The ny Subways have become the monster in the basement behind that old dirty boiler that no one wants to really look behind ..in case the lights go out...
needs some major attention ..for sure..
Congestion pricing for the subways would be a terrible regressive tax on the people who need and use the subways most.
1
Cuomo is running for President and De Blasio only cares about the homeless. Why not fix the subways for the hardworking middle class?
3
Nobodies voting for Andy the Cuomo here or nationally.
2
What you are primarily talking about is a lack of money for transit funding. Where is that money - tens or hundreds of billions of dollars - going to come from? Essentially, only two sources: fare hikes or increased taxes. Most any politician that votes to raise either will have a hard time getting re-elected so that explains the lack of adequate funding.
Yes, there is waste, fraud and abuse but that is going to happen in any large organization. And your point that over two decades $1.5 billion (or $75 million per year) was diverted from the MTA is just a drop in the bucket in an agency that now has an annual budget of over $15 billion.
We can't avoid the issue; until we are willing to pay more in taxes or higher fares or both, the system will continue to have problems.
1
Pass Legislation:
Money budgeted for the MTA can only be used for the MTA.
6
REVISED COMMENT:
Alan Flacks
New York, N.Y. 4 hours ago
The $800-plus million dollars that were "re-directed" by this current Governor and others is now offered back as a somewhat emergency infusion to the M.T.A. to effect a fix. No, that is merely restoring what shouldn't have been taken from the M.T.A. Let Governor Cuomo now come up with an additional $800 million to ameliorate our transportation ills. -- Alan Flacks
1
My suggestion for the Governor's competition for how to fix the subway:
Get Cuomo's hand out of the till!
Please ask the Governor to go back to Albany and govern the state and stop trying to be the Deputy Mayor of the City of New York. We already have plenty of government administrators, thank you.
2
What is New York becoming? A Hong Kong on the Hudson. With all those empty expensive apartments void of residents who will need a subway? Problem solved!
Hope this futuristic empty and lonely NYC remembers the good times. I sure do.
2
The board of the MTA is controlled by Governor Cuomo. He and his appointees are responsive for not investing in the basic infrastructure of the subways, esp. TRACKS AND SIGNALS.
1
My husband and I, lifelong New Yorkers, moved to Chicago about two years ago. We returned to NYC last week for an eight-day vacation. OMG is an understatement. Subways incredibly crowded at 11:30 PM, stops announced as transfer stops where there was no ability to transfer, big announcements made about trains NOT stopping at certain stops that then stopped there anyway. Each day, we witnessed unpleasant "brush fires" between irritable riders that, to us, didn't seem like they needed to happen. What a repeatedly unpleasant experience. When we lived there, we were veteran subway riders and knew how to get from point A to point B without even thinking about it. I'm sure that the threat of terrorism frays peoples' last nerves, but our take-away was that we'd gotten out just in time! We need to rest up from our vacation and it will be awhile before we come back.
2
Instead of blaming passengers for delays "do not block doors", "step all the way in" conductors should read excerpts from this series over the PA.
"Due to signaling problems, and by the way, much of the signaling technology predates World War II and is decades beyond its life span, you will be late for work."
2
A third world experience in a first class city.
3
The MTA has been ignoring required maintenance of the tracks and cars for generations. Rather than maintain them and lengthen their lives, they choose to let them deteriorate to the degree that they will simply replace them in 15-20 years of service. Completely uneconomical not to mention irresponsible but serves their purpose to blame it all on aging infrastructure. Give me a break. Remember back when the replaced all the track and for a little while, the squeal of wheel on track was not deafening? The MTA really patted themselves on the back for that project only to have things return to their normal deteriorated state in a few short years. If we want to really change things, we will mandate sufficient maintenance and sufficient funds to perform such work on subways, bridges, tunnels and roadways.
5
No leader steers this runaway train, and derailment is certain unless a hero jumps aboard. Who can that be?
1
The rapid American decline is caused by low taxes--29 per cent of gdp v. a 34 per cent average for advanced economies. And this revenue gap of five per cent of the national economy becomes seven per cent when American military expenditures are considered.
The European social democracies have taxes amounting to 42-46 per cent of gdp most of which goes right back to people in transfers. With these high taxes most Europeans enjoy employment security, income security, housing security, education security, retraining security, leisure security (5 to 10 weeks vacation), and total health care and old age security.
At work there is usually co-management and it is common for labour to hold half the seats on corporate boards. Americans are misinformed about how brutal their society has become but just look around you at the homelessness and child poverty.
The U.S. was once a model to the world. Now the U.S. is a model only of how rapidly a parasitic plutocracy can drain the blood of a national economy.
