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Buses To Replace Trains On Port Washington Line This Weekend

Posted by
on July 31st, 2008 at 2:28 pm

Later today the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) division of the MTA will post a press release on their site about weekend changes on the Port Washington line. Here are the details:

Track and drainage work being performed between Great Neck and Port Washington on the MTA Long Island Rail Road’s Port Washington Branch will mean no train service between Great Neck and Port Washington this weekend, August 2-3. Buses will be substituted for trains between 12:49 AM, Saturday and 12:30 AM Sunday.

Eastbound:

Customers traveling to Manhasset, Plandome and Port Washington Stations will board buses or vans at Great Neck to complete their trips. Customers should anticipate increased travel time of up to 25 minutes.

Westbound:
Customers traveling from Port Washington, Plandome and Manhasset Stations will board buses or vans at their stations and transfer to trains at Great Neck to complete their trips. Customers should anticipate increased travel time of up to 30 minutes. The 11:40 PM, 1:40 AM and 3:40 AM buses and vans on Saturday and Sunday and the 12:40 AM bus on Sunday will depart 25 minutes earlier than the regularly scheduled train time.

August 16-17:

August 16-17 is the final weekend of this track program. A substitute bus program as described above will also be in effect.

Customers should pick up a copy of the special Port Washington Branch track work timetable at their stations or at all terminals. For additional information, customers may contact the LIRR’s 24-hour Travel Information Center in Nassau County at 516-822-LIRR, or in New York City at 718-217-LIRR. The Travel Information Center’s TDD telephone number for the hearing impaired is 718-558-3022. Customers may also consult the LIRR’s website at www.mta.info

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Straphangers Release 2008 Subway Report Card

Posted by
on July 30th, 2008 at 3:01 am

Once again that time of year is here where the Straphangers Campaign releases their annual subway report card. This was the second report released on Tuesday which I mentioned in my previous thread. Now if you recall last year, the 1 train was rated the best line in the system. Unfortunately for the 1 Train train & its legion of fans (if such exist), they were unsuccessful in defending their crown. The winner & the new Straphangers Subway Report Card Champion is the L Train train!

Here are a few samples from the Straphangers’ report:

The best subway line in the city is the L with a MetroCard Rating of $1.40. The L ranked highest because it performs best in the system on two measures—regularity of service and announcements—and well above average on three other measures: frequency of scheduled service, delays caused by mechanical breakdowns and the percentage of dirty cars. The line did not get a higher rating because it performed well below average on: a chance of getting a seat during rush hour. The L runs between 14th Street/Eighth Avenue in Manhattan and Canarsie in Brooklyn. The previous top-rated line—the 1—dropped to a fourth-place tie.

The W was ranked the worst subway line, with a MetroCard Rating of 70 cents. The W line has a low level of scheduled service and performs below average on four other measures: regularity of service, car breakdowns, car cleanliness and announcements. The W did not receive a lower rating because it performed above average on: a chance of getting a seat during rush hour. The W line operates between Whitehall Street in lower Manhattan and Astoria, Queens. In last year’s survey, the W tied for the worst line with the C.

Breakdowns: Cars on the Q had the best record on delays caused by car mechanical failures: once every 342,711 miles. Cars on the G line had the worst, experiencing breakdown delays more than five times as often: once every 67,044 miles.

Regularity of service: The L and the J/Z lines had the greatest regularity of service, arriving within two to four minutes of its scheduled interval 92% of the time. The most irregular line is the 4, which performed with regularity only 78% of the time.

Now here is a listing of the lines in Metrocard value from best (L) to worst (W):

    L: $1.40
    7: $1.30
    Q: $1.25
    1: $1.20
    6: $1.20
    5: $1.15
    J&Z: $1.15
    A: $1.10
    2: $1.05
    3: $1.05
    4: $1.05
    N: $1.05
    D: $1.00
    E: $1.00
    F: $1.00
    R: $1.00
    V: $0.90
    B: $0.80
    C: $0.80
    M: $0.75
    W: $0.70

Click here to view the summary report.

Click here to view the complete report in .pdf format.

Now before you start e-mailing me asking why I forgot to include the G’s Metrocard rating in the list, please know I did not forget. The report did not give a rating to the G due to not having access to reliable crowding data for the line. Should I be surprised that the forgotten stepchild would be left out of something even if it was bad? I feel sorry for those who depend on the most severely unappreciated line in the system. However let me not go there right now….

