New York City Transit Rider's Forum
Reveals Many Questions, Answers, Plans
Reported by Andrew Merelis
On Thursday night, February 28, 2002, I had the fortune of attending the "9th Annual Transit Rider's Council President's Forum." The meeting focused on the NYC Subways and NYC busses, as there are separate meetings scheduled for the LIRR and MNRR.
The following is a summary of what was brought up at the meeting. Anyone who attended was allowed to sign up for 2 minutes to address the various presidents, vice presidents, and department heads of the NYCTA/MTA.
#2 LINE LOCAL SERVICE PATTERN CONFUSION --This was brought up more than necessary, by a lot of very confused individuals, for a point about which nothing can be done. Apparently a lot of people remain confused about why the 2 needs to go local [because of subway reroutings forced by the World Trade Center collapse--ed.]. It has to do with the lack of turnarounds in the Chambers Street area of track. A pamphlet, explaining this in detail, a few months late, is being distributed now, according to the president.
#1/#9 SERVICE TO SOUTH FERRY RESTORATION --The issue of the damaged tunnel was brought up early on, and the president was happy to announce that because the MTA was able to get some sort of executive order from Albany allowing them to super-quickly award a contract for the rebuilding of the tunnel through the World Trade Center foundation, and because they were allowed to put the contractor to work 24/7, the tunnel was expected to be back in service by November 2002! Everyone was quite pleased to hear this.
J, M and Z SERVICE PATTERNS --The biggest complaints of the evening came from people who represented the interests of the JMZ Brooklyn Broadway El. And even though these were also the people who were least likely to become politicians based on their etiquette and patterns of speech in front of the board, I believe their message that service is lacking on the J and Z lines got across. Whether the MTA is going to do anything about it is another story. Two specific complaints were brought up: 1) The unused third track, particularly between Myrtle Avenue and Broadway Junction could improve slow service to the Jamaica end of the line during peak hours. The MTA said it would look into this. 2) The M doesn't come frequently enough. The MTA's reponse to this was that ridership on the M is actually down in the past few years, so don't look for any more service on the M in the near future.
REDUNDANT AND BOARDED UP STATION ENTRANCES --There are some stations in the system that don't have a mezzanine level, but do have more than one entrance. And some of these stations have entrances at the far sides of the station, so as to make it most convenient for people walking from nearby streets. And many of these stations, during the financial crunches of the '70's and '80's, had one of their two entrances permanently boarded up so the TA could save money on station agents. One gentleman asked the MTA to consider re-opening some of these long boarded up entrances now that iron maidens [high-pass enclosed turnstiles--ed.] or "heats," along with the Metrocard, have made station-agent-less entrances a cheap solution. The MTA said that it is looking into opening a bunch of these boarded up entrances, as studies show that there would be sufficient use to warrant opening them. The president says that a bunch are already scheduled to open soon.
G TRAIN COMPLAINTS --There were a whole bunch of G train complaints. One guy in particular, who was fairly offensive, and yelled directly at the board members for his two minutes of glory, kept repeating "you can't put 8 cars in 4 cars." He meant that 8 cars pull in on the Queens Blvd. Lines, and people wanting to use the crosstown have to cram into the 4-car G-trains. I don't believe this angry comment about G service was taken seriously. Other more general complaints about the G train cutbacks were generall addressed by the president as he brought up the fact that the cutback in the G train is the result of a decision made in the '80's when the 63rd street connector was being planned. He reiterated that both the G and the V are not designed to fit on Queens Blvd. simultaneously.
V TRAIN ON WEEKENDS --One gentleman brought up the problem with no V train service on weekends: The 53rd st stations in Manhattan at Lexington Av and 5th Av, have no direct service to the 6th avenue trunk line without the V. On weekends only the E runs to and from 8th Avenue. The MTA commiserated with this gentleman, saying that it was their intention to run V trains 7 days a week for that very reason, but the weekend cutback was designed to allow the G to run full-length to Queens Blvd. on weekends as a concession they made to the loud complainers about the G cutback. The president was bold enough to mention that they are now looking into having a 7 day-a-week V train, and cutting back G service permanently to Court Square.
