MTA

July 29, 2015

POLL: Should the MTA Get Money from the State Before LaGuardia Airport?

Yesterday, we learned of Governor Cuomo’s plans for a major, $4 billion overhaul of LaGuardia Airport. The project includes consolidating the four terminals, moving the entire facility south, introducing a 24-hour ferry service, and launching AirTrain service that’ll connect travelers to the 7 line in Willet’s Point. Today, however, the revelry took a turn when it […]

July 15, 2015

The MTA May Revive the W Train Line

Rumor has it that the W train may be returning from the dead. According to AM NY, the MTA is in talks with both public officials and rider advocates to bring the train back to service once the Q train is diverged to the Upper East Side to the new Second Avenue line in December 2016. Restoring the old line would prevent disrupting subway service in Astoria, an area with thousands of daily strap-hangers and only a few subways to choose from. The MTA hasn't made any official announcements on the matter thus far, but with the opening of the Second Avenue Subway line rapidly approaching, they are said to be seriously mulling it over.
More on the rumor here
May 27, 2015

NYC Households Spend $130 a Month Funding the MTA

Today's dose of disheartening news about the MTA comes via the Daily News, who reports that the debt-ridden city agency collects $4.8 billion a year from city taxpayers through taxes, fees, and the city budget. This comes out to $130 a month for the average New York household, even more than the cost of a monthly Metrocard, according to a new report by Comptroller Scott Stringer. Keep in mind this is in addition to the $5.3 billion they collect from fares and tolls.
Find out more here
May 19, 2015

The MTA Explains Why Your Subway is Delayed with This 8-bit Video

We're quick to write off the MTA as incompetent whenever we experience a subway delay, but let this video convince you that they do indeed know what they're doing. This new short created by the agency explains why holding a train can actually prevent additional delays from happening. As it turns out, keeping gaps from growing and restoring evenness to a line will help keep service on schedule overall. Check out their awesome 8-bit video ahead to get the visual explanation.
Watch the video here
April 29, 2015

New Photos of the Second Avenue Subway Show Progress–and a Twist on the MTA’s Typeface

When we last wrote about the Second Avenue Subway back in February, word was that Phase I was about 79 percent complete and still on track for its December 2016 opening. Earlier this week community members and MTA officials gathered once again to go over progress, with MTA Capital Construction President Dr. Michael Horodniceanu toting a slew of new photos and renderings of the line. While the new images certainly give us a better look at some of the exciting architecture taking shape deep below our streets—in fact, the southern section is now 82 percent complete, Horodniceanu relayed—several photos also reveal some fun updates to the NYC subway's famous lettering.
See more here
April 28, 2015

Debt-Ridden MTA May Hike Subway Fares to $3.15

It might be time to trade in your metro card for a bike. Straphangers could soon see yet another fare hike if the MTA is unable to bridge its $15 billion budget gap. The NYDN reports that top transit officials are warning that the increase could ring in at as much as 15 percent, upping subway fares to $3.15 from $2.75. The agency tacked on 25 cents just last month to a single ride, much to the dismay of millions of commuters.
FInd out more here
March 25, 2015

Chatting with Strangers on Your Commute Will Make You Happier, Study Says

Here's a way to bring some relief to those seemingly never-ending subway delays: strike up a conversation with the stranger next to you. Research conducted by behavioral scientists Nicholas Epley and Juliana Schroeder reveals that engaging in chitchat with your fellow straphangers can actually improve your well-being.
learn more about their study
March 6, 2015

Your Suspicions Are Correct, Subway Service Is Really Getting Worse

The platform pileups, the sick passengers, everyone's favorite recording, "we're delayed because of train traffic ahead of us"–subway service in New York City is getting worse, and it's not just in your imagination. In 2014, delays increased by a whopping 45.6 percent, and on the worst lines, the 4, 5 and 6, that number grows to 57 percent. The main culprits are right-of-way delays (caused by malfunctions of switches, signals, and rails) and overcrowding, the latter of which caused more than double the amount of delays in 2014, up from 6,942 to 14,843.
More details ahead
March 5, 2015

$19.05 Is the Perfect Amount to Load on a MetroCard so You Won’t Have Leftover Change

If you don't get an unlimited weekly or monthly MetroCard, you probably put random amounts on your card each time, or you might select one of the MTA's payment prompts–a $9.00 MetroCard with a $.45 bonus, a $19.00 card with a $.95 bonus, or a $39.00 card with a $1.95 bonus. If you fall into one of these two camps, you're likely always left with a useless amount of change on the card that will never add up to the $2.50 it costs for a single train ride. All of that leftover change going unused on thousands of MetroCards each day is being collected by the MTA, in what seems like a purposeful tactic. But now, thanks to statistician Ben Wellington, we have the solution to one of NYC life's biggest dilemmas–$19.05 is the is the perfect amount to load on your MetroCard so that you'll get eight subway rides without a penny left over.
Find out how Wellington arrived at this number
March 2, 2015

Animated GIF Shows How NYC’s Subway Has Evolved over the Last 100 Years

If you’ve ever wondered what subway lines were the first to appear in NYC, this cool animated map has all the answers and then some. Created by Appealing Industries via Paste Magazine (h/t Untapped), the map shows the evolution of the city’s various lines over the 100-plus years that it’s been in operation. Surprisingly, Brooklyn is the first to see action on […]

