 5 a.m. Monday, January 4, 2 trains run local between 34th Street-Penn Station and South Ferry due to a track dig out at 50th Street, a cable pull at Nevins Street and track maintenance near Chambers Street and Park Place. Note: Late night, trains run local between 96th Street and South Ferry.


From 12:01 a.m. to 6:30 a.m., Saturday, January 2, Sunday, January 3 and Monday, January 4, Shuttle trains run between Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues due to a cable pull at Nevins Street and track maintenance near Chambers Street and Park Place. Note: Atlantic Avenue-bound shuttle trains skip Eastern Parkway, Grand Army Plaza, and Bergen Street.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, January 2 to 5 a.m. Monday, January 4, the 2 train runs between 241st Street and Chambers Street, then is rerouted to the 1 line to South Ferry due to a cable pull at Nevins Street and track maintenance near Chambers Street and Park Place. For service between Manhattan and Brooklyn, customers should take the 2 to the South Ferry 1 station; and use the free out-of-system transfer to the 4 or 5 at Bowling Green. Note: Days, 5 trains make all stops to Flatbush Avenue. Late nights, shuttle trains run between Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues.


From 11 p.m. Friday, January 1 to 7 a.m. Saturday, January 2; from 11 p.m. Saturday, January 2 to 8 a.m. Sunday, January 3 and from 11 p.m. Sunday, January 3 to 5 a.m. Monday, January 4, 3 trains run local between 96th Street and Times Square-42nd Street due to a track dig out at 50th Street. Note: 3 Trains are extended to/from 14th Street all weekend.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, January 2 to 5 a.m. Monday, January 4, there are no 3 trains between 14th Street and New Lots Avenue due to a cable pull at Nevins Street and track maintenance near Chambers Street and Park Place. For service between Manhattan and Brooklyn, customers should transfer between the 3 and the 2 at 14th Street, take the 2 to the South Ferry 1 station and use the free out-of-system transfer to the 4 at Bowling Green, making all stops to New Lots Avenue.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, January 2 to 5 a.m. Monday, January 4, Manhattan-bound 4 trains skip Eastern Parkway, Grand Army Plaza and Bergen Street due to a cable pull at Nevins Street and track maintenance near Chambers Street and Park Place.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, January 2 to 5 a.m. Monday, January 4, 4 trains are extended to/and from New Lots Avenue to replace the 3 in Brooklyn due to a cable pull at Nevins Street and track maintenance near Chambers Street and Park Place.


From 6:30 a.m. to midnight, Saturday, January 2 and Sunday, January 3, Manhattan-bound 5 trains skip Eastern Parkway, Grand Army Plaza and Bergen Street due to a cable pull at Nevins Street and track maintenance near Chambers Street and Park Place.


From 6:30 a.m. to midnight, Saturday, January 2 and Sunday, January 3, 5 trains are extended to/from and from Flatbush Avenue to replace the 2 in Brooklyn due to a cable pull at Nevins Street and track maintenance near Chambers Street and Park Place.


From 4:00 a.m. Saturday, January 2 to 10:00 p.m. Sunday, January 3, Manhattan-bound 7 trains skip 111th, 103rd, 90th, and 82nd Streets due to track panel installation.


From 11:30 p.m. Friday, January 1 to 5 a.m. Monday, January 4, free shuttle buses replace A trains between Jay Street and Utica Avenue due to Jay Street station rehabilitation and construction of an underground connector.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, January 2 to 5 a.m. Monday, January 4, Brooklyn-bound A trains run local from 168th Street to Jay Street and from Utica Avenue to Euclid Avenue due to Jay Street station rehabilitation and construction of an underground connector.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, January 2 to 5 a.m. Monday, January 4, Manhattan-bound A trains run local from Euclid Avenue to Utica Avenue and from Jay Street to 125th Street, then express to 168th Street, where trains resume normal A service due to Jay Street station rehabilitation, construction of an underground connector and a concrete pour at 163rd Street.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, January 2 to 5 a.m. Monday, January 4, there are no C trains running due to Jay Street station rehabilitation and construction of an underground connector. Customers should take the A instead. Note: A trains run local with exceptions. Free shuttle buses replace A trains between Jay Street and Utica Avenue.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, January 2 to 5:00 a.m. Monday, January 4, uptown D trains run local from 125th Street to 145th Street due to a concrete pour at 163rd Street (the D replaces the C at 135th Street.)


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, January 2 to 5:00 a.m. Monday, January 4, uptown D trains run local from 59th Street-Columbus Circle to 125th Street due to track work at 110th Street.


