MTA Online Hearing Fails?

December 10, 2007 subwaybloggerLeave a comment

No shocker here. Jen at Gothamist attempted to join the MTA Webinar today. Without any major surprise, there were technical issues that were not able to be solved.

Did anyone else attempt to attend?

Unfortunately, SUBWAYblogger had back-to-back meetings straight through lunch, so we were unable to login. However, we were looking forward to taping the audio portion. Too bad.

But it looks like we may not have missed much. I wonder if only certain users were unable to connect. I also wonder if there were way too many people attempting to connect.

They used GotoWebinar, which is a major online conference service. I’m sure they should have been able to handle the volume. However, the MTA would have had to purchase the correct plan to allow tons of users at any given time. Wonder if that was actually done.

Looking forward to the reports.

The Delays Aren’t Just our Imagination

November 25, 2007 subwayblogger2 Comments

Remember almost a year ago when we reviewed the Top 10 causes of subway delays? Well, it turns out those delays add up. There’s been a significant decrease in “on time” running on the system.

(click for larger view)

The oldest lines appear to be the most unreliable (no shock there). If you notice, though, the reliability has declined year to year. For the 1 thru 6 lines, running at 80-90% on time is a bit embarrassing. Sure, this is just one month (July), but that doesn’t make the situation any better.

(click for larger view)

This is the overall performance of the system. What immediately jumps out at me is how poorly the system does in the summer. SUBWAYblogger has always said that it seems like the trains are always late in the summer, and now we have the data to back it up!Read More »

“Relief” Over Lack of Subway Fare Hike?

November 22, 2007 subwayblogger3 Comments

I’m I the only one confused over everyone’s “relief” due to the recent news that the $2.00 fare will not be going up?

The mainstream media makes it out to be a reason for citywide celebration. What’s the big deal? The fact is that the other denominations of rides are likely going to go up. They are going to probably go up even more than was originally intended.

Only 15% of riders actually purchase the single ride cards. This must consist mostly of people that live outside the city and drive in. Tourists and workers. Tourists that only need a ride or two to get around for a weekend visit. People that work in midtown, and have a random business meeting downtown might grab a quick subway ride. That’s probably the bulk of your single ride fares.

About 30% of riders get the monthly unlimited (the preferred choice of SUBWAYblogger). Then there’s the 37% that get the $10 + bonus ride cards. That’s the buy 5 rides, get one free deal.

I was surprised to see that the bonus ride cards were the most popular, and I couldn’t figure out why. Then the NY Post explained that the $10 card is the preferred option of lower income residents. That makes sense because it is hard to shell out $76 in one shot for a 30 day unlimited.

So with the anticipated hike on the unlimited cards, we’re looking at $80.00 cards in our future. Ehhh…not the end of the world I guess.

What I want to know is how do you just “all of a sudden” discover an extra $220 million laying around in the MTA bank accounts? Uhhh hellloooooo! That’s not something that just sneaks up on you.

It’s finance operations like this that make me wonder if the system would be better off it were privatized. No multi-billion dollar business would ever let $220 million just sneak up on them. Every minute of every day, there would be a team of accountants tracking every cent that swiped through the turnstiles. If there were even a hint of a surplus, not only would they know about it immediately, but it would probably have been forecasted in the fist place.

So the fact that the MTA just reforecasted, and discovered the surplus only goes to show that a) People weren’t paying attention, and b) the people that did the last forecast obviously don’t know what they are doing.

Don’t Bother Attending Fare Hike Hearings

November 17, 2007 subwayblogger1 Comment

Because MTA board members don’t even bother attending, and it’s their job. Yes, three board members have managed to not attend a single fare hike hearing, yet they are eligible to vote on the issue when the time comes.

Andrew Saul, Donald Cecil and Susan Metzger are the board members who have not made it to a single hearing. They also happen to be co-chairs of the “Show Up When We Damn Well Please Committee.”

Saul is vice-chairman and head of the finance committee! Head of finance, yet can’t manage to attend hearings on the largest finance measure of the year. He’s also a candidate in next fall’s Republican primary in the 19th Congressional District, so that explains the arrogance.

Some people are just complete nightmares.

[Photos: Daily News]

Bueller…Bueller…Bueller…

November 14, 2007 subwaybloggerLeave a comment

Yes, those were probably crickets you heard at some of the recent MTA fare hike public hearings. Why? Well that’s what happens when about half the board doesn’t even bother showing up.

Maybe the missing board members decided to cut ~~school~~ work and go for a joy ride in their father’s prized Ferrari. Maybe? Oh wait, that was Chicago.

CBS 2 says:

Out of 16 voting MTA board members, only half showed up for last Monday’s hearings. Wednesday the turnout was even worse, with only six making an appearance, and only seven showed up on Thursday.

Maybe they all had trouble getting there because their trains weren’t running, and it was days before then next bus came. Just guessing.

Good Grades for the S Train

November 12, 2007 subwayblogger2 Comments

Ummm…why is everyone so impressed with the good grades the S train received in the Rider’s Reportcard?

