Transit

June 30, 2017

Four architecture teams envision NYC’s driverless transit future

With NYC residents owning fewer personal vehicles than any other city in the U.S., it’s no surprise that it may soon become a major hub for autonomous transportation. To ensure the future efficiency of driverless vehicles in such a densely populated area, Blank Space and the City of New York created a Driverless Future Challenge to solicit visions for the future of autonomous transit. According to Archinect, participants from over 25 countries sent proposals, which have now been narrowed down to four finalists. Their ideas include a plug-and-play public square, curbside pickup system, a rideshare platform for the outer boroughs, and a local food delivery service.
Find our more about each proposal and watch the project videos

June 29, 2017

Cuomo declares a ‘state of emergency’ for the NYC subway, gives MTA $1B for repairs

By Devin Gannon

During a press conference Thursday, Governor Cuomo declared a state of emergency for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and announced that he would sign an executive order to expedite the process of fixing the system. The governor’s announcement comes just two days after a subway train derailed at 125th Street, injuring over 30 people. His plan includes committing an additional $1 billion in the MTA’s capital plan and reviewing the system’s decades-old equipment.
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June 28, 2017

Overcrowding and ‘dwell time’ are why NYC’s subway system is failing

By Devin Gannon

It seems every day brings New Yorkers new subway drama, train delays and disappointment. While this week's A-train derailment, which injured dozens of people, is being blamed on human error, not a track defect, the system is still over 100-years old. And despite its signals and tracks in need of a definite upgrade, the biggest cause of subway delays is overcrowding. According to the New York Times, overcrowding now accounts for more than one-third of the nearly 75,000 subway delays across the system each month.
Learn more here

Transit

June 28, 2017

17-stop outer borough light rail proposed as a NYC subway alternative

By Diane Pham

While pols and officials twiddle their thumbs and shift blame for the subway system's current state of chaos, the Regional Planning Association (RPA) and Rockefeller Foundation are actively looking for long-term solutions to help ease the city's transportation woes. As first shared by DNA Info, earlier this year the two organizations put out a design competition asking participants to develop proposals that could transform various areas of the New York metropolitan region. Four ideas were awarded $45,000 by the RPA and Rockefeller, one of which included a transportation alternative that would exclusively serve the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn.
more details here

Transit

In the 20th century, the subway system used professional sniffers to keep New Yorkers safe

Image © 6sqft

June 27, 2017

In the 20th century, the subway system used professional sniffers to keep New Yorkers safe

By Devin Gannon

Image © 6sqft The city's subways of today have machines that can test air samples and look for potentially dangerous gas build-up or biological and chemical agents. However, before such technology was invented, the city hired James “Smelly” Kelly to walk the tracks using just his nose and a few homemade inventions, to find and report any leaks or hazardous smells. As Atlas Obscura discovered, Kelly and his team would walk underground for allegedly ten miles of track each day, and by the end of his career, it is said Kelly walked over 100,000 miles of track.
Find out more

June 27, 2017

Recent breakdown spurs demand for better subway escape plans

By Michelle Cohen

After experiencing a big dose of the NYC “train pain” that seems to be reaching epidemic proprtions lately, subway passenger Michael Sciaraffo has launched a campaign against the MTA for what he feels are lousy safety standards. After being “trapped on a sweltering F train" that got stuck in a tunnel during a recent “colossal breakdown,” Sciaraffo was mad enough to demand that straphangers be provided with a better protocol for escaping to safety in the event of a mass emergency. The city's already-strained subway system moved 5.6 million passengers a week 2016, leading to a reported 70,000 delays per month over the last five years according to NBC New York.
So how do we get out of this thing?

