The 6 Still Deserved Better
Pelham Bay Park bound 6 entering Parkchester during the Feb. 2006 blizzard. Resized photo courtesy of Eye On Transit.
In January 2008, I blogged about the 
deserving a better grade for its 2007’s Rider Report Card. The line was considered average by 7.261 riders who helped give it a C. 14 months later & the story remains the same as the line finished with a C as part of the 2008 Rider Report Card series. The turnout was down from 2007 levels as 5,569 responded. Lets get straight to the breakdown.
6 Train Riders Top 10 Priorities; 2007 priority rank in ( ):
01. Adequate room on board at rush hour ( 1 )
02. Reasonable wait times for trains ( 2 )
03. Minimal delays during trips ( 3 )
04. Station announcements that are easy to hear ( 4 )
05. Cleanliness of stations ( 5 )
06. Sense of security on trains ( 6 )
07. Sense of security in stations ( 7 )
08. Train announcements that are easy to hear ( 9 )
09. Cleanliness of subway cars ( 12 )
10. Working elevators and escalators in stations ( 10 )
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Complete 6 train riders priorities 2007 priority rank in ( ):
01. Adequate room on board at rush hour ( 1 )
02. Reasonable wait times for trains ( 2 )
03. Minimal delays during trips ( 3 )
04. Station announcements that are easy to hear ( 4 )
05. Cleanliness of stations ( 5 )
06. Sense of security on trains ( 6 )
07. Sense of security in stations ( 7 )
08. Train announcements that are easy to hear ( 9 )
09. Cleanliness of subway cars ( 12 )
10. Working elevators and escalators in stations ( 10 )
11. Station announcements that are informative ( 8 )
12. Courtesy and helpfulness of station personnel ( 11 )
13. Comfortable temperature in subway cars ( 13 )
14. Train announcements that are informative ( 14 )
15. Availability of MetroCard Vending Machines ( 15 )
16. Ease of use of subway turnstiles ( 16 )
17. Signs in stations that help riders find their way ( 17 )
18. Signs in subway cars that help riders find their way ( 19 )
19. Lack of scratchitti in subway cars ( 18 )
20. Lack of graffiti in stations ( 20 )
21. Lack of graffiti in subway cars ( 21 )
Click here for the breakdown of votes in this section.
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Now here is the graded breakdown for all 21 categories; 2007 grade in ( ):
01. Minimal delays during trips C (C)
02. Reasonable wait times for trains C (C)
03. Adequate room on board at rush hour D (D)
04. Sense of security in stations C (C+)
05. Sense of security on trains C (C)
06. Working elevators and escalators in stations C- (C)
07. Signs in stations that help riders find their way C+ (C+)
08. Signs in subway cars that help riders find their way C+ (B-)
09. Cleanliness of stations C- (C-)
10. Cleanliness of subway cars C (C+)
11. Station announcements that are easy to hear D+ (C-)
12. Station announcements that are informative C- (C-)
13. Train announcements that are easy to hear C (C)
14. Train announcements that are informative C (C)
15. Lack of graffiti in stations C+ (B-)
16. Lack of graffiti in subway cars B- (B-)
17. Lack of scratchitti in subway cars C+ (C+)
18. Courtesy and helpfulness of station personnel C (C)
19. Comfortable temperature in subway cars C+ (C+)
20. Ease of use of subway turnstiles B- (B-)
21. Availability of MetroCard Vending Machines B- (B-)
Click here for the breakdown of votes in this section.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
In the last 14 months, things have changed for me in a number of ways. One of those happens to be that one of my residences is no longer along the . I do not take the line daily like I did for the better part of a little under 3 years. However I ride the line often enough to know that I disagree with this grade again.
When I wrote about 2007’s results in January 2008, I stated that I felt the line deserved a B- at worst. I will once again echo that sentiment for 2008’s results. Click here for my analysis of 2007’s results which I feel still stand true today.
