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Subway Riders Enjoying Cell & Wi-Fi Service

Posted by
on August 8th, 2012 at 3:53 am

Over the last few years, Transit Wireless has made the news as the company’s main goal was to make cell phone service available at all NYC Subway stations. The company rolled out a pilot last September which saw it bring service to 6 subway stations in Manhattan. More recently the company also bring Wi-Fi to those same stations which has made many riders happy.

NBC New York via an Associated Press article has more:

Emily Langmead was hesitant when she first heard of free Wi-Fi in the subway. Like many New Yorkers, she wondered what the catch was.

But now, she says, she uses it all the time.

One month in to wireless service being provided in six New York City subway stations, commuters like Langmead are happy to have chances to connect when their trains head underground and pull into one of the stations with Wi-Fi.

“Are you kidding? Being able to check my email when the train is in the subway is an amazing thing,” she said. “I love it.”

The new service is part of a $200 million plan to connect the subway to the outside world. Transit Wireless, the company in charge of building and designing the network, is working with many carriers to provide cellphone and data connectivity services to all 277 underground stations in New York by 2017.

The service, sponsored by Google Offers, is available on train platforms at five stations, all in the Chelsea neighborhood. Customers of T-Mobile and AT&T can also use cellphones in the six stations. Negotiations continue for telecom giants like Verizon and Sprint to join.

While some other cities have had data and cellphone connectivity in their subways for years, some New Yorkers were not thrilled with the idea because it can be disruptive. Others, though, see a benefit.

“It helps if you are in an emergency and you need to communicate with somebody and you don’t have email or anything else functioning, I think it can be very useful,” said subway rider Melissa Cardona-Bodhert.

While there have been concerns about noise pollution, the benefits of staying connected outweighed the concerns, said William Bayne Jr., the CEO of Transit Wireless.

Click here for the complete article.

I for one have been extremely pleased with the service being available in those stations. I have found myself in each of those stations a lot over the past few months, especially the 14th St station on the 6th Ave lines. I have spent many minutes there late at a night waiting for a train to the Lower East Side and killing time by using my IPhone.

From what I have seen, it has not been an issue as far as people not paying attention or being in the way of others while using their phone. True it is a small sample considering most stations don’t have it. However we can hope that the trend continues whenever we get service throughout the system.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Service Diversions 08-06-12

Posted by
on August 6th, 2012 at 4:57 am

I have just updated the Service Diversions by removing all of the work that wrapped up a minute ago. The latest work for the week is front & center.

As always if I see anything interesting or noteworthy, I will tweet about it so follow @TransitBlogger which you can easily do by clicking the button in the sidebar.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Service Diversions
0

Judge Orders MTA Pay $1.9M For Bus Death

Posted by
on August 6th, 2012 at 4:52 am

On November 4, 2009, Seth Kahn lost his life after being struck by an MTA Express Bus while crossing the street at Ninth Ave & 53rd St. He met his inevitable demise at the hands of someone who arguably should not have even been on the road. Over 2 years later, a judge has ordered the MTA to pay $1.9M to his family. Pete Donohue of the New York Daily News has more:

The MTA gave Jeremy Philhower the keys to a 35,000-pound bus when it should have given him a broom.

It was a tragic and costly mistake.

On his first day back from a suspension for texting while driving, Philhower ran over and killed a 22-year-old artist crossing a street in midtown in November of 2009.
It was deemed an accident. An avoidable accident.

Now, more than two years later, a Manhattan jury has ordered the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to pay Seth Kahn’s parents $1.9 million, although no amount of money will fill the void left by their son’s death.

Approximately seven weeks before the accident, a concerned rider complained to the MTA that Philhower was texting behind the wheel. The NYC Transit division conducted an internal investigation. Not only was Philhower texting while on duty, he was writing some frightening comments on his Facebook page, officials said. They included:

“Thinking about how many people i want 2 kill 2day including myself”

“I really wanna kick the s**t out of all of them”

“People on my bus revere me as a god”

An investigator also observed Philhower reading the newspaper while stopped at a red light.

His existing track record wasn’t pristine. It already included two red-light violations and a reprimand for “reckless operation of a bus.”

The MTA made the right first move. It suspended Philhower and took steps to fire him. But when it was overruled by a contract arbitrator who thought the punishment was too harsh, the MTA simply swept its concerns under the rug and moved on.

After a brief period of refresher training, Philhower was back behind the wheel of an express bus on Nov. 4.

He was heading to a depot and, apparently to avoid traffic, went off the route he was supposed to take, authorities said. He struck Kahn, of Mamaroneck, while turning at Ninth Ave. and 53rd St.

MTA drivers are instructed not to exceed 5 mph when making a turn, but Philhower was going two or three times faster, according to a state Public Transportation Safety Board report. He also failed to “scan appropriately” for pedestrians, according to the report.

Click here for the complete report.

