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MTA Revokes Travel Perks

Posted by
on June 25th, 2008 at 2:57 pm

As expected, the Metrpolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) voted to revoke the free travel perks to current & past board members at today’s board meeting. The new policy strips all former board members of their free E-Z Pass tags, MetroCards, & railroad passes. Current members will still receive these items but with restrictions which state they can only be used on official MTA business trips.

While this is all fine & good, are they going to actively monitor the use of these perks? I am sure that we will see an increase in official MTA business trips now which would defeat the purpose of this new policy. I feel an independent review board should oversee the usage & report their findings. For any board memeber caught abusing the perks, should be forced to reimburse the MTA for the non-business trips made.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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MTA Board
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E-Z Pass Scandal Should Calm Down

Posted by
on June 25th, 2008 at 12:34 am

Later this morning the MTA Board will hold their scheduled meeting at their headquarters. Many items are on the agenda but the one I will discuss in this entry is the vote that will hopefully bring an end or at least calm down the E-Z Pass scandal that has been big news lately. The board is expected to approve the action of revoking free E-Z Pass tags to former board members. As far as current board members are concerned, the use of the tags will be limited to trips for official business.

I sincerely hope measures are put in place to track which members use their tags properly & whic ones abuse it. We shall see………….

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Bus Riders Still Skeptical

Posted by
on June 24th, 2008 at 8:15 pm

Jess Wisloski of the New York Daily News has a report up about the frustration of bus riders who aired their gripes at the annual town hall meeting with MTA officials. Here is her report:

Bus riders in Queens showed up in force last week at the annual town hall hearing on the quality of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority‘s bus services.

Gripes about rude drivers, delays, accessibility problems and a dysfunctional complaint hotline surfaced among the 70 attendees. But bus officials offered a glimmer of hope for weary riders.

The consolidation of three bus operations may improve service with streamlined leadership under one organization, MTA officials said.

Instead of NYC Transit, MTA Bus and Long Island Bus operating independently, all three will now be operated by Regional Bus Operations.

MTA officials said they hope the consolidation will better accommodate a growing ridership, which the MTA said was 5.4 million higher in April compared with the year before, when ridership was about 71 million.

Officials at the June 18 Borough Hall meeting said the move would lead to continued route growth.

More than a dozen transit officials sat facing the cramped roomful of riders, who took turns voicing concerns.

Norman Silverman, vice president of MTA operations and planning, promised route expansions and schedule improvements in coming months. Joseph Smith, a senior vice president who oversees the new consolidated bus company, took notes of all bus route complaints.

But riders like Julia Nordlund of Jamaica were skeptical. She complained about the phenomenon of “piggy-backing” – when one late, full bus is tailed or passed by one or more empty buses.

“I wish I could say it would help. But if anything, I’m afraid it will do more damage,” she said of the consolidation. “They will have one single, austere body in charge. They can be that much more remote from the ridership.”

The new, consolidated customer service hotline – (718) 330-1234 – which went live in April, directs complaints to the MTA.

I hope the consolidation would lead to better results. While it has its drawbacks, I think it is the right thing to do at this time. The main thing is we need strong & efficient leadership at the top as anything less will lead to chaos across the board.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Buses To Replace Trains On Port Jervis Line Again

Posted by
on June 24th, 2008 at 4:09 pm

Last week I posted about construction would have buses replace trains on the Port Jervis line for a few stops. I read somewhere that the work was canceled although no release was ever put out about it. Either way the Metro-North has issued a press release about the same construction project taking place this upcoming weekend. Here is the press release courtesy of the MTA:

Track improvement work on the Port Jervis line this weekend will mean bus substitution for MTA Metro-North Railroad customers at three stations, Middletown, Otisville and Port Jervis.

To allow track workers to replace the rail and ties in the mile-long, single-track Otisville Tunnel, the track will be taken out of service beginning at 12:15 a.m. Saturday, June 28, 2008 after the 12:08 a.m. arrival at Otisville. That train, the 9:55 p.m. Friday departure from Hoboken, will continue to the end of the line at Port Jervis, arriving at 12:27 a.m.

The last train out of Hoboken Saturday night/Sunday morning, departing at 12:05 a.m. will be bused from Middletown to the end of the line.

Normal service will resume on Sunday, June 29 beginning with the 6:15 p.m. from Hoboken, due Port Jervis at 8:25 p.m.

During the 44-hour track outage, all Port Jervis Line trains will originate or terminate at Middletown. Port Jervis and Otisville customers, about 80 people each weekend day, can take a bus to Middletown to board a train. For the return trip, they will get off the train at Middletown and take a bus back to Otisville or Port Jervis.

Metro-North regrets the inconvenience while this important work is done.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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2, 5, B, & D Service Alert

Posted by
on June 24th, 2008 at 3:55 pm

The MTA has posted service alerts regarding service on the , , , & trains. The service alerts state:

Due to signal problems at the East 180th Street Station, please expect delays in and train service.

Also, due to ongoing signal problems at the 7th Avenue Station in Manhattan, please expect delays in and train service at this time.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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