June 21, 2017

LIRR will offer discounted fares for riders using Atlantic Terminal and Hunters Point Avenue

By Devin Gannon

This week, Governor Cuomo called on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to provide Long Island Rail Road riders a discounted fare for “enduring the inconvenience of a disrupted commute.” In response, the MTA said on Tuesday that the LIRR will offer fare discounts to commuters during Penn Station’s major repairs set to begin this July. The discount will average roughly 25 percent for those traveling to Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn and Hunters Point Avenue in Queens. Plus, according to Crain’s, commuters will receive free morning rush hour subway transfers from those two stations. Starting this week, discounted monthly tickets can be purchased at station vending machines.
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June 20, 2017

MTA dismisses idea to extend G train into Manhattan during L train shutdown

By Devin Gannon

Republican mayoral candidate, Paul Massey, unveiled a transit infrastructure plan Monday, that included an idea to create a G train loop that would travel to Manhattan to help commuters during the 15 month-L train shutdown next year. Although little details have been revealed, his plan would presumably travel through Midtown on the F train route, loop back into Queens on routes used by the M and R train and then reconnect with the G at the Court Square stop in Long Island City. While a notable idea, according to Crain’s the MTA looked over Massey’s plan and said its implementation would be impossible.
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June 15, 2017

Overcrowded NYC Ferry needs more boats to keep up with demand

By Devin Gannon

As 6sqft covered last month, the city’s ferry service, which launched May 1, has been so popular that frustrated passengers often face delays, long lines and overcrowding when trying to board. While officials had anticipated demand on the weekends for the NYC Ferry to be high, they did not expect how much this demand would “outstrip supply,” as the New York Times reported. To meet demand, the city will charter two extra boats that will carry 400 people to serve the summer weekend crowds.
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Transit

MTA finally details its plan to deal with Penn Station repairs

Image by Kev Harb via flickr

June 13, 2017

MTA finally details its plan to deal with Penn Station repairs

By Devin Gannon

Image by Kev Harb via flickrWith six weeks of infrastructure repairs at Penn Station beginning in July, the “summer of hell” for commuters is quickly approaching. In response, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has finally announced its plan to deal with Amtrak’s plan to close some of the station’s 21 tracks for renovations. As Crain’s reported, the MTA will shift three nighttime trains to rush hour and add about 36 cars, while also offering transit alternatives like ferry and bus services. The shutdown will force the MTA to cancel or divert 15-weekday trains between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m., affecting nearly 9,600 LIRR morning commuters, set to begin July 10.
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Despite recent concerns, Transport Workers Union endorses BQX streetcar

By Dana Schulz

When a leaked memo about the Brooklyn Queens Connector (BQX) surfaced a couple months ago, it painted a less-than-optimistic picture of the proposed $2.5 billion streetcar due to major construction challenges and doubts that Mayor de Blasio's plan to self-fund the project through taxes from higher real estate values would pan out. Despite these concerns, however, the Transport Workers Union Local 100 endorsed the 16-mile streetcar project today, according to a press release from Friends of the Brooklyn Queens Connector.
All the info right this way

De Blasio denies funding half-priced MetroCards for low-income New Yorkers

Image by Ged Carroll via flickr CC

June 8, 2017

De Blasio denies funding half-priced MetroCards for low-income New Yorkers

By Devin Gannon

Despite months of lobbying efforts by transit advocates and public officials, Mayor de Blasio declined to fund a $50 million program for half-price MetroCards for low-income riders. The mayor has previously said the city could not afford the pilot program, and also shifted the responsibility for funding the program to the state, since Governor Cuomo oversees the MTA. As the Gothamist reported, a study released by the Community Service Society of New York and the Riders Alliance, the NYPD arrested 5,137 New Yorkers for fare evasion between January and mid-March of this year, 90 percent of whom were black or Latino.
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The MTA considers a ‘car-free busway’ as L-train alternative

L train via Wiki Commons

June 7, 2017

The MTA considers a ‘car-free busway’ as L-train alternative

By Devin Gannon

L train via Wiki Commons To mitigate the nightmare commuters will face during the 15-month L-train shutdown, the MTA and the Department of Transportation presented four possible alternatives that would make a portion of 14th Street a car-free busway. Streetsblog NYC reported that during a Manhattan Community Board 6 meeting on Monday, the agencies laid out the following options: a standard Select Bus Service (SBS) along 14th Street, enhanced SBS that includes turn and curb restrictions, a car-free busway in the middle lanes along 14th and a river-to-river car-free busway. Agency officials predict between 75 and 85 percent of the daily 275,000 daily L riders will use other subway lines, with bus service possibly absorbing between 5-15 percent of displaced trips.
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June 6, 2017

