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$104 Monthly MetroCard Might Be In Our Future

Posted by
on December 12th, 2008 at 3:14 am

Years ago when monthly MetroCard users like myself were getting the best bang for our commuting buck, we would have never thought the day would come that we would have to pay over $100 for a unlimited monthly. However the times have changed & as usual the riders will be forced to shoulder the burden of the cost. The Independent Budget Office (IBO) at the request of the Straphangers Campaign released a report about the MTA’s finances & what the cost would be to riders. The Straphangers Campaign issued a press release to talk about the report:

The NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign today released an analysis of the possible impact of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s troubled finances on subway, bus and commuter fares. The review was conducted by the New York City Independent Budget Office at the request of the Straphangers Campaign.

The IBO forecast that under the MTA’s current financial plan, the base city subway and bus fare could rise to “at least” $2.50 in 2009 from $2.00 currently. The cost of a 30-day unlimited MetroCard could jump to $104 from the current $81 and the 7-day MetroCard could rise to $32 from the current $25.

The MTA’s financial plan calls for a 23% greater yield from revenues coming from the farebox. The IBO calculated that this would in turn require an actual 28% increase in fares including the base fare and all fare discounts. The higher percentage increase calculated by the IBO takes account of likely loss of ridership due to the fare hike.

Unlimited-ride MetroCards account for 50% of all trips, according to the MTA. 32% of trips are taken on 30-day MetroCards; 7-day MetroCards account for 15.5% of all trips.

“Transit fares will go through the roof and service through the floor unless Governor Paterson and state legislative leaders come to the rescue of transit riders,” said Gene Russianoff, staff attorney for the Straphangers Campaign.

Click here for the complete press release.

Click here for the IBO’s initial report to the Straphangers Campaign. (PDF)

Click here for a followup to the Straphangers Campaign by the IBO.

I know a fare hike is coming but the thought of paying over $100 for an unlimited monthly is tough. While the value is still there for a very active commuter, it sure is not a welcome sight considering everything else is going up except the most important thing, income!

xoxo Transit Blogger

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0

MTA Continues To Squander Real Estate Assets

Posted by
on December 11th, 2008 at 11:57 pm

This viewpoint is shared by many including someone who hopes to be the next New York City Comptroller, Brooklyn City Councilman David Yassky. The agency has many real estate assets in its control & has a reputation for letting their potential go to waste whether in terms of use, leasing, or selling.

One of the major assets that many are frustrated with in how the MTA manages it is 370 Jay Street. This property was called a “blight on the face of downtown Brooklyn” by Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz a little under two months ago. Julia Vitullo Martin of the New York Daily News looks at this issue more in this report:

Before the state raises everyone’s taxes to support the bloated Metropolitan Transportation Authority, shouldn’t we first insist that the MTA take advantage of any and all underused real estate that it already owns or controls under long-term leases?

One of Mayor Bloomberg’s most important initiatives in his first term was to direct city agencies to identify and analyze all real estate holdings in order to sell off underdeveloped properties. The idea was to protect neighborhoods from the blight that inevitably accompanies vacant land while letting the city reap real estate’s financial rewards.

Alas, the MTA is not under the mayor’s jurisdiction. Brooklyn City Councilman David Yassky, who estimates that the MTA owns some 14,000 buildings worth more than $1 billion, has repeatedly asked for an accounting of the value and use of these properties. The MTA refuses – even though it has the data. In 2004, it commissioned exactly this analysis from the private consulting groups of CB Richard Ellis and Massey Knakal Realty Services. The information has remained undisclosed.

The Downtown Brooklyn Partnership argues that if the MTA were to net-lease just eight of 370 Jay St.’s 13 floors to a private developer, it would save $100 million while helping revitalize the neighborhood.

Click here for the complete report.

I happen to agree with many who feel that the MTA squanders the potential of its real estate assets. While managing the assets better would not fill the budget deficit by itself, it is just one of many things the MTA could do to help the cause. We know that Albany controls the purse strings & is mainly to blame for the MTA’s finances being in the shape that they are in. However as I have stated many times, the MTA is not completely blameless either.

The agency has never been the role model for sound financial decisions. They continue to preach about the riding public having to help share the burden yet we have to see the complete breakdown of what they are bringing to the table. Instead of recycling the same rhetoric, how about showing what you will do. While you are it, stop squandering the potential of the real estate assets you own!

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1

Buses Come To A Standstill To Honor Edwin Thomas

Posted by
on December 11th, 2008 at 11:35 pm

10 days ago the life of a hard working Brooklyn bus driver came to an unfortunate end at the hands of a heartless bastard. The death brought many to tears from fellow bus drivers to his daily riders, & everyone in between. Family, friends, co-workers, & others showed up this past Monday at his funeral. In a second show of solidarity, the MTA instructed every bus in the city to pull over at midday in a moment of silence. Pete Donohue & Oren Yaniv of the New York Daily News have more on the emotional day:

City buses came to a standstill at noon Monday in honor of slain driver Edwin Thomas just as transit officials pledged at his funeral to improve safety.

Hundreds of bus operators, MTA executives, relatives and friends came to remember the popular driver inside a modest Queens church.

“The legacy of Edwin Thomas will be a more secure and safe environment for bus drivers in this city,” president of NYC Transit Howard Roberts said to applause.

The overflowing crowd later lined up outside the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Cambria Heights to salute Thomas’ coffin, which was trailed by a bus draped with bunting.

In another show of solidarity, every bus in the city was instructed to pull over at midday for a moment of silence. There are typically about 5,000 buses on the road at that time.