As far as the results go, the top 10 priorities were pretty identical to 2007’s results. The differences occurred in the bottom half of the top 10. For some reason “train announcements that are easy to hear” rose up a spot. The fleet of the is filled with cars that feature crisp & loud announcements. I will strongly disagree with riders on this priority. The “cleanliness of subway cars” rose up 3 spots to take a place at #9 which can never be considered a good thing.
In terms of grades, most bounced up or down a tick if they did not remain the same from 2007. So the line was consistent for good or worse in pretty much all categories. Overall the grading was decent but I felt the riders could have done better with their accuracy of the line. I still feel this is the best line in the system & deserves a grade that matches that.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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MTA Approves Doomsday Scenario Budget
The voting result was virtually academic after Monday’s MTA Finance Committee meeting. However to make it official, the MTA Board approved the enactment of their “doomsday scenario” budget. Unless a reversal of fortune occurs in Albany, millions of riders will have to prepare to pay a lot more for a lot less.
I had every intention of watching the full meeting via the webcast on the MTA’s site. However an emergency business matter came up. By time I got in, I could only catch the last portion of the meeting. So lets take a quick look at the reports filed by a couple of newspapers. I will start with Pete Donohue of the New York Daily News:
Next stop: the $2.50 subway ride.
After a fiery hearing Wednesday, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority voted 12 to 1 to approve subway, bus and commuter train fare hikes 25% to 30%.
“This is an extremely difficult day for everyone,” a resigned MTA CEO Elliot Sander said minutes before the vote.
“Believe me, neither the board nor the senior staff of the MTA would be advancing these measures if we had any other choice.”
James Sedore, an MTA board member, was among several of his colleagues to scathingly place blame for the stunning fare increases on the shoulders of Albany lawmakers.
The hikes and service cuts came to a vote because the state Legislature failed to agree to a bailout plan.
“I think our friends in Albany have lost their way,” Sedore said.
Click here for the complete report.
Now lets take a look at the report filed by William Neuman & Jennifer Lee of the New York Times:
The board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority voted Wednesday morning to enact a series of fare hikes and service cutbacks needed to keep the transit system from going broke.
The vote was broken largely into three parts: fare hikes, toll increases and service cutbacks. After hearing from the public and the board members, the board approved each by a vote of 12 to 1.
“This is your last chance or forever hold your peace,” said H. Dale Hemmerdinger, the chairman of the board, right before the final vote.
The lone dissenting member in each vote was Norman I. Seabrook, president of the 9500-member New York City Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association.
Board members called the combination of fare increases and slashing bus, subway and commuter rail cuts a disaster but said they could no longer wait for lawmakers in Albany to rescue them.
Click here for the complete report.
This is a very bleak day for our transit system & people should be outraged that it has ever come to this. While the passing of this “doomsday scenario” budget seemed etched in stone to me, it does not make swallowing this bitter pill any easier. If there is a light at the end of the tunnel from today, it is knowing that these measures can be reversed if Albany comes up with a solution very soon.
I am not holding my breath for that to occur. The leaders in Albany clearly have showed their lack of care or knowledge (if not both) on how important maintaining & expanding our transit infrastructure & system is. The idea of a disinvestment in our system occurring is one that I do not like to have in my mind. Does anyone really need to experience or re-experience how the system was in the 70’s & 80s?
While I urge readers to contact their officials & let their voices be heard, I am also preparing myself for these rallying cries to be left out in the cold due to the inept officials currently in office. Our case is not helped when we have such asinine rhetoric (even if being sarcastic) spewed by the media. An example is this piece by Joanna Molloy of the New York Daily News:
So now they want five bucks a day out of us to ride the subway back and forth to work.
MTA Chairman Dale Hemmerdinger says he and his board members are going to vote for fare hikes Wednesday. I picture Hemmerdinger dropping that humdinger just before hopping into his Hummer.
Do these people even use mass transportation? I mean, does Paul McCartney’s MTA-board-member girlfriend Nancy Shevell really ride the Q to work?
A millionairess with a Hamptons mansion right out of the movie “Howard’s End,” Shevell sure as shootin’ doesn’t have to worry about finding $20 a month in the middle of the Great Recession.”It’s very painful to everybody who uses the system,” Hemmerdinger concedes.