Just like last year, I am calling bullshit on this line being rated the best. The line obviously scored well due to using a newer fleet of cars & having service run pretty frequently. However did they ask the majority of L riders if they would agree with their findings? Many L riders I know constantly complain about gaps in service at the most random times. When trains do arrive, they are usually packed like sardines & provide a very uncomfortable ride from “Point A” to “Point B”.

While I am not expecting perfect conditions every time I or anyone else ride the L (or any line for that matter), it would be nice to not be packed in like sardines for a majority of our rides. I do not ride the L on a daily basis but I do ride it often. The majority of times I ride the L, I find myself either having a long wait for unknown reasons or deal with a packed train. Quite frankly it feels like I deal with both fronts on the majority of my rides. This is not a line I would consider to be tops in the system.

On the opposite end of the spectrum we find the W Train which rated as the worst line in the system on the report cards. I feel sorry for the line as it along with all the other lines is unfairly graded with such an unscientific manor. One of the main concerns with the report is how they rate the W with the worst performance of a stand-alone line yet in reality it never is an actual stand-alone line. I support the campaign’s effort but If they won’t accurately gauge lines as how they really are, what is the point to undertaking this entire process?

In the end no matter how accurate you consider the report, one thing is for sure. The system needs major improvements across the board & it is up to the riders, politicians, & MTA itself to make sure we do all we can get to bring our transit infrastructure up to the standards we all deserve.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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1

New Report Highlights What I & Others Already Knew

Posted by
on July 30th, 2008 at 2:01 am

The string of bad publicity for the MTA continues as two separate reports came out detailing either service or system condition issues. In this entry I will talk about the first report which focused on system conditions. The report was co-sponsored by State Assemblyman Dov Hikind & Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer.

The report’s initial idea came about to two incidents with the first coming in January involving a 14 year old boy who fell onto the tracks at a Kings Highway station in Brooklyn after part of the platform beneath him collapsed. The second incident occurred at a MTA meeting in February when NYC Transit President Howard Roberts responded to Mr. Hikind’s concerns. Mr. Hikind did not care for the response which led to the birth of the idea for this report.

I have read the entire 9 page report & I must say the results are not surprising although they are disturbing. Here is a small sample of different parts of the report:

Of the ninety-one stations inspected, fifty-seven of them (63% overall) had conditions that represented a significant safety hazard for riders. The conditions documented at stations included cracks in the platform, loose rubbing boards, cracked stairwells, gaps between subway doors and platform, missing sections of platform edge, loose ceiling panels, raised metal and wood plates, eroding cement and other hazardous conditions.

Stations that scored the worst safety ratings were in Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan. In Brooklyn, the Avenue J, Avenue M and Kings Highway stations of the B and Q Line were given failing grades due to the conditions of the platforms on both the Manhattan and Brooklyn bound sides. The Avenue J station was also given a failing grade in cleanliness category due to the prevalence of full garbage bags on the platform on multiple inspection dates.

In Manhattan, at the 57th Street station of the F line, surveyors encountered widespread erosion throughout the station. The platform edges throughout the station on both the uptown and downtown sides were cracked, not properly connected and in terrible condition overall. Surveyors witnessed a number of homeless individuals sleeping on the mezzanine level as well. The West 4th station of the B/D/F/V lines was also ranked lowest due to similar platform conditions including a segment of rubbing board that was detached from the platform edge and was liable to crack at any time.

In Manhattan, at the 57th Street station of the F line, surveyors encountered widespread erosion throughout the station. The platform edges throughout the station on both the uptown and downtown sides were cracked, not properly connected and in terrible condition overall. Surveyors witnessed a number of homeless individuals sleeping on the mezzanine level as well. The West 4th station of the B/D/F/V lines was also ranked lowest due to similar platform conditions including a segment of rubbing board that was detached from the platform edge and was liable to crack at any time.

Click here to view the entire report.

As I said the results are not surprising yet disturbing at the same time. This is the current state of our system & I don’t want to hear about finances being the only reason for it being this way. When times were going great, where was the MTA in fixing these issues? They as usual only patched up stations here & there instead of properly maintaining each one as if they were as important as the stop before or after it.

This is the system we will most likely be paying even more for starting in 2009. I wonder if doubling the fare is still seen as a good idea…..

xoxo Transit Blogger

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0

Maybe Another Time

Posted by
on July 30th, 2008 at 1:22 am

For years commuters have felt no one on the MTA Board truly understands what they go through on a fairly regular basis when riding any part of the current transit system. Within that same period some have called on current & past political leaders to consider adding a working class commuter to the MTA Board. The idea continues to float around as the Long Island Rail Road Commuters Council recently wrote a letter to Gov. Patterson to consider such an appointment. New York Daily News transit reporter Pete Donohue has the story:

An MTA advisory panel has floated a novel idea to Gov. Paterson: Appoint regular rail riders to the board.

