Bronx Residents To Rally Against Service Cuts
The countdown to the massive service cuts inches closer & closer with each passing day. With that in mind, Bronx residents are using their right to speak out as they plan on holding a rally against the cuts at a town hall meeting tonight. Mike Jaccarino & Pete Donohue of the New York Daily News have more in this brief report:
Angry Bronxites are joining riders and transit workers across the nation to protest planned service cuts to mass transit systems.
The cash-strapped Metropolitan Transportation Authority is planning to eliminate two Bronx bus lines and curtail service on a raft of other routes.
“We understand there has to be some cuts, but the cuts they’ve made are horrendous,” said Co-op City resident Al Quattlebaum, who rides the Bx26. Its route is being modified so it will no longer serve Section 5 of Co-op City.
“You have seniors that rely on these buses to go to the hospitals and doctor’s appointments,” he said. “To eliminate these services is unacceptable.”
Bronxites plan to rally at a town hall meeting at the Bartow Community Center Thursday at 7:30 p.m. A May 4 rally is also set for City Hall.
Quattlebaum said emotions are running so high in Co-op City that he expects up to 600 people to turn out for the rally.
Click here for the complete report.
I applaud the residents for speaking out. However I doubt it will do much good. The agency went through a tough process in coming up with cuts that would hurt as few riders as possible. Some of the cuts seem legitimate when you factor in actual ridership numbers. Unfortunately in the financial world that the MTA lives in, it can’t be expected to provide service that matches the needs of every single rider.
It is safe to assume that a high percentage of the frustration to come from tonight’s meeting will be directed at the beleaguered transit agency itself. However the real complaints should be directed towards the elected officials on the city & state level who continue to shortchange the agency in terms of proper funding.
I am curious as to which elected officials will show up to join in the complaint parade when in reality they probably do little to help their riding constituents. We all know how the game works by now. When it is convenient to attack the MTA & gain brownie points with constituents, you do just that. it is a shame that so much time is wasted doing that instead of helping come up with sustainable funding solutions.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Service Advisory For 2010 NFL Draft
The big day is here! Millions of fans across the world will be watching anxiously as their favorite NFL teams select players in the draft that they hope will make an impact on their team. Speaking of impact, the big event being held at Radio City Music Hall will cause some service diversions. Here are the complete details courtesy of the press release sent to me by MTA NYC Transit:
MTA and NYC Transit buses running along Sixth Avenue will bypass bus stops between 48th and 52nd Streets from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. tomorrow, April 22 for the National Football League (NFL) Red Carpet Draft Ceremony at the Radio City Music Hall.
The following buses will be affected by this ceremony:
M5, M6, M7, Q32, QM10, QM12, QM15, QM16, QM17, QM18, QM22 and X51
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Service Advisory For Presidential Visit
President Obama will be visiting Manhattan tomorrow. As one would expect, some streets are being closed off & will result in bus & subway delays. MTA NYC Transit issued a brief press release with details:
President Barack Obama is scheduled to visit Manhattan on Thursday, April 22, 2010. As a result, based on street closures (frozen zones) instituted by the U.S. Secret Service and the New York City Police Department, some local and express bus routes in Lower and Midtown Manhattan are expected to be either severely delayed or detoured between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., especially the M1, M2, M3, M8, M9, M14, M21, M101, M102 and M103 routes. In addition, some subway station entrances/exits may be temporarily closed.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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MTA Carbon Emissions Verified
Carbon footprint is a term that many of you have probably read or heard over the last couple of years. Regardless of the industry in question, reducing carbon footprints has been a goal reached for by many & the MTA is no different.
Last year, the agency not only issued a report on environmental sustainability but also received a $2M federal grant or the installation of centrally controlled 3rd rail heaters. The latter project is just one of many overall commitments to lower energy costs and reduce our carbon footprint while putting more people to work as they continue to modernize their infrastructure.
Earlier today, the agency issued a press release to highlight how they have been verified as a key source in eliminating 17.4 million metric tons of greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere. Here are the complete details:
The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced that its carbon emissions had for the first time been verified by The Climate Registry and publicly reported on its website. The Climate Registry is a non-profit organization that operates the only North American voluntary greenhouse gas registry. Using the verified figures and a methodology developed by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), the MTA has been able to determine that New Yorkers avoid emitting 17.4 million metric tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere because of the MTA’s network of subways, buses and commuter trains.
“We now know how much carbon MTA operations emit each day. But more importantly, we also know how much carbon is prevented from entering the atmosphere when 8.5 million people per day choose to ride the train or the bus instead of drive their cars,” said Ernest Tollerson, MTA Director of Policy and Media Relations.
Using the methodology developed by APTA, in cooperation with the MTA and other U.S. transit agencies, consulting firms, nonprofits and academics, the MTA enables New Yorkers to avoid emitting 8.24 units of carbon for every unit the MTA emits through its operations. That means that New Yorkers avoid emitting 19.8 million metric tons of carbon a year. At the same time, its network of subways, buses, commuter trains, paratransit vehicles, bridges and tunnels releases 2.4 million metric tons of carbon annually. The net result is a savings of 17.4 million metric tons of carbon throughout the course of the year.
