Transit

December 1, 2022

NYC subway fare could hit over $3 by 2025

The cost of a subway or bus ride in New York City could increase to more than $3 per trip by 2025 under proposed fare hikes, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced this week. During the transit agency's monthly board meeting on Wednesday, officials said a higher-than-projected fare increase, from a planned 4 percent hike to instead a 5.5 percent jump, is needed because of significant budget deficits due to low ridership.
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November 28, 2022

Ride vintage subway trains in NYC every Sunday this holiday season

Holiday Nostalgia Rides, the New York Transit Museum's beloved tradition, has returned to the city for the first time in two years. Every Sunday between Thanksgiving and Christmas, New Yorkers will be able to ride vintage subway trains that will depart from Chambers Street and 137th Street-City College stations and make express stops on the local 1 line track. The Holiday Nostalgia Train will feature the Train of Many Colors, a selection of different vintage subway cars from the 1960s representing different eras of the subway system's history.
Travel back in time this holiday
November 23, 2022

NYC unveils plan for car-free streets in Midtown to reduce holiday crowds

Some streets in Midtown Manhattan will be closed to cars during the holiday season to provide New Yorkers and visitors a safe way to enjoy the festivities, Mayor Eric Adams announced Thursday. Under the plan, the city will open 11 blocks to pedestrians, including a strip of Fifth Avenue from 49th Street to 57th Street, the first time in 50 years the iconic thoroughfare will close to traffic. Starting next week, certain streets around Rockefeller Center and Radio City Music Hall will only be open to pedestrians during the busiest hours.
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November 21, 2022

Fifth Avenue will partially close to all traffic on select days in December

Fifth Avenue will be closed to cars in celebration of the holiday season next month. As first reported by Time Out, the "Fifth Avenue for All" initiative will take place on three Sundays next month, December 4, 11, and 18, from noon to 6 p.m., allowing pedestrians to safely stroll along Fifth Avenue from 49th Street to 57th Street.
See more here
November 17, 2022

NYC taxi fares to increase by 23% by end of the year

The cost of an average metered New York City taxi ride will increase by nearly 23 percent by the end of the year. The city's Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) voted this week to approve fare hikes for yellow cabs, the first increase in roughly a decade. The average passenger metered fare will increase from $15.97 to $19.62 per ride, which will lead to drivers seeing a 33 percent jump in gross revenue, according to the TLC.
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November 11, 2022

NYC is considering making Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza car-free

Brooklyn's Grand Army Plaza may become the city's next car-free space. As first reported by Gothamist, the city's Department of Transportation (DOT) is considering connecting the Prospect Heights plaza to the Open Streets program on Vanderbilt and Underhill Avenues. The plaza, anchored by its ornate Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch and the official entrance to Prospect Park, has long been the target of safe street activists due to its vehicle traffic and poor sidewalk conditions.
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November 9, 2022

MTA celebrates Dolly Parton’s new album with limited-edition MetroCard

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has released a limited-edition Dolly Parton MetroCard in celebration of the legendary country singer's new greatest hits album. In partnership with Legacy Recordings and Dolly Records, the MTA has loaded MetroCard vending machines with 50,000 limited edition cards at four high-traffic stations in Manhattan.
How to score one
October 25, 2022

MTA to reopen some subway station bathrooms early next year

Straphangers in need of relief will be happy to hear that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority will begin reopening subway station restrooms in early 2023, as Streetsblog first reported on Monday. Thanks to the hiring of 800 new cleaners in recent months, public bathrooms at eight subway stations will reopen starting in January, with the transit agency gradually opening restrooms at additional stations. The subway system's 133 public restrooms across 69 stations have been closed since March 2020 because of the pandemic.
More here
October 24, 2022

Nearly 100 NYC streets will go car-free for safe trick-or-treating this Halloween

For the first time, dozens of New York City's "Open Streets" will expand operating hours on Halloween to make trick-or-treating safer for young New Yorkers. As part of the Department of Transportation's "Trick-or-Streets," nearly 100 streets, plazas, and other commercial corridors across the city will be closed to cars on October 31 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
See more here
October 19, 2022

José Andrés will open a restaurant lounge at LaGuardia Airport

To continue its transformation from third-world country to state-of-the-art airport, LaGuardia Airport is adding another dining experience sure to be welcomed by foodies. José Andrés will open a restaurant lounge at the Queens airport as part of a partnership with Capital One, Eater New York reported on Wednesday. Since 2016, the airport has been undergoing an $8 billion overhaul, which has included new terminals, improved passenger space, public art, and a slew of new dining options.
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October 17, 2022

Yayoi Kusama and Kiki Smith to create floor-to-ceiling mosaics at new Grand Central Madison terminal

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has tapped two contemporary artists to create permanent artwork for the long-awaited 700,000-square-foot Long Island Rail Road terminal opening at Grand Central this year. MTA Arts & Design, the agency responsible for commissioning public art in subway stations, announced artists Yayoi Kusama and Kiki Smith will design site-specific floor-to-ceiling mosaics for the new terminal, dubbed Grand Central Madison.
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October 13, 2022

Two-way bike lane opens on Downtown Brooklyn’s chaotic Schermerhorn Street

One of Brooklyn's busiest and most dangerous streets became safer this week. The city's Department of Transportation on Wednesday unveiled the Schermerhorn Street redesign, which includes a two-way protected bike lane, one-way vehicle traffic, and new pedestrian space. The street is an essential east-west route that connects cyclists to and from the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges.
Find out more
October 6, 2022