From 12:15 a.m. Saturday, January 2 to 5 a.m. Monday, January 4, there are no G trains between Forest Hills-71st Avenue and Court Square due to track maintenance. Customer should take the E or R instead.


From 1:15 a.m. to 5 a.m. Saturday, January 2, J trains run in two sections due to track cleaning:

  • Between Jamaica Center and Essex Street and
  • Between Essex Street and Chambers Street


From 12:15 a.m. Saturday, January 2 to 5 a.m. Monday, January 4, Brooklyn-bound N trains run on the R from Canal Street to DeKalb Avenue due to track maintenance.


From 11 p.m. Friday, January 1 to 7 a.m. Saturday, January 2, from 11 p.m. Saturday, January 2 to 8 a.m. Sunday, January 3 and from 11 p.m. Sunday, January 3 to 5 a.m. Monday, January 4, uptown Q trains run local from Canal Street to 34th Street-Herald Square due to track work prep at 14th Street-Union Square.


From 12:15 a.m. Saturday, January 2 to 5 a.m. Monday, January 4, Brooklyn-bound Q trains run on the R from Canal Street to DeKalb Avenue due to due to track maintenance.


From 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday, January 3, 36th Street-bound R shuttle trains run local in Brooklyn from 59th Street to 36th Street due to track cleaning. (The northbound R shuttle trains usually skip 53rd and 45th Street stations.)

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AsidesCapital Program 2010-2014

Paterson rep torpedos MTA capital plan

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on January 1, 2010

Gov. David Paterson, long threatening to block the MTA’s $28 billion five-year capital plan, has seen his wish come true. Stan Gee, the Governor’s one representative to the state’s capital review board, has voted against approval for the five-year campaign. Even though the other commissioners voted for the plan, the CRB is required to approve proposals unanimously.

This rejection will send the MTA back to the drawing board, and State Sen. Craig M. Johnson urged a quick revision from the authority. “In light of Acting Commissioner Gee’s veto of the proposed 2010-2014 Capital Plan, I strongly recommend the MTA reaccess [sic] its capital needs and present a better, balanced, and more responsible plan to the CPRB,” he said. “There has to be a better way than the $28.1 billion proposal passed by the MTA Board, which had a $10 billion deficit and funding for only two of the plan’s five years. I am confident the MTA and its board can scale down the proposed capital plan in a very short time based on witnessing the breathtaking speed the MTA was able to reduce its operating budget by more than $400 million.”

Happy 2010, MTA.

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View from Underground

Second Ave. Sagas top ten of 2009

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on December 31, 2009

It’s hard to believe it’s been a year, but what a year it’s been. As 2009 draws to a close, I want to take a minute to reflect on the site. I’ve had more far more visitors this year than I did last, and many of you have stopped to leave a comment. From fare hikes to service cuts to progress along Second Ave., we’ve covered it all this year.

So as the year ends, I’d like to repeat my final post from 2008. Last year, I looked at the ten most popular posts from the previous year, and right now, I’m going to do the same. Although budget talks and funding solutions dominating the conversation, the most popular posts usually are a surprise.

1. The graffiti debate: Glorifying art or vandalism?
Two decades ago, the subways were covered in graffiti, and then the City and MTA decided to attack the art. Now, the subway is clean, but those graffiti artists feel slighted. As galleries begin to reminisce on the era of graffiti, we examined whether we should classify graffiti as misunderstood art or vandalism. The debate still goes on today.

2. Yankee Stadium Metro-North stop ready to go
As the Yankees went on their World Series run, the MTA opened a new Metro-North stop a few blocks away from the team’s new home. Jorge Posada, David Cone and Brian Cashman were on hand to lead reporters through the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The station was a success in its first season.

3. Wearing the Vignelli subway map
Something Vignelli seems to make the Top Ten every year, and the 2009 entry is a post I wrote about a dress for sale that featured the Vignelli map. The item is now unavailable, but it cost $249 at the time. Any subway buff worth their stripes would now own this one. I have yet to see anyone wear it though.

4. Foreshadowing a Second Ave. demise
As the MTA’s fiscal crisis robbed the agency of its operating budget, I wondered if the eventual lack of investment in transit would lead to the end of the Second Ave. subway work as well. For now, Phase I construction seems safe, but anything beyond that is a crap shoot.

