Tag: transit

Is it the beginning of the end?

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I’m about one or two more back to back track fires away from taking cover in a bunker somewhere.  Seriously.  Things over the past couple weeks are just getting crazy.

It all started with summer showing up light a white hot freight train.  For weeks, we enjoyed beautiful mid 70’s each day.  Then, overnight it was 96 degrees outside…or 104 if you follow that “Real Feel” bullshit.

**Side note.  What the hell is a “Real Feel” temperature or heat index?  I know what it really means, but lets just make it easy.  Just tell me how damn hot it feels outside and leave it at that.  If it’s 86 outside but feels like 94, I want to know about the 94.  Screw the 86…who cares.  My ass is sweating.

Anyway, the heat showed up, and I started to brace for the subway heat as we’ve discussed at length in the past.  Interestingly, it was virtually the same day it hit as last year.  Also, we’ve discussed that it takes about a day or two for the heat to make it’s way underground.  Then it’s an oven.

So yeah, of course I was expecting the heat eventually, but not all this other crap.

Let’s start with the track fires.  It’s so damn hot that shit just randomly catches on fire on the PATH train tracks almost every week.  Switches, lights, and boxes in the subway blow up or short out.  How hot is it?  Hot enough to bring mass transit to it’s knees.

If there’s ever been an argument for better maintenance of the subway system (including upgrades), this is it.   Gas is hitting $5.00 a gallon all around us, more and more people are taking the trains, and we’re running a system from 1932.  Just wait and see how f-ed up it gets when the rain comes…

Then, there was last night.  I’m sitting in my apartment, and it’s perfectly quiet outside.  All of a sudden it sounds like rocks are being thrown at my windows.  I look outside, and it looks like a tornado is coming up the block.  I watches as a whole tree across the street became uprooted.

Then on the other side of the street, scaffolding started ripping off my neighbor’s building.  You know the scaffolding they put over the sidewalks?  Most usually have blue plywood walls put up around the first story of the scaffold.  Well, this wind started peeling off the 4×8 sheets of plywood like post-it notes.  They flew up the street doing cartwheels over the cars on the block. Read More »

Congestion Pricing Moves Forward to Albany

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New York City Council has officially backed Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s congestion pricing plan, which now moves forward to Albany for approval.

Just to recap, the plan would charge drivers an $8.00 fee for driving below 60th Street from 6am – 6pm. There are provisions in the plan which allow for credits when paying a toll to enter the city. So if you paid $6.00 to cross a bridge on the way into the city, for example, you would only owe an additional $2.00 that day.

However, if you were parked below 60th Street or otherwise already in the city and drove below 60th Street, you would be charged the full $8.00.

So what the hell does this have to do with the subway?

Well, the city stands to receive $354 million in federal funding to help launch the congestion pricing plan. This money would pay for the fee collection infrastructure, as well as fund initial mass transit improvements.

The goal with the congestion pricing plan is to encourage people to leave their cars at home more often, and rely on mass transit. Of course, this means that the transit system would need to increase service, and increase reliability. So much of the federal funding would go towards these initiatives…at least so they say.

So now the plan heads to Albany for state approval. The State Legislature is in the middle of finishing the budget, however the plan deadline is quickly approaching.

Congestion pricing needs to be approved by April 7th in order to obtain the federal funding.

Way back in July, State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno ironed out a deal with Spitzer to get the plan passed.  Let’s hope that still stands.

New NYC Subway Fares

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If you went to the MetroCard machine today to buy a new monthly card and felt an odd sensation in your rear, that was the MTA raping you.

Ok, perhaps a bit strong, but the point remains the same.

The new fare increase kicks in today.  That means your $76 monthly card just jumped to $81.00.  Meanwhile, the single ride card didn’t go up a dime.  I’ve always supported the fare increase because I think something needs to be done about the crumbling system, but I think that all the fares should have gone up…to be fair.

Here’s the new rates:

New NYC Subway Fare Rates

When it rains, it pours

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Has there been an insane amount of transit failures this week, or is it me?

There was Tuesday’s insanity, with what was first reported as a train derailment.  Turns out to have been a fairly massive mechanical failure.

Then, there was today’s crap on the 1, 2, and 3 line.  Still don’t know what the hell that was all about.  What I do know is that I am $20 lighter today thanks to the gypsy cab I had to take.  (Of course, everyone was looking for a cab.)

Oh and let’s not forget the suicide jumper we had in the middle of the day today, that was special.

It’s a roll of the dice every morning.