3
It's hard to take seriously any onion piece about the New York MTA that doesn't attribute blame where it's due, to the labor unions and the Democratic Party which has encouraged them. When you have people loading up on overtime the last three years to pad their pensions, and when you have 97% of conductors (not mechanics) designated as permanently disabled, there's a serious problem. The Triborough Amendment needs to go. Until that happens, every other proposal is a waste of time.
5
Lift up your tired heads, you NY commuters! Salvation is coming in the person of Andy Byford, CEO of theToronto Transit Commission, and just appointed as President and CEO of New York Transit. "Byford, who starts his new job in mid-January, made the announcement at the TTC headquarters on Tuesday morning. He told reporters that his new job is "arguably the toughest job in transit right now." The TTC has much improved under his leadership, and was even elected best transit system of North America in June. Good luck, NY!
5
Thank you 16% of New Yorkers for voting the mayor in,again.Specialt hanks to the "Resistance" for fighting Trump while he is trying to rebuild the crumbling infrastructure.
2
NYC should champion century bonds backed by tax revenue with the NY Federal reserve as consistent with its jobs mandate, to get the Fed to target 2% rates on bonds with 50 to 100 year terms for retirement at 1% to 2% per year. The NYC subway system is still using lines built a century ago with no hint any of those century old lines will be retired. Big debt to fund expanding the subway quickly will free existing funds going to slow expansion to repairs to existing lines while funding investments in new equipment for the expanded network which would run on existing lines. And much expansion would require improvements to existing subway infrastructure as well as paralleling congested lines.
And the NY Fed drives Fed policy more than any other region.
Government debt should fund government owned capital investments that last longer than the debt term. That was the view held widely in a bipartisan basis at least through 1970, that was ending in the 70s until Reagan made debt for consumption the GOP economic policy, and zero debt available to build capital assets.
3
I worked at NYC Transit for 24 years, managing the creation of information systems. There are many excellent professionals there (or there were). The lack of capital investment to replace aging and unreliable infrastructure is a key part of the problem. The other part is the mismanagement of its employees. Lhota dismissed the knowledge, experience and the expertise of Transit employees. As a result employee morale is terrible. You want to improve the system? Spend money to upgrade the failing infrastructure (prioritized by importance to customer service, not by the whims of management) and value the contributions of the employees. That is what David Gunn did, we miss him.
13
Yes. Prioritize capital investment by requiring that funds for capital costs, including routine maintenance, be set aside every year in the budget. Require that such costs be determined by independent licensed engineers. Can you imagine how quickly we can improve our infrastructure by not letting it deteriorate in the first place?
1
I ascribe some blame to the NYT. It seems like the paper woke up to the decline at the same time as the poor riders. A good, NY paper should be on this story all the time-as the subways are crucial to every aspect of the city. As the NYT has cut back on local coverage, NYC and NYers are more vulnerable lots of problems that will come back and bite us. Then the story might rise to be published.
4
Let take the Saudi approach!! Let's lock up all the leadership class be they in the government , business, finance or social realms, in the subway system and don't let them out until the subway is fixed. Start with those most interested in being a future president. Nobody will have much problem identifying those glorious, dedicated , and able leaders.
It's a remake of the old folks song about the guy stuck in the Boston mta.
NYC is flush with cash at the moment, but it isn't guaranteed to continue. Mr De Blasio, who takes his motorcade of full sized SUVs from Gracie Mansion to Park Slope and back every morning, has been giving out new city jobs at an unprecedented rate. This is a time when we should be taking care of all of our deferred maintenance and saving money for the inevitable downturn to come. I lived through the 1970s and saw my CUNY graduation delayed a month in 1976 because the City was out of money. We do not want to return to those days, believe me. Can't any politician step up and be greater than expected?
6
Your "tease' for this editorial suggests that NY City and State voters are to blame; after all, they voted for the elected NYC and State office holders who oversee the operation and funding for the NYC subway system. That said, it should be noted that in the just-completed NYC elections only 22% of the 5-million registered voters showed up to vote. And, in the 2016 national and statewide elections, only 67% (2/3-rds) of eligible voters showed up (ranking NYS @41st in the nation). Shameful! If we have any hope for continuing of democracy eligible voters need to show up at the 'ballot box'. Brave women fought and died for that right...
1
Born and raised in NYC. For the forty years I lived there, I walked everywhere. Fast, fun, free.
2
There will be a special place in hell for the people who are doing this. Unfortunately it will not be much cooler for those on the Earth that they leave behind.
