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Last Of MetroCard Scam Trio Gets Sentenced

Posted by
on July 16th, 2010 at 8:50 am

Late last month, I wrote an entry about a trio of scam artists who ripped the MTA off to the tune of $800,000 by selling free rides on the subway and the Long Island Railroad. The trio found a glitch in a Penn Station MetroCard Vending Machine (MVM) & hatched the plan shortly thereafter.

Today’s edition of the New York Daily News reports that the last member of the MetroCard scamming trio has been sentenced to an identical 1 year prison sentence. Oren Yaniv of the New York Daily News has more:

A Long Island woman who helped rip off the MTA in an $800,000 ticket scam got a free bus ride yesterday – to Rikers.

Lisa Foster Jordan, 40, was part of a trio that stumbled on a defective machine in Penn Station that spit out free tickets, which they then sold.

“This is a very serious case,” said Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Ronald Zweibel. “The MTA is in financial trouble to begin with.”

Click here for the complete report.

My opinion of these scam artists are in the entry referenced above.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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0

LIRR Releases “Gap Rap” Video

Posted by
on July 16th, 2010 at 8:37 am

For years, the Long Island Rail Road has been plagued with a major problem throughout the entire system, dangerous gaps. The problem has been highlighted in this blog & throughout the media numerous times whether it be in the form of accidents or deaths.

Yesterday, the MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) continued its awareness campaign about this issue by releasing a “Gap Rap” video. Here are the complete details courtesy of a press release I received from them:

Don’t be surprised if you see bobbing heads and rhythmically moving feet when the MTA Long Island Rail Road’s medical director talks about his latest safety message to the railroad’s customers. Dr. John Clarke co-stars in a public service video he wrote called “The Gap Rap.”

Dr. Clarke exhorts customers to be aware of their surroundings as they travel on the railroad in his three-minute-plus lyric video poem. The fast moving, LIRR-produced rap video features Dr. Clarke, wearing his physician’s white coat, leading a group of fifth graders from Lindell School in Long Beach as they travel on the LIRR, in Manhattan, and on Long Island, all the while harmonizing to the beat as they remind us to “Look down, step over and watch the gap.”

LIRR President Helena Williams said, “Dr. Clarke’s innovative approach will help the LIRR continue to spread the word about gap safety. I’m hopeful this unique video will keep our gap message fresh and reach a wide audience, especially our younger travelers.”

Dr. Clarke, who captured wide media attention for his H1N1 Flu Rap,was enthusiastic about his new video, “I recognize that gap accidents are quite preventable. I knew that Health-Hop would be a perfect way to spread the message and make an impact.”

Long Beach School District Lindell School Principal Karen Sauter, whose students participated in the video, said, “ We’re proud that Mr. Gill’s class along with teaching assistant Ms. Geraghty and their students were able to participate in this video. We hope that it raises peoples’ consciousness about the gap”.

So far in 2010 the LIRR has experienced a reduction in year-to-date (January 1-July 1) reported gap incidents of 15% (2010-33 gap incidents vs. 2009-39 gap incidents).

Dr. Clarke’s video is the latest effort by the LIRR to raise awareness of the gap and to help assure that the traveling public safely steps over this necessary space between trains and station platforms. Railroad initiatives have included special Be Train Smart brochures, posters, signs, and celebrity gap announcements at stations and by train crews.

The railroad has also made a concerted effort to reduce the gap through engineering and operating solutions. Since 2007, more than 121,000 linear feet of one-inch platform edging board has been installed at LIRR stations to help reduce the horizontal gap. In addition, where necessary, measures to reduce vertical platform gaps an average of three inches have been taken at 42 stations. Some 836 train cars have also been retro-fitted with two-inch threshold plates marked “Watch The Gap,” further reducing the gap space.

Dr. John Clarke is the LIRR’s Medical Director and Medical Review Officer. Wearing both his medical and song-writing “hats,” Dr. Clarke has combined his desire to effectively reach young people with medical information and his talent as a hip-hop song-writer and producer to create his own musical genre called “Health-Hop.” He was the winner last year of the U.S. Health Department’s nation-wide contest for the best H1N1 Flu public service announcement.

Here are the complete lyrics to the song courtesy of the same release:

Chorus:

Look down, step over, and watch the gap!
Look down, step over, and watch the gap!
Look down, step over, and watch the gap!
Look down, step over, and watch the gap!
Look down, step over, and watch the gap!
Look down, step over, and watch the gap!
Look down, step over, and watch the gap!
Look down, step over, and watch the gap!

Verse 1:

Yes, Dr. Clarke is back, I came to drop a rap,
‘Cause everybody needs to watch the gap!
Advice is what I can provide, so when you have to ride,
You’ll be safe where the gap is wide.
While waiting for a train, use your brain, clear your mind.
On the platform, stay behind the yellow line.
Listen to the Crew! Read the safety signs!
Step over the gap, look down every time.
Hold somebody’s hand, if you’re a kid, it’s important.
Ask the Crew to help, if you have trouble walking.
Look down, step over, use caution!
Not the time for reading, playing games, or even talking.
No pushing, no rushing, no running!
Walk forward on the train, let other people come in.
Never lean on the door, ‘cause it’s not for that.
Look down, step over, and watch the gap!