5. Mythbusting the MTA fare hike
Friend-of-SAS and On Transport writer Chris O’Leary guest posted his FAQ about the fare hike. As the MTA has descended into fiscal chaos, misinformation about the authority reigns supreme, and few news agencies are willing to set the record straight. His post is as relevant today as it was in March.

6. Inside the Bleecker/Broadway-Lafayette Construction
In November 2011, Transit will finish up the project designed to connect the uptown 6 platform to the rest of the Bleecker St./Broadway-Lafayette station. In the meantime, I explore the ongoing work and what it means for commuters who use the 6 and the B/D/F/V stop in the area.

7. When it was a train: the H
Every now and then, some train’s rollsign is set to the wrong line, and New Yorkers wonder what that relic of another era was. We’ve seen a 13 train on the 1 line, and for the this post, we explored what the H — the old designation for the Rockaway Shuttle — was doing on an A train.

8. At 7 extension groundbreaking, Bloomberg slams SAS
As the MTA began to prepare for the TBM drops at the 7 line extension, Mayor Bloomberg took the time to criticize the Second Ave. Subway. He claimed that the new, badly needed line on the Upper East Side was destroying business but declined to mention why investing $2.1 billion into the 7 line expansion was a good idea.

9. Nostalgia Train to run December Sundays
Everyone loves the Nostalgia Train, and it ran this year in Sundays in December. Transit continued this festive holiday tradition despite a mid-month snow storm that shelved the old vintage cars for a weekend.

10. To save money, MTA may axe student MetroCards
We first heard of the MTA’s plan to save $170 million through student MetroCard cuts a few weeks ago. Although students are protesting the cuts and politicians do not look favorably upon them, no one has offered up a reason why the MTA should foot the bill for student transit costs.

* * *

And that’s the year that was in Second Ave. Sagas. I’ll be back tomorrow with the weekend service advisories. Remember: Transit running extra service after the ball drops tonight, but trains run on a Sunday schedule on New Years day. Have a safe and happy New Year.

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Buses

Transit breaks up the B61

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on December 30, 2009

On Sunday, the western parts of Brooklyn will celebrate 2010 by getting a new bus route. Technically, it’s the break up of the old B61 into the B61 and B62, and while some travelers will have to make a new transfer, others will find a slow and crowded route faster and less packed.

“After careful study, we are dividing one long, cumbersome route into two shorter routes which will be easier to supervise and more manageable to operate,” Transit President Thomas Prendergast said in a statement this afternoon. “We made this decision in response to concerns from customers and community organizations who have long complained about this route’s lack of reliability. Both of the new services are projected to be more reliable than the single route they are replacing.”

The change, originally announced in July, will see the 9.7-mile route linking Red Hook to Queens Plaza split in Downtown Brooklyn. The B61 will run from Ikea to Smith and Livingston Sts. in Downtown Brooklyn while the B62 will run from Boerum Place and Livingston St. to Queens Plaza via the Williamsburge Bridge Plaza Bus Terminal. Transit says the new route will allow a dispatcher to better monitor the popular route.

“We recognize that there are rapidly growing new residential areas along the Williamsburg waterfront,” added Prendergast. “The B62 will also provide convenient bus and subway connections for these customers to the Williamsburg Bridge Plaza transit hub which is served by six bus routes and the Marcy Avenue subway station.”

The B61 in its current incarnation serves approximately 18,500 riders on weekdays, 10,800 on Saturdays and 7400 on Sundays. The new routing should help the bus avoid the heavy congestion in Downtown Brooklyn that often slows the bus to a crawl.

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View from Underground

2009: The year the money vanished

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on December 30, 2009

For tomorrow, the final day of the year, I’ll present my personal Top Ten stories of 2009 as I did last year on New Year’s Eve. Today, let’s review the year that was in transit news.

For the MTA, 2009 was a struggle. The year started with fears of service cuts and fare hikes and, after a brief reprieve that wasn’t as substantial as promised, service cuts are back on the table. January started with the MTA’s attempting to come to grips with its fiscal crisis. The agency set March 25th as its drop-dead date for a bailout, and the Authority and TWU announced they would go to arbitration. As the agency struggled with its own economic reality, the opening for the new South Ferry station was delayed due to an engineering issue. The MTA received some good to end the month as the beleaguered Fulton St. Hub earned a stimulus-inspired reprieve.

In February, the MTA announced that ridership was at a 59-year high, but Bridge & Tunnel revenues were plummeting. The Tunnel Boring Machine began its work along 11th Ave. where the 7 line will soon run. Transit fixed a 70-year-old typo, and the month ended with news that the MTA’s deficit could reach $2 billion. Cuts were nearly inevitable.