4
There are at least 20% more people in this city than there were in 1980. The working poor face commutes of 1-2 hours each way on NYC transit factoring in wait times and delays. That is unconscionable. It also disenfranchises them because with commutes like that, who has the time or energy to vote! It hurts families by diminishing the time parents spend with children! For those that are working more than one job, it's even worse. For the sake of the quality of life of your citizens, fix the system. Focus on repair and operation to the detriment of aesthetics. When awarding contracts, provide incentives/penalties to complete on time and within budget. Above all, make those responsible ride the subway routes of the working poor so they feel their pain and make it a component of the job to have to produce measurable improvement in outcomes for all of those who rely upon the system!
6
Went to NYC this spring and I was very disappointed by your mass transit. Subway OK but few trains on certain lines and many areas do not have a station within walking distance for an aging tourist! Took the bus but was stuck in trafic. NYC wonderful but hard on the pocketbook if you have to depend on taxi cabs to get from point A to B.
5
The hyperbole used to denigrate the subway system is out of control. It's not nearly as bad as described. And comparing it to other systems that are far smaller, much newer, and don't run 24 hours a day is unfair.
2
Do you even use the subway?? There’s nothing hyperbolic about the criticism.
3
Shut down lines, one at a time, and revamp them from top to bottom with modern controls and amenities. Shut down the avenues above to car/truck traffic during the day and run express shuttle buses to replace the subway being revamped.
Pay for it as Japan does - privatize the system to eliminate union waste and create accountability. No more politicians redirecting funds for pet projects, no more 2-3x cost overruns to fatten union coffers.
The system is beyond crisis. It is utterly broken and needs to be rebuilt from the ground up - on a physical and administrative level. It is a daunting task but band-aids won't cut it anymore. No more half-measures. We cannot allow the system to hobble along like this for another half-century (the estimated time it will take to replace the current switching system - assuming the money is there for it, which it isn't).
5
I do not accept that the subway's problems are primarily about money. Your own (excellent) article states quite clearly that the MTA misspends its resources on thousands of administrative bureaucrats earning $280k a pop. The article makes it quite clear that the MTA culture is one of laziness, carelessness and entitlement. More than new taxpayer money, the MTA needs new leaders who will come in with a vengeance and run the system for the benefit of the public, not the unions. Maybe then they will have earned the right to more funding.
4
"High-tech whizzes or Wall Street hotshots, ad agency employees or hard-hat laborers — they all rely on mass transit and feel the pain of an undependable system." Well, actually, no, they don't. Save for the hard-hat laborers, those referred in the article have migrated to Uber, private limos, Citibike, whatever. And, as noted in earlier NYT articles, most of those with oversight of the MTA live outside the city (sometimes WAY OUT, like in Buffalo) and never take the subway or buses. Until New York City gains full ownership and financial control of the transit system it will remain on life-support status. And perhaps that will only come when New York City secedes from New York State. The collapse began, as you note, in the 90s when the Republican Mayor Guiliani, with the backing of the Republican Governor Pataki, began the decimation of the transit budget. And things have fared no better with a Democrat mayor and a Democrat Governor. Cuomo's power resides upstate. New York City must secede and become the 51st state in the Union, and gain control over, and full use of, our resources.
4
This article focuses on the shortage of money to provide needed maintenance, but it omits a primary culprit for the lack of money: THE TRANSPORT WORKERS UNION!
John Lindsay failed to deal properly with the Transport Workers Union when they executed the first transit strike in NYC history. At the time, wages of city workers were lower than the private sector, but their benefits were far greater. They had almost total job security and the ability to retire after only 20 years.
After the strike, salaries and benefits of transit workers exploded. Token clerks who only had to handle a 20-dollar bill were getting 50% more pay than bank tellers! With regular threats of a strike, salaries and benefits went up and up so today the annual salary for a train operator is $83,000 to $128,000 – and that does not include benefits.
If transit salaries were commensurate with the qualifications and responsibilities of MTA jobs, there would be enough money to upgrade the system on an ongoing basis.
3
“High-tech whizzes or Wall Street hotshots, ad agency employees or hard-hat laborers — they all rely on mass transit and feel the pain of an undependable system”. Really? Everyone I know living there takes Uber, Taxis, or ride sharing services. The subway is for the hapless traveler and the homeless — people no one cares about. Carry a piece of luggage with you and try to get from Penn Station to the upper east side. It’s humane. It smells like a toilet. The lens thru which those visiting ambassadors view NYC and bring back home, a symbol of a decaying and divided America.
1
Somehow Mayor Mike name does not come up in this debate.