ROOSEVELT ISLAND TRAM AND METROCARD --This issue was brought up by the president of some Roosevelt Island association. He informed the room that the tram has been out of service since Thanksgiving. RIOC, the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation currently owns and runs the tram. They have recently come under new management, but the previous management, a few years ago, rejected Metrocard because of complications in fare-sharing with the MTA. Now that there is a new, more friendly management, the man from Roosevelt Island asked the MTA if they are still open to talking with RIOC about Metrocard on the tram. The MTA said it was very interested in getting Metrocard on the tram, and phone numbers were thusly exchanged. It looks like Metrocard is possibly in the tram's future! [Side note: The tram is ADA compliant, the NYC subway station deep under Roosevelt Island is not.] [Side note: RIOC has not publicly announced when they think the tram will come back into service. I believe it is being repaired?]
METROCARD VENDING MACHINES vs. THE TOKEN BOOTH CLERKS --This was the hottest topic of the evening. A whole bunch of people spoke out against the MTA's attempts to get rid of token booth clerks at various stations without the permission of a public body, as required by law. The MTA made no attempt to appease the public on this issue, and plans to continue fighting to get rid of some token booth clerks. The two main issues argued by those on the side of the token booth clerks is 1) They are jobs, and 2) They save lives in the subway, whereas Metrocard Vending Machines (MVM's) do not. Very convincing arguments were made by the citizen speakers.
METROCARD VENDING MACHINES vs. THE PEOPLE --A whole bunch of complaints were brought up about broken MVM's. Mostly complaints were made about vandalized MVM's. One man once saw all 6 MVM's at one station entrance out of order due to vandalism. Some complaints were about having money taken. One man told the story of how he gave an MVM $20 for a $17 weekly unlimited Metrocard, and got $2 change. [a la, he was out a dollar.] He applied for a $1 refund from the MTA months ago and still has not received it. He jokingly asked the president for one dollar, but the president jokingly retorted that he, himself, would probably have as hard of a time getting his dollar back. All present giggled. Some through clenched teeth. The president asked for his contact information and said they would look into the matter for him.
LOCKED DOORS AT CAR ENDS --This was brought up a few times, mostly by women who had scary stories to tell about being in a car with a threatening character, and not being able to get out of the car until the next station. To altert the conductor about a man wielding a knife, one woman on a late night A train had to wait two stations to make enough car-to-car transfers to reach a car with a human conductor. These arguments echoed the sentiments of those who had safety concerns about fewer live token booth clerks at stations. The MTA's response was that on the B-division cars, the car length causes the space between cars to become deadly on turns, and thus the doors must remain locked. The A-division cars, according to the MTA don't have that problem. Also, the new trains have intercoms. The intercoms were accepted as a good idea by the citizens who spoke, but the rebuttal was that it will take 30 years to replace the 6,300 subway cars in the fleet. Apparently, with the combination of unlocked doors and new trains, the A-division (numbered trains) is much safer late-night than the B-division which will have far fewer new cars, and locked car-end doors! The MTA said that the conductor has the ability to unlock all the car-end doors at once from his booth. The retort to that was "but how does the conductor know if something is going on?" This is a problem that will obviously continue to be a problem for the next long while.
MANHATTAN BRIDGE FULL CAPACITY SERVICE PATTERN --One gentleman brought up the issue that the Manny-B has not been in full service in over 15 years, and politely asked the MTA to please take into account new ridership patterns that have changed over that time period. The MTA gladly agreed, and said they are currently conducting a series of studies of ridership patterns and are looking into all available options. More information is not yet available.
DIAMOND vs. CIRCLE SIGNAGE CONVENTION --It was brought up by one woman with a complaint that the diamond 5 service north of E180th Street in the Bronx is treacherous because the signage is often so poor, people trying to get to Dyre Av often end up at Nereid Av. And vice versa, which aren't even on the same line and are not within acceptable walking distance. This brought up the general issue of what a diamond means. The president surprised me when he said that the MTA's official policy on the meaning of the diamond has changed, and no longer means "Express." The MTA said it will continue to use diamonds for routes that don't have the same termini or even the same routings, such as the diamond 5 in the Bronx. The only line that still uses the diamond to mean "an express version of the same line" is the 7. (And possibly the D according to maps even though I've never seen a diamond D in person signed on the train, correct me if I'm wrong about this). Now it really just means "a special or alternate version of a similar line." Now that the diamond Q has brought diamonds to the consciousness of the Manhattanite and Tourist, the MTA is hoping that people will accept the Diamond to mean something other than simply "Express."