“This number is a window on the MTA’s role in reducing carbon and evidence that investing in public transportation is one of the best strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” said Projjal Dutta, the MTA’s Director of Sustainability Initiatives.
Governed by states, provinces, territories and tribes, The Climate Registry helps hundreds of public and private organizations measure, report and reduce their carbon emissions with integrity. “The Climate Registry congratulates the MTA on successfully reporting its carbon emissions in a public, transparent and credible way,” said Denise Sheehan, Vice President for Government and Regional Affairs at The Climate Registry. “By taking this important step, the MTA continues to demonstrate its leadership in addressing climate change and fostering new ways to manage and reduce carbon emissions.”
“This is proof positive that New Yorkers are avoiding the release of a very large volume of greenhouse gas emissions by riding the region’s trains and buses,” said William Millar, the President of the American Public Transportation Association. “It demonstrates how important public transportation is in combating climate change and reducing carbon emissions. Clearly, it is one more important reason for everyone to support the expansion of public transportation services throughout the country.”
The MTA’s 2008 greenhouse gas inventory was independently verified by Ryerson, Master and Associates, Inc. (RMA), a member of the Lloyds Register group of entities, and a leader in climate change policy, carbon footprinting and greenhouse gas verification. Located in Santa Barbara, California, RMA has been in business since 1994 and has verified over 550 million tons of CO2.
“We continue to be impressed by the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s efforts to manage their carbon footprint and congratulate them for serving as a national transportation model for sustainability in the 21st century. Their work to provide low carbon transportation options for millions of people in the greater New York City area while implementing strategies for carbon reductions is commendable,” said Dr. Ann Hewitt, Vice President of Climate Strategies with RMA, Inc., and lead verifier for the MTA’s greenhouse gas inventory.
The carbon avoidance factor is calculated using a three-part methodology that takes into account 1) car trips avoided each time someone leaves his or her car at home and chooses to ride a train or bus; 2) congestion relief and therefore increased fuel efficiency of those cars that remain on the road; and 3) public transportation’s role in fostering compact land-use patterns that encourage walking and bicycling for some trips and shorter trips overall.
If carbon emissions are to become the subject of a carbon tax or a cap-and-trade system in the years ahead, public transportation agencies across the country could use this or similar data to make a strong case that they should be entitled to a share of the carbon revenue for their role in preventing the release of greenhouse gases.
While I could go on for hours discussing this very topic, I will avoid sharing my personal feelings involving it. However it is safe to say this report at least on paper showcases the importance of our transit system. However realistically, I & millions of others do not need such a report to showcase how vital our transit infrastructure is & why our elected officials need to step it up in terms of providing proper funding.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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NYCT: Select Bus Fare Beaters Were Expected
The Select Bus Service (which debuted in 2008 on the Bx12) has been plagued by one major issue since day one, fare beaters. The issue has been so rampant that soon after the service began, the MTA & NYPD announced an alliance to step up fare enforcement. However as the New York Daily News has reported on numerous times, fare beating continues to be a big problem.
Approximately two weeks ago, the aforementioned paper wrote a report about how fare beating is still prevalent as they went undercover to investigate the problem. Fast forward to this morning where the latest report focuses on the MTA’s attitude towards the problem. According to them, they expected these issues all along. Mike Jaccarino of the New York Daily News has more:
We’ll live with it.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority says the rampant fare-beating seen on a Bronx express bus line was not unexpected, even as the agency is about to expand the honor system to Manhattan.
The BX12 Select Bus Service along Fordham Road and Pelham Parkway allows passengers to board after buying tickets at bus stop kiosks.
But a Daily News investigation found large numbers of riders simply boarding without paying.
“The officers are out there every day, so we’re not going to do anything special,” said MTA spokesman Charles Seaton. “Cities all over the world have implemented rapid transit buses. It’s part of speeding the buses along.”
Recently, a reporter staked out three BX12 SBS stops in the Bronx and counted the number of riders who boarded without first purchasing a ticket.
Over the course of an hour at each stop, 40 fare-beaters boarded at Fordham Plaza sans tickets; 22 did so near the Pelham Bay IRT subway stop, and 27 at the stop on Pelham Parkway at Williamsbridge Road.
Seaton said there’s nothing strange with the number of people hitching free rides on the BX12 buses.
“Fare evasion on SBS is consistent with the system average for all buses,” he said.
Click here for the complete report.
Personally I feel the MTA’s attitude towards this is extremely concerning. While fare evasion is to be expected on public transportation systems, this does not mean everything possible to curb it should not be done. If they expected these problems all along, why were better measures not implemented to curb this prior to its debut? These are common sense aspects that should have been dealt with during the planning stages.
While the money earned from fares will never be enough to cover costs, it does not mean the MTA should not do more to collect every dollar it has earned. Considering the dire financial picture that hangs over the agency’s head, it has no business letting any money slip through the cracks.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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