Chorus

Verse 2:

Never crowd the door, when it opens keep it flowing.
Let people off the train before you try to go in.
Never touch the door while it closes or opens.
Never use your arm or bag to keep it from closing.
Don’t play on the train, when you ride on the train.
Stay safe on the train, when inside of the train.
Listen for announcements, open up your ear!
Stay alert, stay aware, it’s important that you hear!
Keep the walkway clear, no clutter on the floor.
No packages, bags, or stuff blocking the door.
No trips during trips, so here’s some more tips,
Avoid causing spills and drips, so no one slips.
Get with safety, get with this gap song.
Get there safely, while I get my rap on!
Yes, watch the gap when you’re on the platform.
Always look down! Don’t step over the gap wrong!

Chorus

I must say this video was something I would not expect from the MTA. Hopefully people focus on the message & enjoy a different spin of it.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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1

Service Diversions 07-16-10

Posted by
on July 16th, 2010 at 8:21 am

I have just updated the “Service Diversions” page with the latest weekend diversions. The remaining diversions scheduled to end by 11:59 PM Friday are still listed. The next update will be sometime after 12:01 AM Saturday when those diversions are officially over.

Don’t forget to read this entry if you plan on using any service that goes through the Broadway/Nassau-Fulton St stations. I suggest you print out a copy of the page to carry with you or use any mobile device to access the phone-friendly version of Transit Blogger. As always, have safe travels!

xoxo Transit Blogger

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0

Single Ride MetroCards Will Rise To $2.50

Posted by
on July 14th, 2010 at 12:57 pm

Unless you have been living under a rock the last few days, the biggest news in the world of local mass transit was the potential specifics of the 2011 fare hike. Some of the biggest info to come from recent reports included a $1 surcharge tax on MetroCards, the elimination of off-peak fares on commuter railroads, & a cap on “unlimited” MetroCards.

Today’s New York Daily News reveals that the MTA will release the complete information on the fare increase sometime this month. In their report, they highlight how the fare for single ride paper MetroCards would rise to $2.50. Pete Donohue of the New York Daily News has more:

Straphangers who buy single-ride paper tickets at subway station vending machines would pay an extra quarter under the MTA’s budget proposal, which is to be released this month, sources said.

Only about 2.1% of subway riders use one-way tickets.

The $2.25 base fare would remain the same for other straphangers, including bus riders paying with coins, sources said.
If there’s a silver lining to the latest proposed increases, it’s that the largest group of regular riders would see the smallest increase – 4%. That’s for the 36% of all riders who use Pay-Per-Ride MetroCards.

Click here for the complete report.

I anxiously await the MTA’s release of complete information in relation to the upcoming fare hike. I am hoping we will get some concrete answers on the capping of unlimited MetroCards & the elimination of off-peak fares on the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) & Metro-North Railroad. (MNRR). Either way you slice it, until our elected officials help fund mass transit with sustainable solutions, we will continue to pay more for less.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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2

Monthly MetroCard Could Be Capped At 90 Trips

Posted by
on July 13th, 2010 at 7:51 am

Three days ago, the New York Post broke the story about the potential specifics of the MTA fare hike that will take place in 2011. The initial headline took aim at the “MetroCard Tax” that would come from a $1 surcharge for riders purchasing a new MetroCard from a vending machine instead of refilling an old one. However the biggest news might come in the form of a trip limit on unlimited MetroCards.

The initial report in the New York Post did not offer any details on what the limit could possibly be. However today’s edition of the New York Daily News does as their report claims the MTA is considering a 21 trip limit on Weekly MetroCards & 90 on the Monthly MetroCards. Pete Donohue has more:

An unlimited monthly MetroCard would max out at 90 trips under an MTA budget proposal – and officials may also cap the weekly cards at 21 rides, the Daily News has learned.

The limits eyed by Metropolitan Transportation Authority brass would sting a small percentage of riders who use the cards, sources said Monday.

The average straphanger who uses the card to get back and forth to work, with a few extra trips tossed in, wouldn’t be affected.

But people who take the subway often as part of their job – such as messengers – could find themselves having to buy 13 or more monthly MetroCards a year.

The caps might curb a breed of subway scammer – “swipers” who get an unlimited-ride card and then sell access to the platforms for less than the $2.25 fare.

MTA staff are expected to unveil a preliminary 2011 budget to the board late this month.

Citing red ink, the MTA aims to raise revenue by 7.5% overall. A monthly MetroCard would jump $10, to $99, while a weekly would go up by $2, to $29, sources said.

Those prices would have to be even higher if not for savings achieved through the MetroCard caps – which would affect less than 10% of unlimited card buyers, a source said.

Click here for the complete report.

As I noted 3 days ago, I wanted to wait to opine on this part of the proposal until some specifics came out. While these numbers are not official, I will opine based on them. I am 100% against the capping of these cards as an unlimited card should provide unlimited rides point blank.

I also seriously question their information on how only a small percentage of riders would be hurt by this. I for one easily surpassed the 90 ride amount almost every single month I would use a Monthly Metrocard. Why should I or others get punished for using the product as it was intended?

This is yet another example of the MTA giving the screws to their regular riders. I bet if I paid a base fare like the small minority do, I’d be sparred of these “caps” since the agency seems to always lessen the burden for them. I hope these initial reports are incorrect but I highly doubt it. I am curious what the MTA’s statement will be about this report if they have any.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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