MTA To Cutback On Weekend Subway Service
Over the last few months, the main topics of this blog have been transit financing here, doomsday scenario there & everything else in between. Don’t expect this to change with the March 25th date looming so dangerously close. So with that in mind, what would an entry on here be like without some bad news. The MTA has announced that whether or not they get financial help from Albany, riders will be hit with cutbacks on weekend subway service. Pete Donohue of the New York Daily News has more in this report:
The MTA will cut weekend subway service even if it gets a state bailout, officials said Monday.
NYC Transit, the bus and subway division, revealed Monday that gaps between weekend trains on 10 lines will increase from eight minutes or nine minutes to 10 minutes this June – bailout or no bailout.
Some 2 million riders use the affected lines: the A, D, E, F, G, J, M, N, Q and R. The agency says that will save $4.4 million a year.
NYC Transit President Howard Roberts said the adjustment wasn’t triggered by the need to save money but to better manage train traffic through the maze of construction.
“This is something we would have done anyway,” he said.
Andrew Albert, a nonvoting MTA board member, scoffed at that notion and blasted the change. “This is a major service cut for folks,” Albert said. “I think this is a terrible, terrible move.”
NYC Transit said on four lines the 10-minute schedule, if adhered to, would be an improvement to what riders now see because of construction-related woes. Also, the C train, now regularly suspended on weekends, would be able to run.
Click here for the complete report.
Sigh……. the constant barrage of bad news can really wear one out after awhile. The reality is none of this comes as a surprise. We have had to put up with below average weekend service for years. The only reason I did not get as frustrated with it was because most of it was due to construction. I understand that the overnight hours & weekends are the best time to get work done. However knowing that these cuts will be to save money in a way as well just feels like a slap in the face.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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