7,000 yellow cabs will offer pooled rides through mobile app Via

By Dana Schulz

Starting today, 7,000 yellow cabs will begin offering pooled rides in Manhattan through a collaboration with the mobile ridesharing app Via. Despite the fact that the app is technically a competitor, the taxi industry hopes it will increase drivers' earnings, as they'll spend less time searching for fares and will keep the tips from all riders, as well as increase ridership since passengers will receive discounts of up to 40 percent.
All the details

Transit

June 6, 2017

Is the C train the root of the NYC’s subway problems?

By Diane Pham

There's plenty of blame to go around when it comes to the chronic failures of the NYC subway system, from the lack of funds to the lack of leadership. But now the latest piece of the MTA to get finger wag is not a person or a line in the budget, but the system's C line. As the Times reports, C trains, the oldest and most break down-prone cars in the system, can many times be traced back to as the cause of system-wide failures. Breaking down roughly every 33,527 miles—as opposed to 400,000 miles for the average car, or 700,000 miles for new cars—when C line cars see delays, pangs can be felt throughout the entire network, making everyone's commute increasingly miserable.
so what's being done?

Transit

$2.75 congestion fee proposed for cars entering Manhattan south of 60th Street

Image via Pexels

June 5, 2017

$2.75 congestion fee proposed for cars entering Manhattan south of 60th Street

By Michelle Cohen

Image via Pexels Advocacy group Move NY has suggested that the city impose a congestion charge on motorists driving on Manhattan's most crowded streets. Similar proposals haven't fared well in the state legislature–but the group cites a 1957 state law that says cities with a population of over a million can toll their own roadways and bridges. The Wall Street Journal reports that Move NY will offer the City Council's transportation committee a new proposal today under which the city would impose a $2.75 charge on automobiles entering Manhattan's central business district below 60th Street. The fee for trucks would be higher; for-hire vehicles including taxis would pay a congestion surcharge based on trips within the zone.
Find out more

Transit

May 31, 2017

Cuomo approves New York’s first application to test driverless cars on public roads

By Diane Pham

Governor Cuomo continues his push to improve and modernize transit across the state, announcing today that the first application for an autonomous vehicle demonstration on New York public roads has been approved. As shared in a press release, Audi of America Inc. was given the green light and will begin demonstrations this summer. The upcoming tests will be the first ever made in New York history and will be conducted on roads near the state capital, Albany.
more details here

Transit

May 30, 2017

With delays and long lines, some New Yorkers are frustrated with new ferry service

By Devin Gannon

Mayor de Blasio’s citywide ferry service initiative, which launched May 1, was meant to provide commuters with an alternative to the problem-plagued subway. However, just under a month after the city launched the NYC Ferry service, passengers have faced delays, long lines, and overcrowding. As the New York Times reports, the ferry service transported roughly 26,000 passengers in total this past holiday weekend, with the East River Route carrying more than 9,600 people each day. In response to high demand, an extra three boats were put into service.
Find out more

Transit

Ahead of L train shutdown, developers flock to properties along G, J, M and Z lines

G Train at Court Square via Wikipedia

May 26, 2017

Ahead of L train shutdown, developers flock to properties along G, J, M and Z lines

By Devin Gannon

In response to the looming 15th-month L train shutdown, which will affect its nearly 225,000 daily riders beginning April 2019, real estate developers have started looking at Williamsburg’s hip and slightly cheaper neighbors, Greenpoint and South Williamsburg. Both areas sit nearby the G, J, M and Z trains, and in the past have offered a variety of housing options at cheaper prices. According to the New York Times, as developers begin their plunge into Greenpoint, sites along these train lines have become pricier and more difficult to lock down.
Find out more