One has to seriously question why this man was put back on the road. His record left a lot to be desired & those outbursts definitely put into question his mental psyche. His actions clearly warranted a firing yet instead we got a death out of it. $1.9M is nothing to makeup for this man’s pathetic actions. Karma will get him one way or another, I am sure of it.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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2

Assemblyman Ra Opines On LIRR 3rd Track

Posted by
on August 6th, 2012 at 3:24 am

Many of my readers know that I have long been a supporter of the MTA Long Island Rail Road’s plan to build a third track on its main line between Floral Park & Hicksville. I’ve argued that this project should have taken priority over the ridiculous 7 line extension.

However not everyone has been a fan of the proposed project. Most of the sentiment against it was your classic NIMBY action in full effect. We can now add Assemblyman Ed Ra who wrote an editorial as seen in the Mineola Patch:

I was dismayed to hear MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota’s recent comment about our local communities’ opposition to the third track plan as “classic NIMBY.”

Common sense and a commitment to the suburban character of local neighborhoods have been the driving forces behind overwhelming and unwavering opposition to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) plan to add a third train track along the Long Island Rail Road’s (LIRR) main line corridor, between Floral Park and Hicksville.

While some decry opposition to the third track as NIMBYISM, a thoughtful review of environmental, safety and community character impacts are among the real and significant issues that must be weighed against the dubious benefits touted by the MTA.

Tearing through residential neighborhoods, threatening a local park and destroying businesses during a difficult economy, a third track would redefine our suburbs in a profound and negative manner. Indeed, the MTA has even acknowledged that property acquisition, water and air pollution and increased noise and vibration were potential effects of the expansion. What’s more, potentially deadly pieces of steel and other debris from the train tracks have jettisoned into local homeowners’ yards, public areas and even an elementary school. This hazard would get worse if the MTA builds a third track, bringing dangerous debris close to homes, parks and other areas where people gather.

The third track project would also transform our suburbs into an urban environment, increasing train and car traffic and converting local train stations into major rail hubs like Jamaica train station. Finally, one of the MTA’s stated goals of accommodating reverse commuters is at total variance with my experiences at main line train stations. Specifically, reverse commuters constitute a very tiny, almost fledgling, contingent of passengers.

In conclusion, I believe that the sound and sensible position on the third track is to make a decision against pursuing the project. Destruction of our suburban character, adverse impact on businesses, environmental concerns, safety of area families and a host of other important quality-of-life issues far outweigh any dubious benefits such as serving a miniscule contingent of reverse commuters.

Clearly, common sense, not NIMBYISM, was the driving force behind almost 12,000 people signing petitions in opposition to a third track. Similarly, I strongly oppose any effort to resuscitate the ill-advised third track project.

Sincerely,
Assemblyman Edward Ra
21st Assembly District

Surprise surprise, we have a clueless public official waxing poetic against what would actually benefit many LIRR riders. If you have traveled on the LIRR especially among the mainline like I have over the years, you would see how desperately needed a third track is to help better service that has room for a ton of improvement.

Instead of rallying with the MTA to get it done, we have a clueless official citing some ridiculous petition signed by people who only care about their own vested interests. Some of the excuses I have read include not wanting more noise, traffic, etc… Well a lot of these people should have thought about that before moving near the railroad. It is not like it was built overnight much to your surprise!

I found the comment left by “Candide08” to make a lot of sense as they had this to say:

Sorry Ed, NIMBY not common sense. The LIRR has had Third Track plans for many decades, people that moved into an area next to the LIRR could have and should have known about that when they moved in.

Now selfish parochial interests are preventing, or at least delaying and increasing expense, of a project that will directly benefit hundreds of thousands of commuters and will indirectly benefit millions – all so a few factually challenged people can play the NIMBY game.

A NIMBY named Bob Lofaro responded soon thereafter with this gem:

Candide08 – I moved to NHP with only two tracks, not three. I knew what I was getting then and know what I don’t want now. I don’t need to have all of Long Island’s freight travle through the local communities of Floral Park, NHP, Garden City, Westbury, Bellerose and Mineola. BTW, we fight against airplane noise as well because when we moved here, there weren’t thousands a flights a week. Isn’t it better to try to stop expansion now so in the future, someone like you doesn’t say, why complain, you knew there were three tracks when you moved to NHP. If you lived here, you would understand. Its not what’s in our back yard, but how much more in our back yard. Thanks Ed Ra for your support to bring what the MTA wants to impose upon us to light.

Sorry Bob but you are not right on this one. With your logic, we should never expand anything in our world because it might inconvenience a small group of people compared to the amount that would benefit. Yes, let’s see how long we survive with such “forward” thinking. People like Bob are why we lack the viable transit options that could benefit so many people.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Service Diversions 08-03-12

Posted by
on August 3rd, 2012 at 6:12 am

Get an early jump on your weekend travel plans as I have just updated the Service Diversions for this weekend, next week & beyond in some cases.

Follow me on Twitter by looking up @TransitBlogger or clicking the button in the sidebar as I am using it a lot more!

As always, have a safe & wonderful weekend. Check the diversions page daily as I update it as changes occur, diversions end, etc….

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Service Diversions