March was a rough month for the MTA. First, Washington, DC, announced full underground cell coverage by 2012 while the MTA’s pilot program for the city is seemingly dead. Meanwhile, Albany continued to throw charges of two sets of books at the MTA. We first heard of the Gang of Four as the plan to institute bridge tolls on the East River Bridges began to die a slow death. The MTA Board approved its Doomsday budget by month’s end, and the Second Ave. Subway officially lost its third track.

For rolling stock buffs, April began with word of the R160 making its F train debut, and the MTA announced a May opening date for the new Yankee Stadium Metro-North stop. As Senate talks of a bailout plan began to breakdown, the MTA announced a summer rollout for the planned service cuts. I again wondered whether or not station agents actually did anything as Doomsday inched closer and closer. Along Second Ave., the new MTA timeline showed a mid 2016 debut for the project’s Phase I.

May brought a tentative agreement on the MTA’s funding package. It was an imperfect solution and one that cost then-CEO and Executive Director Elliot Sander his job. The Second Ave. Subway earned $79 million in stimulus funds, and we discussed the MTA’s pension problems. We also saw a 13 train on the 1 line.

In June, the fare went up as Richard Ravitch warned of a bleak 2010 for the MTA. Transit announced 4 express service in the Bronx, and the R40 slants made their final runs. The MTA sold the naming rights to the Atlantic Ave./Pacific St. station and sweetened Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards deal. Transit announced lower-than-expected ridership and fare revenue figures for 2009.

The summer saw a reprieve from the bad news. We explored funding transit through market-rate parking spots or a 36-percent fare hike. As the subways were accused of being very noisy, we went in depth on the Bleecker St./Broadway/Lafayette St. reconstruction efforts. Jay Walder earned an MTA appointment and pledged a fully-funded capital plan. The Feds and the MTA debated whether or not the SAS Phase I would open in 2017 or 2018, and the G train was extended to Church Avenue for the duration of the Culver Viaduct rehab.

August saw some good news. The MTA, despite immediate operations budget problems, unveiled a $28 billion capital plan to cover the next five years of transit expansion. On the heels of this announcement, we examined why transit matters in New York City. Bus arrival boards made a 34th St. debut. The MTA lost its TWU arbitration case and promised to appeal. Meanwhile, Transit dealt with the fallout from a major accident as the ceiling at 181st St. along the 1 line collapsed. For two weeks, Northern Manhattan commuters faced headaches and crowded trains.

September started with the Walder confirmation hearings and ended with TWU protests. In between, Jay Walder announced plans for a new fare payment system by 2014, and the Comptroller’s Office released a report critical of Transit’s station maintenance efforts. We explored sending the Second Ave. Subway on a spur through Alphabet City, and the MTA eliminated its station agent program.

Technology took center stage in October as the MTA announced plans for an A Division rollout of the train arrival boards set for a 2011 completion date. Carolyn Maloney graded the Second Ave. Subway, and NY1 axed Bobby Cuza’s transit beat. The F line was on the wrong end of a critical internal review, and we bemoaned the lack of Second Ave. express service.

Early November saw more personnel upheaval as Howard Roberts left Transit. A few days later, Tom Prendergast was named the new Transit head. The East Side Select Bus Service plans were nearly firmed up, and someone was murdered on a crowded D train early on Saturday morning. The initial 2010 budget featured no service hikes or fare cuts, but that utopian view would last just a few weeks. The Cortlandt St. stop on the BMT Broadway line reopened on Thanksgiving Eve.

Oh, December, what pain you have brought. Although we spent the early days of the month looking at the lack of megaprojects, the last few weeks have been all budget woes all the time. First, the state cut $140 million in appropriations for the MTA. Then, the state revealed a $200 million payroll tax shortfall. All of a sudden, Doomsday service cuts — but no fare hikes — were back on the table. Then, the MTA lost its arbitration appeal and unveiled a plan to cut free subway travel for students. We saw a plethora of solutions but no real answers for the MTA as the agency approved the service cuts two weeks ago.

And so that’s that for the year that was in transit. It has been a seemingly cyclical year. The agency has moved ahead along Second Ave. and 11th Ave. as its capital plans to expand the system are firmly in place. Yet, the operations budget has been attacked and trimmed so that it can barely support an adequate 24-hour transit system. Hopefully, as the political debate over student MetroCards and other service cuts heats up into 2010, we’ll have a better year upon which we can reflect 365 days from now.

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