May 25, 2017

Despite revised capital plan, MTA does not increase spending for subway improvements

By Devin Gannon

While just a few days ago Governor Cuomo announced his “aggressive” action plan to combat the chronic problems of the city’s subway service, the MTA’s new version of its capital plan released Wednesday shows barely any increase in spending for system improvements. As the New York Times reported, the agency increased its current five-year capital plan from $29.5 billion to $32.5 billion, adding $1.6 billion in debt. However, instead of allocating funds for subway service improvements, spending instead will go towards projects seen as priorities for Cuomo, like electronic tolling at bridges and the next phase of the Second Avenue Subway.
Find out more

Image via Alan Bloom/Flickr

May 24, 2017

Governor Cuomo and the MTA announce a competition to fix the NYC subway system

By Devin Gannon

Image via Alan Bloom/Flickr Seeking innovative solutions to fix the mess that is the New York City transit system, Governor Cuomo on Tuesday launched a competition called the “MTA Genius Transit Challenge.” Just one of the governor’s recently proposed ideas to fix the subway, the international competition challenges participants to develop ideas for better signaling, new car designs, and WiFi throughout the system, including in tunnels. The winner of each category will receive $1 million and a possible contract deal with the state. In addition to the challenge, Cuomo announced he has created a Penn Station Task Force to devise alternative transportation solutions during Amtrak’s track work at the station this summer.
Find out more

May 23, 2017

The ‘map distance’ vs. the ‘geographic distance’ of the NYC subway

By Diane Pham

The NYC subway map tidily lays out over 665 miles of track and 472 stations into a simple, easy-to-read design. While the map gives the impression that our fair city's transit system is orderly and evenly spaced, as any true straphanger will tell you, that's not the reality. Indeed, those colorful lines and nodes have been placed for maximum legibility, simply showing geographical approximations that often don't even kind of match up with real life (as this man will tell you). Now, one redditor brings us an entrancing new animation that removes the MTA's distortion, giving us a look at the real distance that exists between stations and lines.
mor here

Transit

May 23, 2017

Second Avenue Subway ridership continues to grow; MTA to add more trains

By Dana Schulz

Just a month after opening on the first of the year, the Second Avenue Subway had eased congestion on the Lexington line by 11 percent. Now, nearly five months in, that figure has more than doubled, with ridership on the 4/5/6 decreased by 26 percent and a whopping 40 percent during peak morning hours. Moreover, Second Avenue's average weekday ridership is up from 140,000 to 176,000 passengers, an increase which has prompted the MTA to add two additional train trips during rush hour come this November.
Find out more

Transit

May 22, 2017

Governor Cuomo asks Trump for emergency assistance during Penn Station repairs

By Devin Gannon

As his administration finalizes its budget plan, Governor Cuomo wrote a letter Sunday to President Trump asking for emergency federal funds to lessen what he called Penn Station’s “summer of agony,” reports the Daily News. With six weeks of infrastructure repairs coming to the transit hub this July and August, the governor said the station’s daily flow of 600,000 passengers will face a 20 percent reduction in service during peak hours while Amtrak shuts down some of its tracks, which will then have a ripple effect on the subway system and regional transit.
More details ahead

May 18, 2017

Costly and inefficient construction is causing NYC’s subway system to lag (STUDY)

By Devin Gannon

As the nation’s largest transit system, the New York City subway helps connect millions of people to its five far-reaching boroughs each day. While it has helped shaped the city’s indisputable wealth, density and culture, the cost of subway construction remains incredibly expensive, with the time of projects taking much longer than they should. According to a study, "Building Big for Less," by the Regional Plan Association Lab (RPA), with the exception of a few minor projects, New York’s subway system peak performance was in 1937. Since the 1930s, there has been little increase in system capacity and today there are fewer miles of track and commuter rail than in 1937. RPA’s study focused on NYC and other world capitals in order to compare transit data on a large scale.
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