We’re glad the MTA has managed its money so well, what with its billion-dollar deficit. I mean, they rented prime real estate atop Grand Central to Donald Trump at $4 a square foot for 30 years.
Then there’s the guy who’s paid to collect and count dead rats. Do we really need a head count? Toss those suckers in the Hudson and run, man.
Fear not. We’re sure the MTA is going to give us more for our money. They want to increase ridership and raise revenue, right?
Here are some suggestions:
– Turn the M96 into a party bus with an open bar. Sure, it might still get the Pokey Award from the Straphangers Campaign for going crosstown slower than an elephant, but a pomegranate martini would make traveling at 3.7 mph a lot more pleasant.
Click here for the complete report.
If you ask me, Joanna’s piece is irresponsible journalism. The public is already misinformed about how & why the MTA is in the midst of this major financial crisis. Many riders actually spew the sentiment echoed in this piece. So trying to re-enforce such sentiments even under the umbrella of sarcasm is not the way to go. This is not the time or place to be laying the seeds for another round of the never ending class warfare battle.
Instead media outlets like blogs & newspapers should be doing the best they can to inform the general riding public of how things really work & urging them to get their voices heard by their elected officials. Get them to do what is right & if they don’t, you will knock them out of office the first chance you get.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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The Doomsday Nightmare Becomes A Reality
The day of reckoning is upon us as the nightmare of a “doomsday scenario” becomes a reality. Later this morning, the MTA Board is expected to approve the enactment of their “doomsday scenario” budget which will feature not only massive fare hikes but massive service cuts as well. For months on end, the main topic of this blog & many like it were about the MTA’s finances & what needed to be done to rescue them from their financial peril.
Democrat & Republican senators have known about the deadline for needing a bailout of sorts for months. However the two sides could not come to an agreement which comes as no surprise to most, considering the majority leader questioned the legitimate deadline. So in return for this inaction, millions of riders will being a lot more for a lot less.
Some people have expressed to me a hope that something would get done at the last moment to save riders. However I told them not to count their breath especially when our Governor publicly threw in the towel. If that was not happening, we had Mayor Bloomberg pulling classic lines from the movie “Network” by urging riders to call & scream at their state legislators. Speaking of that, lets take a look into Mayor Bloomberg’s call for action in a report by Adam Lisberg & Pete Donohue of the New York Daily News:
Mayor Bloomberg told straphangers facing rising fares and painful service cuts to call their state legislators and scream, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.”
The mayor lifted the famous line from the 1976 movie ‘Network,’ but said today it applies perfectly to the plight riders face.
“If Albany doesn’t come through, then the straphangers are going to have to bear the brunt of this,” Bloomberg said to reporters after an unrelated event in Brooklyn. “I don’t think that’s good for the system. I don’t think it’s good for our economy.
“But we cannot walk away from mass transit. We have to have it. So I hope it doesn’t get to that, but if it does, what I would suggest when you see what’s going to happen to your commuting costs, you should call your state legislators and say, ‘I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.'”
Click here for the complete report.
As I said yesterday, the riding public needs to understand that when they start shelling out more for less, they should point to one place, Albany! An editorial which will appear in today’s print edition of the New York Times sarcastically thanks Albany. Lets take a quick look at what was said:
Commuters across the New York City area should be spared the stunning fare increases and service cuts being voted on today. Even the chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board calls the impending service cuts “horrific.”
Although Gov. David Paterson has supported the Silver compromise, Malcolm Smith, the Senate majority leader, has been unable to round up his slim majority of Democrats to vote for it. Mr. Smith also has not reached out to Republican senators who might support Mr. Silver’s transit solution.
Among city Republicans who should be interested in helping the M.T.A. are Senators Martin Golden of Brooklyn, Frank Padavan of Queens and Andrew Lanza of Staten Island. There are also a few Republicans upstate who should be trumpeting the Silver plan because of businesses in their districts that depend on the M.T.A. They include Senators Elizabeth Little of Glens Falls, Joseph Griffo of Rome and George Winner of Elmira.