February 26, 2015

Phase I of the Second Avenue Subway Now 78.7 Percent Complete–and Still on Track

It seems to be taking forever for the Second Avenue Subway (SAS) to be finished, but alas, never say never. Yesterday evening, community members and MTA Capital Construction officials gathered at Temple Israel for the SAS eighth quarterly workshop to discuss the line's construction updates, future plans and to take any comments or concerns from citizens. In his opening statement, MTA Capital Construction President Dr. Michael Horodniceanu reported that Phase I is now 78.7 percent complete (as of February 1, 2015). The number seemed to please many, but in light of the MTA's budget crisis, the top question on everyone's mind was still: "Is this thing on schedule to be completed in December 2016?" Dr. Horodniceanu reassured everyone, "We've been having these workshops for four years, and the date has stayed the same."
the next stop will be...
February 18, 2015

POLL: Do You Support an $8 Bridge Toll to Raise Funds for the MTA?

Yesterday we looked at a new proposal from MoveNY to toll four East River bridges (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Williamsburg, and Queensboro) and 60th Street in Manhattan in order to “raise funds for the MTA’s five-year capital plan (which is about $15.2 billion short of its target), and to make the cost of the city’s transit more equitable.” Drivers with […]

February 17, 2015

Group Proposes $8 Toll on Popular East River Bridges to Raise Funds for the MTA

Image via Wikimedia Commons Car-happy city folk are sure to grumble over this latest proposal from MoveNY to toll four East River bridges (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Williamsburg and Queensboro) and 60th Street in Manhattan. The group's plan, backed by former traffic commissioner Sam Schwartz, is looking to raise funds for the MTA's five-year capital plan (which is about $15.2 billion short of its target), and to make the cost of the city's transit more equitable. The new program would apply a $5.54 toll each way for bridge-crossers traveling with an E-ZPass, while drivers without an E-Zpass will have to shell out $8 to cross each time. The same tolls would also be applied to all avenue crossings at 60th Street.
Find out more here
February 4, 2015

POLL: Would You Pay More for Better Subway Service?

The MTA’s fare hike will take effect in March, raising the price of a single subway ride from $2.50 to $2.75, and it’s made most New York train riders pretty unhappy. But what if service was better? If those flashing “delay” projections were few and far between; massive platform pileups were a thing of the […]

February 3, 2015

Mapping How the NYC Subway Could Operate in a 40-Inch Snowstorm

Though winter storm Juno isn't going down in history as the biggest snowstorm to ever hit NYC, it was the first time the city completely shut down the subway system due to a snowstorm. Governor Cuomo and the MTA said the shutdown was necessary because a portion of almost every train line runs outdoors. Not happy with that reasoning? Then you'll really enjoy this map from WNYC called the Snowpiercer; it proposes how the subway system could operate during a 40-inch snowstorm.
See the full map here
January 30, 2015

MTA’s ‘Courtesy Counts’ Etiquette Campaign Is Brought to Life in a New Video Parody

Regardless of which side of the man-spread debate you're on, you've definitely heard plenty about the MTA's new Courtesy Counts etiquette campaign. To get their point across, the MTA has deployed a new set of posters featuring the ubiquitous faceless green and red stick figures doing uncourteous things on the subway, including pole dancing, grooming, and, of course, manspreading. Two New Yorkers, Christian “CJ” Koegel and his partner Chris Zelig, have now created a one-minute, tongue-in-cheek video where they don full-body red and green spandex suits to bring Courtesy Counts to life as part of the #ridewithclass hashtag campaign.
Watch the amusing video
December 16, 2014

Daily Link Fix: 25 Percent of Subways Are Late; Celebrate Veniero’s 120th Birthday with Free Cookies

25 percent of all subway trains are late, up 6 percent from last year. How ya feeling about that MTA price hike now? [Daily News] Legendary East Village Italian bakery Veniero’s is giving out free butter cookies to celebrate its 120th birthday on Thursday. [DNAinfo] The Living Christmas Tree Co. lets you rent live trees…we need to bring this to […]

November 21, 2014

The Verrazano Bridge Opened 50 Years Ago, but There’s Still a Myth About Its Toll

Bridges and tolls are on everyone's mind these days, thanks to the MTA's latest proposed fare hikes. If approved, this would raise the toll of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to $16. And today, on the 50th anniversary of the bridge's opening, most Staten Islanders still think that driving across the bridge was supposed to become free once it was paid off. No one's really certain where this myth came from, but those who believe it are quite passionate about the subject.
More on the urban myth here
November 18, 2014

Daily Link Fix: SantaCon Heading to Bushwick; New MTA Campaign Will Teach Subway Etiquette

SantaCon’s drunken debauchery is abandoning its traditional East Village route and heading to Bushwick. [Bushwick Daily] All those backpack wearers and “man spreaders” are going to get a public shaming when the MTA rolls out its subway etiquette awareness campaign in January. [am NY] Explore the “poison cauldron” of Newtown Creek in photos. [Gothamist] After 15 […]

October 22, 2014

NYC Subway Carries a Record-Breaking 6.1 Million Riders in One Day

If you feel like your subway rides are starting to feel more and more like squeezing into a sweaty sardine can, you're right on the money. According to the MTA, ridership is at an all-time high with 149 million passengers cramming into cars during the month of September alone. The MTA also met another milestone last month on September 23rd, when a whopping 6,106,694 took to the rails—this is the most of any day since ridership was first tracked in 1985; and it broke last year's record of 5,987,595 passengers on October 24th.
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