“There are quite a few [current board members] who don’t ride mass transit on a regular basis,” said Gerard Bringmann, chairman of the Long Island Rail Road Commuter’s Council.

Bringmann said the group wants Paterson to appoint “someone who feels our pain and is in the trenches with us; someone who knows what it’s like to be on a train without air conditioning or on a platform where messages are garbled or nonexistent.”

The council, part of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, expressed its view in a letter to Paterson, who must fill a vacancy caused by the death of Frances Powers. The missive was prompted by recent comments by David Mack, chairman of the MTA’s Long Island Rail Road committee, who said he rides the train a handful of times a year – and only because he doesn’t have to pay.

MTA divisions are currently preparing their preliminary 2009 spending plans amid high fuel costs and declining tax revenues. The reports include how the various divisions will meet a prior directive to cut spending by 6% over four years, starting next year when savings must total about $80 million.

The idea seems like a good one in principal due to the gap between leadership & the people it serves. History has shown that MTA Board members are so out of touch with everyday commuters, it is no wonder they do not know how to manage/maintain a system needed by said commuters. However with saying that, a legitimate concern does get ousted into the spotlight if such an appointment was to be made.

As great of an idea as this might be, can an everyday commuter really capable of doing the job? Anytime commuters hear about a fare hike, they immediately blame the MTA & how it is ridiculous that their fare payments do not cover all the costs. While in simple terms it might make sense to look at it from that angle, in reality we know there is more to the MTA’s finances beyond fare collection. Fare collection has never been the backbone of the agency’s income. If it was, it would be impossible to have the service in place that they do now.

I seriously question if an everyday commuter would be able to understand all the pieces that make up the MTA from top to bottom. They are just commuters who only know about the system they use & not all the policies in place that run it from behind the scenes. Unfortunately now is not the time to place an amateur in such a high position. It would truly be like throwing a fresh piece of meat into a lion’s cage as it would be devoured within seconds. Maybe when things are more in order can such an idea be seriously looked into.

If anything I would suggest for now, they consider a panel of educated riders who know enough about the system & how it works to come together & pitch possible ideas. Add in a mix of transit advocates to the mix & we could see something good come out of it.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Not The Time For This Bloomberg

Posted by
on July 29th, 2008 at 11:31 pm

Over the last week or so Mayor Bloomberg has shared his feelings about the MTA’s lack of fiscal responsibility. However in the midst of these feelings came a suggestion to give raises to current MTA engineers as they do not get paid enough. Kathleen Lucadamo of the New York Daily News filed the report:

Mayor Bloomberg favors trimming MTA spending, but Friday he called for the cash-starved agency to give workers a raise.

“The people who work for the MTA, we don’t pay them enough,” Bloomberg declared on WOR radio.

The mayor blamed construction cost overruns, in part, on underpaid engineers who have to haggle with their higher paid, and presumably, more experienced counterparts.

“If you want to have the best engineers to negotiate with the best engineers in the construction company, you are going to have to pay comparable salaries,” he said.

An MTA spokesman agreed that modest pay makes hiring tough, but stopped short of supporting raises.

“We certainly agree that it is a challenge in the public sector to attract the best talent when you have limited resources, but I think we have an extremely talented group of engineers and planners at our capital construction company,” MTA spokesman Jeremy Soffin said.

“We work as hard as we can to make those jobs appealing, but obviously we are limited by being in the public sector.”

Bloomberg’s comments came a day after he scolded the state-run MTA for proposing two fare hikes without finding alternative revenue or cutting its budget by 1.5%.

The MTA has called for an 8% fare hike next July and another 5% jump in 2011 to close a $700 million shortfall.

I understand the thought process of Mayor Bloomberg in terms of the never ending public vs private sector earnings war. However at a time when the MTA’s finances are in shambles, I find it fiscally irresponsible to even suggest raises for any employee. I would think of all people such a strong businessman such as Bloomberg would understand how now is not the time for this. Maybe he should practice what he preaches before coming down on the MTA for their fiscal irresponsibility. While he is at it, he could stop diverting from one of the real culprits here, the inadequate funding from the city towards its transit infrastructure.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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