As the State Senate turns its back on eight million riders a day, the M.T.A. can’t just wait. They could start preparing fare machines and scheduling delays set for June — unless Albany wakes up and comes to the rescue.
Click here for the complete editorial.
I give kudos to the person who wrote the piece as it was well written & offered excellent points across the board. It is unfortunate that those in Albany can’t grasp or care to, the importance of our system being funded. When the MTA says they are an economic engine for the region, they are not lying. One could even argue that they are an economic engine for the entire state. Either way, the point remains the same.
The system needs to be maintained, & expanded to continue its important role to our region. If the current officials in power can’t understand this or refuse to do so, we need new officials who will. For now, millions of riders will once again be forced to pay the price for the few who do not get it or care to.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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The Bleak Reality Of The MTA Financial Picture
I wanted to get to this yesterday afternoon but things became hectic around here. So now I will take this time to talk about yesterday’s MTA Finance Committee meeting. I could not attend due to some business out on the island. However I made sure to take time out to watch it via the live webcast.
The meeting is what I expected it to be. Going into it, it was pretty much a lock that they would recommend the “doomsday scenario” budget to the MTA Board on Wednesday. This was the case even before Gov. Paterson suggested they do just that due to the Senate’s inaction.
Considering the severity of the situation, the guest speakers were the people I or anyone else following this would expect. One of the best testimonies came from the Tri-State Transportation Campaign’s Executive Director Kate Slevin as she pointed the blame to Albany. I fully agree with her as they are quite responsible for the current crisis. Lets take a look at her testimony via a press release:
Good morning. My name is Kate Slevin and I am executive director of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a regional policy watchdog organization working for a more balanced transportation network.
We have one message today and that is – Albany must act. It is two days and counting until fare hikes and service cuts are a done deal. Two days until riders on dozens of bus lines across the region lose service, until monthly, unlimited Metro-North tickets from White Plains to Grand Central rise from $191 to $243. Until monthly unlimited MetroCards increase from $81 to $103. Until Long Island Bus riders lose free transfers to NYC Transit subways and buses and face fares of $3.50 per ride.
If Albany doesn’t act, we begin the vicious cycle of transit disinvestment, where fares increase, service declines, our economy suffers, and safety and reliability are undermined for future generations. Albany cannot let this happen.
Click here for her complete testimony.
One of the other strong testimonies came from Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign. He stressed a very strong concern in worrying about these financial woes leading to a slowdown in the rebuilding of our system. This is a very legitimate point as riders have a lot more to lose than extra money for fares. Running the MTA is not an easy task as it is a fine balance between maintaining an ancient system while trying to repair & expand it at the same time.
While the prospect of paying more for service seems daunting, Gene’s fear of a slowdown in maintaining & rebuilding the system is a real doomsday if it comes to fruition. Why so many can’t understand this is something that frustrates me often. However can I really be surprised when many riders still obsess over the MTA keeping double books.
Speaking of which, the issue was brought up a few times during the presentation. MTA Board Chairman Dale Hemmerdinger stressed the fact that the agency is not carrying double books. He also stressed that the agency is more than willing to showcase their facts & figures so that everyone can get the accurate picture of what is going on. Here is a brief sample of what he said:
We have extraordinary visible finances. If we can find a way to make it more transparent, we’ll do it. Nothing is hidden. No two sets of book. It’s as simple as we can make it.
During the discussion of the potential enactment of the doomsday scenario, it was evident that the board did not want to go through with this plan. Ignoring the fact that this sentiment was echoed verbally repeatedly, the body language seemed to match. The group clearly looked like it was completely forced to do this due to the Senate’s inaction. However a few proposals were made to find a way to lower the severity of the cuts due to bringing in added revenue.
The first proposal called for a 5% reduction (from 15% to 10%) in the bonus given on pay-per-ride MetroCards. They felt by doing this, they could eliminate some of the proposed service cuts. MTA CFO Gary Dellaverson said he would look into it but felt reducing the bonus would not make any headway.