New York Mets take over the NYC subway for playoff run

To pump up New Yorkers ahead of the New York Mets' first playoff run in six years, the baseball team is taking over the subway system with a new ad campaign. The baseball team's iconic blue and orange colors and images of current and former players will be seen across the 7 train, the Times Square-Grand Central shuttle, and in the subway stations at Hudson Yards and Grand Central starting this week.
More here
September 30, 2022

MTA partners with Katz’s Deli and Alidoro on new subway-themed sandwich

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has partnered with legendary New York City sandwich shops Katz's Deli and Alidoro to create a limited-edition sandwich in celebration of the subway's 118th anniversary. The sandwich is being sold at four Alidoro locations in Manhattan from September 29 through October 31.
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September 22, 2022

MTA selects design team for Penn Station renovation

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has selected a group of architects and engineers for the $7 billion redesign of Penn Station, with the agency's board voting to approve the contract on Wednesday. The agency tapped FXCollaborative Architects and WSP USA to bring their Penn Station Master Plan to life, with further assistance from London-based John McAslan + Partners as collaborative architects. According to Gov. Kathy Hochul, work will begin "in the coming months."
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September 21, 2022

Only 48 percent of straphangers satisfied with the subway, according to latest MTA survey

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Monday announced the results of its spring 2022 customer satisfaction survey for New York City transit. According to the survey, just 48 percent of respondents were satisfied with the subway system, with safety and security as the top issues for disatisfied riders. When looking at specific subway lines, straphangers rated the D as the worst and the L train as the best.
Did your station make the list?
September 20, 2022

MTA to install security cameras in every subway car

Two security cameras will be installed in every subway car in New York City, under a new initiative announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul and the MTA on Tuesday. The $5.5 million project, paid in part by a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, includes the installation of nearly 13,000 cameras on 6,355 train cars by 2025. The enhanced security measure is an expansion of a pilot program that launched this summer following a mass shooting on the subway in Brooklyn in April. There are surveillance cameras in the more than 470 subway stations across the city, but none in cars before the program.
See more here
September 9, 2022

Travel back in time on vintage NYC subway trains this month

Here's a rare opportunity to ride on some of New York City's oldest subway trains spanning over a century of the city's transportation history. The New York Transit Museum's Parade of Trains returns this month, offering transit buffs a chance to travel on four historic trains from the museum's collection of vintage fleets. The rides will run continuously from Brooklyn's Brighton Beach B and Q express train platforms from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on September 17 and September 18. Admission is free with subway fare.
See more here
September 8, 2022

Work begins on JFK Airport’s new $9.5B international terminal

Construction officially kicked off on Thursday on John F. Kennedy International Airport's new 2.4 million-square-foot terminal, set to be the largest at the Queens airport. In December, Gov. Kathy Hochul first unveiled plans for the state-of-the-art Terminal One, which is estimated to cost $9.5 billion, up from the projected cost of $7.4 billion in 2019.
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September 7, 2022

New York lifts mask mandate on public transit

Masks are no longer required on public transportation in New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday. During a press conference in Harlem, the governor said masks are now optional for riders traveling on New York City's subways and buses, as well as MetroNorth and Long Island Rail Road. The state's mandate has been in place since April 2020 at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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September 6, 2022

MTA to replace all MetroCard vending machines with OMNY by end of next year

After 23 years of service, the New York City subway system's iconic MetroCard vending machines will be replaced. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will start swapping out the classic machines for OMNY ("One Metro New York") vending machines during the first half of 2023 after finalizing hardware and software testing, as NY1 reported. The entire MetroCard system is expected to be replaced by the end of 2023.
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August 31, 2022

NYC is looking for volunteer artists to paint its garbage trucks

New York City's Department of Sanitation (DSNY) is looking for volunteer artists to paint murals on their garbage collection vehicles as part of "Trucks of Art," the department's new zero-waste challenge. Artwork that encourages New Yorkers to use litter baskets or that honors DSNY workers will have a higher chance of being selected. The department is accepting applications until September 18, and the trucks are expected to hit the road by October.
See more here
August 23, 2022

NYC receives $7M federal grant to expand greenway network in underserved communities

New York City received a $7.25 million federal grant that will be put towards the expansion of the city's greenway network, Mayor Eric Adams announced Monday. The expansion aims to improve the greenway network's reach in historically underserved, lower-income neighborhoods that lack access to public transportation and jobs by filling in "critical gaps" in the network, improving cyclist and pedestrian safety, and enhancing green transportation alternatives and waterfront access.
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August 19, 2022

MTA’s new app combines LIRR, Metro-North ticket purchasing and trip planning

The Metropolitan Transporation Authority on Wednesday launched an enhanced version of its TrainTime app that combines ticket purchases for the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad and includes a seat availability tracker, real-time train movement, and in-app customer support. The app allows users to log in using their Apple ID, Google account, or through text message, and purchase tickets using Apple Pay.
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August 11, 2022

Manhattan officials renew push for new Hell’s Kitchen subway station

The plan to extend the 7 train to the far west side of Manhattan announced more than a decade ago included building a subway station in Hell's Kitchen. But because of budget cuts, the station was never built. New York City officials this week renewed calls for a subway station at 10th Avenue and 41st Street, claiming the neighborhood's growing population needs better access to public transportation. The 7 line currently runs straight from Times Square to Hudson Yards, without stopping in Hell's Kitchen.
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