SMART CARD TECHNOLOGY TO REPLACE METROCARD --One person asked why we have to swipe a card (Metrocard) which is fraught with problems, when the technology exists for non-swipable card-access to the subway, much like a human-wearable EZpass. The MTA said that they have been looking into non-swiping "smart cards" for years, and have been waiting for the technology to becomes sophisticated enough that its implementation would not create all sorts of security issues. The president said that they are actively looking at Smart Card technology, and have very recently come to have a favorable opinion of the capability of a smart card. In fact, the president noted that the existing Metrocard turnstiles are already fitted with much of the hardware necessary to implement a smart-card system, as they anticipated the emergence of smart-card technology when they ordered the metro-card equipment. This impressed me as surprisingly foresighted for the MTA.
NEW CAR ASSIGNMENTS – According to the president, the #6 Line will have a full compliment of R142-A's by May. The #2 is also nearing a complete set. The #4 and #5 are also slated for new trains, and will be receiving their first batches shortly.
2012 SUMMER OLYMPICS --It was asked what the impact on the 2nd Ave subway funding the 2012 olympics would have. The president made it clear that the funding for the 2012 olympics have nothing to do with the budget of the MTA, and therefore has nothing to do with the 2nd ave subway as well. He said, when asked, that he does plan for the 2nd ave subway to be complete by the 2012 olympics. How .... He did not address.
BROOKLYN REUQESTS MORE EXPRESS USAGE ON F, W, J... --The president responded to all of these requests by mentioning that the MTA has, during his presidency, re-instated 300 Million Dollars of route expansion, the most of any transit agency in the same amount of time, ever. But ... he cautioned that this year, the MTA is into deficit spending, and was lucky that Albany agreed to pick up the rest of the tab, and so if there are any more expansions, like a Culver Express, it will be made with caution, and only as a direct result of significant ridership increases. [Which are not expected on the lines that were brought up]
MAKE LEFFERTS BLVD SHUTTLE --A complaint about the headways of A trains beyond Rockaway Blvd. (because the few trains the come in are split in two directions, one to Lefferts. Blvd, the other to Far Rockaway) was brought up with the suggestion of putting a shuttle in service between Rockaway Blvd. and Lefferts Blvd. so as to allow all A trains to continue to Far Rockaway, effectively doubling service to both branches (with the side effect of introducing a transfer for those wanting to reach the three stops on the Lefferts Blvd. branch). The MTA said that they would look into it, but personally, I wouldn't hold my breath, even though I thought it was a great idea!
WHERE ARE THE R-110s? --This was easily answered. The R110Bs were a prototype. They will not be buying anymore, and the ones they have will be used to test new equipment, not for revenue service.
WHERE ARE THE R-160s GOING? --According the the president, the first line to get R-160s will be the A train. In fact, the best offer to fill the contract to begin building the R-160s is going to be awarded within the next two months, so progress is being made on the R-160s.
IN-STATION INFORMATION --Various complaints were raised about the announcements made in stations. The MTA said that it is working currently to address this public address problem. They are installing a state-of-the-art PA system that counteracts the natural tendency of the stations to reverberate the announcements to an inaudible extent. One man compared the MTA to the London Tube, where there are signs that tell people on the platform what the next train is going to be and how long it is going to take to arrive. The President said that the MTA, over the next 4 years, will award contracts for ATS, automatic train system in conjunction with PACIS, public address and customer information signs ... on the IRT (A-division, numbered trains). So, within 4 years, at least on the IRT (and then eventually the whole system) electronic displays will tell riders of the New York Subway System what the next train will be (the letter or number, or "work train") and how far away it is. The President delighted in telling the story about how, recently, the Tube has been having a bunch of problems, and they have been coming to the NYCTA for help on how to address them. Nevertheless, one gentleman pointed out that the NYC MTA service advisory web site updates once a week while the London Tube's service advisory web site updates every 5 minutes.
G.O. SIGNAGE --When a service diversion is scheduled (called a GO or General Order), signage is put up on stations. But sometimes it isn't. And sometimes it's very confusing. I suggested, during my two minutes (after I told the board that I am making a documentary about the LIRR, to which they responded that they have a lot of people who might want to talk to me) that they use more maps on their service advisories. I said "when the subway is functioning normally, we let people know how it works by using a map. It would be ridiculous to use text to describe service on the NYC subway without heavy use of maps. So why don't we do the same when there is a service diversion?" I thought it was clever. They didn't respond. We'll see.
Comments, questions? You may respond directly to Andrew Merelis concerning this story at merelis@juno.com. Contact rapidtransit com at news@rapidtransit.com.
