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MTA NYCT Track Supervisor Dies This Morning

Posted by
on April 26th, 2010 at 3:58 pm

It never gets easier to write an entry about an untimely death whether to a transit worker or rider. Unfortunately, I have to report that a MTA New York City Transit Track Supervisor died this morning after coming in contact with the electrified third rail at the Beach 90th Street station in Queens where renovations are currently underway. MTA New York City Transit sent out a press release about the incident a short time ago:

At approximately 4:30 a.m., Track Supervisor James Knell, 45, was fatally injured after he came into contact with the electrified third rail at the Beach 90th Street A S Station in Queens. Knell, an MTA New York City Transit employee for 13 years and a Supervisor for the past 9 years, was part of the crew working on a station rehabilitation project in the Rockaways. The incident occurred shortly before the area was to be returned to service for the Monday morning rush period.

“We lost one of our own this morning and labeling this incident a tragedy is a painful statement of the obvious,” said MTA NYC Transit President Thomas F. Prendergast. “The Office of System Safety and the Department of Subways has begun an investigation into this incident to both determine a cause and to ensure we prevent a recurrence,” added Prendergast.

James Knell was a resident of East Rockaway, Long Island, and is survived by his wife and two step-children. The thoughts and prayers of the entire MTA NYC Transit family are with the extended family, friends and loved ones of Supervisor Knell during this difficult time.

I would like to take this time & extend deep condolences to the family, friends, & peers of Mr. James Knell. I wish you all nothing but the best during these difficult times.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Death
1

Fare Hikes May Be Steeper

Posted by
on April 26th, 2010 at 1:35 am

By now, the story of the MTA’s fiscal crisis is ingrained into your mind. The upcoming fare hikes in January inch closer & closer everyday. Some might hope for a reprieve but most resign to the reality of nothing will stop them from happening. Unfortunately as is usual with the MTA, just when you think it can’t get any worse, it does.

The latest doom & gloom stems from a report released this past Friday by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli which stated fare hikes may be steeper if the MTA continues to not control costs. Let us first take a look at the press release from the Office of The New York State Comptroller:

Fare and tolls may increase faster than currently planned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) unless it controls unnecessary costs, warned State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli in a report issued today. While the MTA is making progress closing a $756 million budget gap, the Comptroller estimates that a $319 million gap remains in the current year. Moreover, the gap could grow to $405 million depending on the success of certain gap-closing measures. Next year’s gap already totals an estimated $537 million and could reach $860 million without aggressive measures to cut unnecessary spending and waste at the agency.

“The MTA has to squeeze out every penny of wasteful spending,” DiNapoli said. “Mass transit has to be affordable for working New Yorkers. The MTA should focus on eliminating waste rather than cutting services and raising fares. My office has found administrative redundancies and outside contracts where savings can be achieved. Chairman Walder has made some progress, but so much more needs to be done.”

The DiNapoli report indicates the combination of service cuts and fare increases already planned by the MTA may not be sufficient to address the severity of the budgetary imbalance. Further, the MTA board still has not been presented a comprehensive plan to close this year’s gap. In December 2009, the MTA faced a new budget crisis when funding was reduced to the MTA as part of the efforts to close the State’s budget gap; a labor arbitration panel ruled against the MTA; and revenue from the new mobility tax, which was expected to generate $1.1 billion in 2009, fell short of target. The MTA estimates these developments created a $412 million budget gap for 2010 and increased the size of the out-year budget gaps.

The MTA has proposed raising fare and toll revenue by 7.5 percent on January 1, 2011, which would generate $408 million in that year, and by another 7.5 percent on January 1, 2013. Unless the MTA successfully reduces costs or, less likely, obtains additional governmental aid, fares and tolls may increase sooner or faster than currently planned.

DiNapoli’s report also found that:

* MTA spending has grown at an average annual rate of 7 percent during the past five years, more than twice the rate of inflation and far faster than recurring revenue;

* The MTA’s outstanding debt totals about $27.5 billion, 54 percent higher than it was five years earlier. Debt service totaled $1.4 billion in 2009 and is projected to reach $2.2 billion by 2013. In 2004, the MTA paid $848 million in debt service;

* Since 2002, the MTA has raised fares and tolls by nearly 44 percent, and it plans to raise fare and tolls by at least 15 percent over the next three years; and,

* Energy costs have nearly doubled from $261 million in 2003 to $498 million in 2009, and are expected to grow to $802 million by 2013.