How hard could it possibly be to run a train that has only one stop? If you can’t manage to do that well, you need to find a new line of work. It’s no shock to us that the S train was rated well.

You just get on it. Stand for 30 second, and get off. Then it heads back in the other direction. Not rocket science.

Hemmerdinger Quite the Humdinger

October 22, 2007 subwayblogger8 Comments

(Sorry for the headline. Couldn’t resist)

Ok, let’s break this down. There’s some amazingly stupid shit happening up in Albany. This shit smells remarkably similar to the shit dished by George Bush when asked why the hell he thought Mike Brown was qualified to run FEMA.

As we all know, there is an opening for Chairman of the MTA. The way this works is that the Governor nominates a replacement. Then there’s a confirmation process, yadda yadda. Well, as you can imagine, there’s potential for some cronyism because you have to be nominated for the job.

Enter Spitzer’s nominee, H. Dale Hemmerdinger.

Hemmerdinger freely admits that he knows very little, if anything, about transportation policy. In a nutshell, he knows when he presses the gas, his car goes forward. That is the extent of his transportation knowledge.

Before the State Transportation Board, he was peppered with questions.

Asked what the state would do to handle more riders if New York City imposed congestion pricing, Mr. Hemmerdinger replied: I only know what I read in the papers at this point.

On his familiarity with the authoritys proposals for a fare increase: Ive looked at it as Ive read it in the paper. [NY TIMES]

Yes, he used the “read it in the paper” response at least a dozen more times, according to the New York Times.

Maybe someone without any transportation experience whatsoever is exactly what the MTA needs. A fresh perspective perhaps?

Idiot of the Day

October 18, 2007 subwayblogger36 Comments

I don’t often get fired up about the opinions expressed in the comments by readers of this blog, but this most recent one made my blood boil. Here’s the scenario:

Back on September 13th, we posted a story about a kid getting shot at subway station right near the token booth. As a side comment, I said I hoped the token clerk wasn’t asleep at the time so that maybe they could identify the suspect. On that note, I posted six (that’s right…six) different photos I found online of MTA Employees literally sleeping on the job.

After that, I commented that employees sleeping on the job should have their new raises revoked and given to employees that actually manage to stay AWAKE during their shift.

Then, Tom McManus (a subway worker) posted this response:

WOW!, I see you dont miss any chance you get to bash us BASTARDS. Perhaps it was the token clerk who shot him. And I suppose you are 100% productive 100% of the time you are at work, RIGHT? I may be a BASTARD but you are an @$$hole!

My jaw dropped with I read this. He’s actually defending people who sleep on the job. As if it’s not that big of a deal because no one is ever “100% productive 100% of the time” at their jobs. Because you know, we all fall asleep at work all the time. What’s the big deal, right? (Here’s my full response)

So the TWU wants raises, free benefits, etc for their workers, but little naps during your shift are ok too.

Am I the only one who thinks this is the most ridiculous comment ever?

Honestly, how long does it take to lay some tile?

October 1, 2007 subwayblogger4 Comments

Honestly, how long should a subway platform renovation really take? Entire 10 story buildings have been built in the time it has taken for them to set up partitions at the 59th Street/Columbus Circle station.

Ok, I can understand that the physical platforms where the trains arrive can be a little tricky. Clearly, you have to be very careful, precise, and safe. Otherwise, someone could get hurt, or service could be interrupted.

But what’s the excuse for the rest of the station?

The areas not near the platform are a f*cking wreck. Since last winter, they’ve managed to set up lots of blue, plywood walls, and rip down facades. Congrats gentlemen.

Every week there’s a new sign about asbestos and lead removal. They even kicked out that goofy little barbershop and convenience store. It’s like they have 20 different projects all going at once that never get finished.

They’ve been tiling random sections of floor for months. It does NOT take that long to lay some damn tile. Read More »

Keeping the Water Out Prevents Flooding. Brought to You By the MTA Office of Obvious Information

September 21, 2007 subwayblogger2 Comments

Ok, first of all, the MTA recently released a report about the August 8th flooding incident. It was 88 pages long. I shit you not.

There are 88 whole pages explaining that water and electric trains don’t mix.

There, in one sentence, I summed up what took the MTA 88 pages to explain.

At the six most flood-prone stations, the MTA and city Department of Transportation will design raised sidewalk gratings and perhaps add a step to entrances to keep water out. [NY Post]

Yes folks, adding a little step outside the subway entrances will actually significantly improve the situation should there be a sneak rain storm again. Sometimes the simplicity of these solutions are so obvious that it makes my head hurt.

I mean seriously, when rain is cascading down the subway stairs like a waterfall, then yeah, a little lip at the top of the stairs sure would help!

The MTA also says it is going to invest in weather prediction systems like Doppler radar so that a storm can’t sneak up when no one is looking any more. They are also going to work on alerting the media sooner when there is a major problem. Oh, and making sure mta.info is up even on emergency days will be important too.