The man who up zoned with end and did little for the backbone the city.
Where does all this new tax revenue go ? there are at least 15 new hi-rise buildings in LIC alone...are they going to expand these stations to hold the hundreds of new commuters.
Doubt it .....
I have to ask...why would anyone live here?
5
I live in Toronto, the city that won the American Public Transportation Association's Transit system of the Year in 2017. Toronto's system is also outdated, has frequent breakdowns, signal troubles and congestion. Investment has been hobbled by competing special interest groups (namely suburbs vs metro) and lacklustre interest from the province of Ontario. Fare routinely go up. Still, it is apparently the best, even though the ridership would beg to differ.
We talk about the problem, but there is a solution. Change the 9-5 workday. The subways run all day long, and yet in Toronto at least, they are virtually empty between 10am-3pm. If we relinquished our obsession with having an entire workforce mobilized at exactly the same times, every business day, we would be able to accommodate the ridership by expanding the workday from 10am-6pm or 7am-3pm. There is also the possibility of having 4 day weeks with rotating work-at-home days to reduce daily ridership overall.
We might not be able to scrounge up the billions of dollars to fix our ailing transit systems overnight, but we can certainly be more creative with our time. This solution may actually increase productivity, especially among those of us who have children to get to school, or people who would like more free time at the end of their workday. It would require businesses and government to buy in, but if a rationale can be made for happier employees who aren't constantly late, they just might be amenable to it.
3
That may work in Toronto, but in NYC it's busy ALL THE TIME. Want to take the 6 train at 1am on a Tuesday....there's still a chance you'll be standing. in the morning there is a 6 train coming basically l every 3 mins on the UES. There's still a good chance you can't even get on.
The Q train really has been life-changing for those that live near 2nd Ave. The problem it was so expensive (for all the reasons the NYT has reported) that it's not a model they can use effectively.
Unions have gotten to the point where they are going to suck the life out of everything they touch. Its rediculous the demands people give into these groups in the Northeast.
3
Just back from Berlin, Vienna, Munich, Copenhagen. Rode the underground everyday in those cities. There is an unimaginable difference between the US subways and these. On time, plentiful, waited no longer than 5 minutes for a train or a connection. The stations are very clean and the bathrooms even in the underground stations were incredibly clean. The trams overground are electric and frequent. Look to Europe for tech and answers and then let's build our own rail systems with American workers here in the States. Spend money on the public commons not on the war machine.
13
Those systems are tiny in comparison.
1
There are a all the problems the NYT has laid out, and then there is the problem of scale.
There are more stations and busses in NY then all those systems combined....a lot more. The number of people that depend on public transits in NYC is many times multiple all those cities combined. They charge more. The system has to run 24 hours unlike any of those cities. The NY system is older and is a combination of multiple privately run systems that don't even have the same track guage. Everything built in the original system is custom and different than the same thing in some other station...an initial design flaw. Then add in the political and union issues and it's mind boggling.
Its going to take a completely innovative and unique solution to fix here in NY.
8
Rubbish.
Size doesn’t matter.
Effective management and proper funding does.
3
What we need to do is tax developers and luxury condo buyers.
I ask this simple question: When are we going to be done with neo-liberal, tax cutting, tax evading, democracy undermining austerity???
When???
13
"However misguided their predecessors may have been, Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio own this crisis." - Let that one sink in for a moment. New York City voters re-elected a mayor who just admitted (after the elections, of course) having knowledge of the NYCHA's lead paint inspections cover up since last year. Only about 24% of registered voters BOTHERED to go and vote, with roughly 65% of the vote going for de Blasio, reflecting a "I want more of the same" attitude. NYC, as a whole, has absolutely NOTHING to complain about for the next 4 years.
10
The US Congress and the White House have diverted funds from Social Security over the years, leaving behind IOUs, in order to pay for the things they bought like drunken sailors. This is what happens with all government programs, and has done so for as long as governments have existed. After all, if the US Congress does it, it must be good for state governments to do so as well.
5
I'm not great at math and I am rounding down for even more "benefit of the doubt" so.....If there are 5.7 riders daily, and each rider pays $2.75 each way, that comes out to over $30 million dollars a DAY for round-trip travel! Granted, there are the fare jumpers and discounted fares, so lets round down to a very generous 5 million riders daily for total of over $27 million daily. What kind of mismanagement and or corruption must be taking place for a system pulling in over $10 BILLION/YEAR to have these kinds of issues? You can run a small country with that kind of money and yet we can't run a single transportation system in this city!! We need to make people accountable for poor management and clean up the corruption.