* Collections from the new mobility tax and real estate transactions have been weak, and could fall short of the MTA’s revised expectations.

Click here for the complete report.

Now let us take a look at a brief article by the New York Daily News’ Pete Donohue on the Comptroller’s report:

Straphangers and drivers could get socked with steeper fare and toll hikes thanks to the MTA’s financial crisis, a report released Friday contends.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s plans to raise fares and tolls 7.5% in January might not be enough to bridge the agency’s $300 million budget gap this year and a larger deficit next, according to the report by state Controller Thomas DiNapoli’s office.

“Unless the MTA obtains additional intergovernmental aid, which appears unlikely, or successfully reduces costs, fares and tolls may increase sooner or faster than currently planned,” according to the report.

The controller’s office didn’t predict how high fares and tolls could rise beyond the planned 7.5%, but if applied evenly across the board, that hike would bring an unlimited-ride monthly MetroCard to about $95.

A nonprofit think-tank in February warned fares and tolls could rise as high as 15%, bringing the monthly MetroCard past $100.

The MTA, however, distanced itself from such alarming projections.

Click here for the complete report.

I will be reading over the report during the next 24-36 hours & will have an entry with my thoughts soon thereafter.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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0

NYC Transit Scraps General Line Manager Program

Posted by
on April 26th, 2010 at 12:48 am

One thing was for sure, during the previous regime at the MTA, many different ideas were tossed around or implemented to achieve the same end goal, operating at top efficiency. One of those ideas was implemented in 2007 as NYC Transit underwent a massive reorganization of management for its subway operations via individual line general managers.

Fast forward to 2010 & that idea is coming to an end by new NYC Transit President Thomas Prendergast due to concerns of safety. Pete Donohue of the New York Daily News had more in this extremely brief report:

It’s the end of the line for an NYC Transit program that ran each subway line like a small railroad.

Concerned about subway safety, NYC Transit’s new top executive scrapped the much-ballyhooed Line General Manager program and returned to a centralized maintenance department.

The number of line general managers is being slashed from 17 to 12, and those remaining will focus on station cleanliness, minor station repairs, train schedules and rider information, said Thomas Prendergast, named NYC Transit president in November.

The prior administration began decentralized subway management in July 2008, installing general managers to run each line.

Prendergast said officials were concerned the inspection, maintenance and repairs of switches, signals, tracks and other equipment might not get the necessary attention under the old program.

I personally don’t think this is that big of a change. When the idea was first proposed & subsequently implemented on some lines in 2007, I had some concerns about its effectiveness & the clear potential of adding yet another layer of bureaucracy to the management ranks. I admit I did see some positives that could come from it & subsequently some riders chimed in on noticing an improvement. In the end though, I can’t say I or many will be heartbroken about this change. I doubt many riders would be able to even notice the difference.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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MTA Releases New 2010-14 Capital Program Draft

Posted by
on April 23rd, 2010 at 2:11 pm

Earlier this afternoon, the MTA officially released a revised draft of its 2010-2014 Capital Program which features a savings of over $2B. Here are the complete details from a press release they sent me a short time ago:

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today released a revised draft 2010-2014 Capital Program. The $26.3 billion program reflects a nearly $2 billion reduction as the result of a comprehensive review and a new MTA focus on cost effectiveness and efficiency. The plan will be considered by the MTA Board at its monthly meeting on Wednesday, and if approved will be sent to the State’s Capital Program Review Board for its approval. Thanks to last year’s rescue legislation, the first two years of the program are funded and the MTA is seeking approval to begin work immediately. The full plan and an executive summary are available online at www.mta.info.

“We are overhauling every aspect of our business here at the MTA, and we’ve taken the same approach with the Capital Program,” said Jay H. Walder, MTA Chairman and CEO. “The revised program reduces costs, generates operating savings and takes an entirely new approach to our critical investments. The economic crisis dictates that we use every dollar wisely, but it also demands that we move forward as soon as possible to stimulate the economy with the funding available right now.”

Over the past thirty years, a series of five-year capital programs have revitalized the transit system. While the more than $64 billion spent in that time helped turn around the regional economy, maintaining and improving the 100-year-old transportation system is an ongoing need and we cannot afford to disinvest.

The revised draft 2010-2014 Capital Program uses every dollar wisely, reflecting a new approach to maintain service reliability, safety, and expand service while maximizing cost effectiveness and efficiency. Projects included in the program will reduce annual operating costs and realize ongoing savings long after each project is completed.