Thomas, 46, was driving a B46 bus last Monday when fare-beater Horace Moore, 20, allegedly fatally stabbed him when the operator refused to give him a free $2 transfer.

The first murder of a city bus driver since 1981 took place on the route with the most fare evasions.

Click here for the complete report.

I would like to once again offer my condolences to the friends, family, & co-workers of Edwin Thomas who met an unfortunate & unnecessary end ro his life. I applaud the MTA’s decision to have a moment of silence to honor Edwin. I am sure he smiled at that gesture.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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LIRR To Provide Extra Trains For Christmas Holiday Weekend

Posted by
on December 11th, 2008 at 4:59 pm

Earlier this afternoon, the Long Island Rail Road sent out a press release via e-mail to announce extra train service for the Christmas holiday weekend. Here are the complete details:

The MTA Long Island Rail Road is the best way to travel this coming Christmas Holiday weekend if you can’t hitch a ride on Santa’s sleigh. For customers leaving early for the holiday weekend, there will be 13 extra trains departing Penn Station on Christmas Eve (Wednesday, December 24) between 12:55 PM and 3:48 PM. In addition, off-peak fares will be in effect for the entire weekend (December 25 through December 28).

The special Family Fare program will also be in effect this long weekend where up to four children ages 5-11 can ride for the advance purchase fare of 75-cents each when accompanied by fare-paying parent or guardian. Weekly and monthly ticket holders just pay for the kids. Children under 5 ride free.

The extra service for Wednesday, December 24 is as follows:

Ronkonkoma Branch:

• 12:55 PM stopping at Woodside, Jamaica, Mineola, Hicksville and all stops to Ronkonkoma

• 1:55 PM stopping at Woodside, Jamaica, Mineola, Hicksville and all stops to Ronkonkoma

———-

Babylon Branch:

• 1:30 PM express to Rockville Centre, then all stops to Babylon

• 1:52 PM stopping at Jamaica, Rockville Centre, then all stops to Babylon

• 2:12 PM express to Rockville Centre, then all stops to Babylon

• 2:22 PM express to Lynbrook, then all stops to Babylon

• 3:00 PM stopping at Jamaica, Rockville Centre, then all stops to Babylon

• 3:31 PM express to Rockville Centre, then all stops to Babylon

The 5:59 PM from Penn Station to Babylon will not operate on Christmas Eve. Customers will be accommodated by the 6:05 PM from Penn Station, which will make all stops from Merrick to Babylon on Christmas Eve.

———-

Port Jefferson Branch (to Huntington):

• 2:09 PM stopping at Jamaica, Carle Place, then all stops to Huntington

• 2:26 PM stopping at Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Jamaica, New Hyde Park, then all stops to Huntington

• 3:24 PM stopping at Jamaica, Mineola, Westbury, Hicksville

———-

Port Washington Branch (to Great Neck):

• 3:40 PM stopping at Woodside, Flushing, then all stops to Great Neck

———-

Far Rockaway Branch:

• 3:48 PM stopping at Locust Manor, Laurelton, Rosedale, Valley Stream, then all stops to Far Rockaway

The LIRR will operate on a weekend/holiday schedule Christmas Day (December 25). A weekday schedule will be in effect on Friday, December 26, but off-peak fares will be offered all day.

New LIRR timetables effective December 15, 2008 – March 1, 2009 are available at stations and terminals and on the LIRR website. The schedules highlight the extra trains for the Christmas and New Years holidays.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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MTA Statement On New Talking Kiosk

Posted by
on December 9th, 2008 at 3:23 pm

Yesterday afternoon I shared news the MTA sent out about the debut of a new talking kiosk for the visually impaired at Penn Station. Earlier this morning the agency held a ribbon cutting ceremony to debut the new kiosk & hours later have released a statement on today’s ceremony:

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and MTA Long Island Rail Road today unveiled a “talking kiosk” to help visually impaired and other customers navigate the concourses, passageways and platforms of Pennsylvania Station. The kiosk features a touch-activated, tactile map of the station, vivid visual displays for the partially sighted, and a voice designed for phonetic clarity. As a customer touches different parts of the map, the kiosk describes the corresponding location and gives directions of how to get there. It also offers general information about Penn Station and the Long Island Rail Road.

The kiosk is the second permanent talking kiosk located on the Long Island Rail Road concourse. The new version has expanded functionality and an improved user interface, a smaller size and a convenient wall-mounted position. It costs $23,000, or less than half the cost of the previous model, which was removed earlier this year.

“The installation of this kiosk is just one of the many ways we are making transit more accessible to our disabled customers,” said Elliot G. Sander, Executive Director and CEO of the MTA. “And while it is designed with visually impaired customers in mind, this kiosk is useful for anybody who is unfamiliar with Penn Station.”

“At the Long Island Rail Road, we understand that access to public transportation is a key to independence, employment and full community participation for people with disabilities,” said LIRR President Helena Williams. “The talking kiosk is just part of the effort the LIRR is making to increase accessibility for customers with disabilities, including those who are blind or have visual impairments. We are working hard to ensure that our facilities are accessible and that individuals with disabilities can safely board, ride and exit our trains. Our goal is to make people with disabilities comfortable riding the LIRR.”

The kiosk is located in the Long Island Rail Road’s main concourse, between the entrances to Tracks 14 and 15. To help visually impaired customers find the kiosk, the kiosk emits the song of the lark sparrow (Chondestes grammacus), a bird species native to the American West that is found by audiologists to have a unique set of phonetic properties that make it most effective at assisting in directional wayfinding.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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