The second proposal called for a 10% hotel occupancy tax for visitors who come to New York City & in one way or another use its services. The example used was of people using the Staten Island Ferry to take pictures of tourist attractions. As part of this proposal, visitors would get a 2 day MetroCard pass. The idea would be that the MTA could get a nice influx of revenue.
I actually think both proposals should be considered as they could provide some economic relief to the agency in one way or another. Will they come to fruition? Who knows, but at this point anything must be considered.
The other highlight or in reality lowlight of the meeting was hearing more financial bad news. Real estate taxes were approximately $123 million below budget year to date. The taxes for March were 66% below budget. For the year, real estate tax proceeds were down 70%. Ridership was down including a 4% drop in the subway. Shall I go on?………
The point is the meeting was bleak, & the overall picture is the same. With the deadline for the “doomsday scenario” vote only a day away, does Albany still think the MTA is bluffing? Do they still think they can hide behind the allegations of non-transparency? The riding public needs to understand that when they start shelling out more for less, they should point to one place, Albany!
xoxo Transit Blogger
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LIRR To Provide Service To Citi Field Opener
This upcoming Sunday, the new Citi Field will hold its inaugural event. The event is a baseball game between Big East rivals St. John’s & Georgetown. The Long Island Rail Road sent me a press release to talk about the service it will provide to this event. Here are the complete details:
The MTA Long Island Rail Road will provide service to the inaugural baseball game, a 1:10 PM start, at Citi Field on Sunday, March 29. The game pits St. John’s University against Big East rival Georgetown University. Parking still remains limited, so taking the train is the best way to go.
The Mets new home, Citi Field, replaced Shea Stadium and Shea Stadium Station was renamed the Mets-Willets Point Station. Service to Mets-Willets Point Station is available on eastbound Port Washington Branch trains from Penn Station and westbound trains from Great Neck and Port Washington.
The train ride is just 18 minutes from Penn Station to Mets-Willets Point Station. For those traveling on the LIRR from Long Island, the Station is just six minutes from Woodside, 16-17 minutes from Great Neck and 27 minutes from Port Washington.
LIRR service to and from Mets-Willets Point Station on March 29 is as follows:
Eastbound: Trains leaving Penn Station half-hourly between 10:19 AM and 7:19 PM.
Westbound: Trains leaving Port Washington half-hourly between 10:10 AM and 7:39 PM.
The following Main Line trains will have added stops at Woodside for this game:
Eastbound: 4:22 PM, 4:37 PM, 4:52 PM, 5:22 PM, 5:37 PM and 5:52 PM.
Westbound: 11:57 AM, 12:00 PM, 12:57 PM, 1:00 PM.
Fans traveling from branches other than Port Washington can reach Mets-Willets Point Station by taking a regularly scheduled train to Woodside Station, then changing to an eastbound Port Washington Branch train.
Since Mets-Willets Point Station is located in Zone 1, tickets to that zone from outlying stations are valid to Mets-Willets Point. However, passengers must retain their ticket stubs and inform ticket collectors of their intention to travel to Mets-Willets Point Station. Customers must hold onto their tickets, which will be collected at the Mets-Willets Point Station after they disembark.
The LIRR’s Mets-Willets Point Station is not handicapped accessible.
The Railroad’s special Family Fare is a great way for future big leaguers to see their favorite team. Children, ages 5 through 11, can ride for only 75-cents each when tickets are purchased at a ticket office or from a ticket machine, during off-peak hours, when accompanied by an adult paying the regular off-peak fare.
Parents with monthly or weekly tickets just pay for the children. Up to four children can travel with each parent (or guardian, 18 or older) at this special rate. The Family Fare is $1 per child if purchased on-board a train. For travel during peak hours, the child fare is one-half the regular one-way fare. Children under 5 ride for free at all times.
I might take this game in on Sunday as I would like to see how the new facility looks. Anything would have been an improvement over Shea Stadium which was the worst stadium in Major League Baseball.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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