Elements of this new approach include:

• Subway Stations: NYC Transit will systematically replace, repair, or rehabilitate only components that need it, greatly expanding the number of stations that can be improved. Stations will enter a far more aggressive, responsive, and sustained maintenance program so that investments provide long-lasting benefits.

• Shops, Yards, and Depots: The MTA will invest in facilities that maximize their ability to serve the needs of more than one agency in order to make the best use of capital funds. A good example is Metro-North’s Harmon Shop which provides capacity to service locomotives for both Metro-North and LIRR.

• Rolling Stock: The age of the fleet will no longer be enough to justify investments with a new focus on determining the best mix of fleet replacement and component overhaul at a lower price. Specifications will seek to lower rail car weight, reducing the cost of cars, track wear, and energy consumption.

The result is a $1.8 billion reduction in cost from the previous $28.1 billion plan and a stronger, more focused program that delivers benefits for MTA customers and the economy:

Protecting and Improving Service for Customers

While much of the capital program work is done behind the scenes, every investment helps the MTA provide a good service to customers 365 days a year. Every project in the capital program will benefit customers in one of three ways:

• Maintain the high levels of service reliability and safety provided today: That means repairing trains, buses and subway cars, and replacing them when their useful life ends. It means maintaining the track, signals, yards, depots and bridges that keep our customers safe and on time. And it means addressing components in our stations in need of repair.

• Improve service on the existing system: The Capital Program also includes projects that maximize the capacity of the existing system and advance customer improvements.

o New signal technology (Communications Based Train Control) on the #7 subway line will enable the line to run a train nearly every two minutes, creating about 2,500 more seats each rush hour on this crowded line.

o The MTA’s bus divisions will purchase 674 articulated buses, 118 of which will be used to increase capacity along four Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridors developed in partnership with the City of New York.

o Several projects develop and test new technology to improve the customer experience, from train arrival signs to all-electronic tolling and camera enforcement of bus lanes. One of the key initiatives in the capital program is the introduction of a new smart card fare collection system that is expected to reduce costs and make travel easier across the region.

• Complete critical expansion projects to ease crowding and support growth: The final group of projects in the capital program expands the MTA’s transportation network for the first time in more than a generation. This program advances the commitment to completing East Side Access and the Second Avenue Subway, long overdue projects to reduce commute times and ease overcrowding.

The program also includes $250 million to continue improving the security of our transportation network in a post-9/11 world, working directly with the MTA PD, NYPD and other local and federal law enforcement agencies.

Economic Benefits for New York

The MTA’s 2010-2014 Capital Program will create vital economic activity:

• More than 20,000 new jobs annually over nine years

• Nearly $37 billion in economic activity

Companies across the state play a role building rolling stock, supplying parts or rebuilding infrastructure and working on new facilities. These projects provide jobs in communities from Buffalo to Albany to Plattsburgh and many places in between.

Funding the Program

The MTA’s capital program, as submitted for CPRB approval, is supported by a combination of local (City, State and MTA) and federal funding sources. Taken together, existing resources are expected to provide $13.9 billion of the $23.8 billion funding need (the $2.5 billion Bridges and Tunnels program is funded directly through tolls), fully funding the first two years ($9.1 billion) of the five-year program. Approval of this resubmission requires no additional funding until 2012. The importance of the program to customers, to the MTA system and to the economy dictates that it move forward immediately with available funds. The MTA will work with our partners in government to identify full funding for the projects scheduled to be done in the last three years ($9.9 billion) of the program in time to contract for this essential work.

Tracking the Program’s Progress

Once this program receives final approval, our web site (www.mta.info) will feature a user-friendly, interactive system to let the public track our progress. Projects will be color coded – green for those meeting their goals and red for targets that are not being met. This information will be available for each project in the 2010-2014 Capital Plan and select projects still underway in the 2005-2009 Program.

I look forward to the final version of the 2010-2014 Capital Program. When it is released, I will provide a full analysis of it from all different angles.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Service Diversions 04-22-10

Posted by
on April 22nd, 2010 at 3:05 pm

I have just updated the “Service Diversions” page with the latest information for the weekend & following week (beyond in some cases). LIRR riders, do not forget about the work in Bay Shore which will affect service on the Montauk line. I suggest you print out a copy of the diversions to carry with you or use your mobile device to access the phone friendly version of Transit Blogger. Have a safe & wonderful weekend!

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Service Diversions