6
This editorial is a careful fiscal analysis, but reversing the trends it has identified will likely only bring the hundreds of miles of New York's subway system up to date.
Of course, that would be quite an accomplishment: neglect of the system is becoming a safety hazard as well as a disaster for infuriated riders - not just commuters: let's not forget tourists and the City's tourism industry.
But there's also the future. New York City and its region sends many more billions of dollars to the federal government every year than are returned to it in what should be targeted, block grants for urban improvements, including upgrading and maintaining mass transit.
The "70's-style coalition" this editorial suggests might be a good idea - but - looking to the future - a return to a "70's - style" national urban policy focused first on urban transit to restore - and to plan for and fund - large-city mass transit is absolutely essential to prevent what is beginning to look like a "70's-style" mass exit of wage-earning people from the New York City Tri-State Region largely due to the stress of merely moving around it during the daytime.
Only much more federal funding will restore and improve the conditions on New York's subway lines in the long run. Mayors and governors can do only so much - when are the City's federal representatives going to demand an emergency urban and regional mass transit program for the City's unique-in-the-world, 600-mile-long subway system?
2
Mass transit exists to make money for companies and rich people: it carries employees to and from work, where they generate profits, and it carries shoppers and tourists to places where they spend money. Companies and rich people should pay the whole cost of mass transit, as a cost of doing business. The State should fully--and I mean fully--fund the MTA out of taxes on business and great wealth, not out of working people's pockets.
47
I completely agree! Why should the public be required to subsidize the transportation of employees and shoppers to and from workplaces and shopping zones. I am all about public transit, but perhaps if we were better able to create and or organize neighborhoods for people to work live and play within that neighborhood, would we have to have these mass transit projects.? I live in one giant commuter state, Utah, where the I-15 cuts straight down the middle, so people from all over the state can drive 1 - 4 hours each way to work in salt lake city. Not everyone can live where they work. I feel lucky that I live within 5 - 10 minutes of my workplace in the city but I can not help but feel lilke the roads are not meant for the residents of my city or neighborhood but for the massive amount of commuters who fail to pay any local taxes to support said roads.
4
If only companies and rich people paid their full share of taxes to support the infrastructure and resources they depend upon. [frowny face]
1
My wife an I last rode the NY subways in 2011. We both felt more than a bit frightened whenever the trains were moving. The ride was always rough, with lots of zigzag movements and the crunching sound of wheel sets being flung against steel rails. Maybe the trains were still far away from derailing but we could not help fearing that they might. We were sure glad every time we had reached or destination. Needless to say that the natives around us did not seem to have any concerns.
After a quick paragraph outing the salaries of subway workers and managers, is this to be the last of the reporting on that aspect of the problem, including work rules? Are unions so sacrosanct there can be no discussion around the obviously inflated salaries and bizarre work rules? Please, NYT, don't bury this!
11
There is no silver bullet to this crisis that was decades in the making.
To fix this right, it'll take billions and the results will show many, many years after Cuomo and Di Blasio leave office.
1
Well, this is a fine mess. The subways are the arteries feeding blood to the heart of the city. Obviously, in addition to better leadership and making subway health a fiscal priority, we need to provide the income stream needed to get cracking on these vital repairs.
We also need to face the fact that dismal subway performance is forcing more frustrated commuters back into their cars, which is the exact opposite of what we need for the health of the city.
Congestion pricing for car tolls for our bridges and tunnels is one solution. As is a commuter tax increase for folks linking to our subways via other systems and gas taxes to support mass transit. And of course, state and local income tax increases........
Uh-oh. These state and local taxes are on the chopping block in Trump's tax plan. How about the currently highly profitable corporations, many awash in cash, whose whopping tax cuts under this same tax plan are supposed to "trickle down" to the working man, having to pay into the transportation system that provides them with a workforce?
2
I write this while stranded on the #7 train.
My productivity for the morning is ruined.
I need to re- shuffle my whole day.
Hopefully, this subway disaster will end both Cuomo and Di Blasio political career and serve as a lesson to future mayors and governors.
Let messing with subway funding be the third rail of NY politics
9
What this editorial fails to mention is that NYC sends way more tax money to Washington than it gets back. Our Senators (and Congressman) need to fight to get back more federal funds. We are the most underfunded system per mile of track and per passenger. Wyoming gets more money per capita for mass transit than NYC. Our politicians use their positions as a stepping stone to something better and we are left perpetually shortchanged.
Mayor Bloomberg, a multibillionaire who by NY Times account donated $650 million was the best steward of NYC and particularly mass transit. Bloomberg took the subway frequently. Our current mayor has taken helicopters more frequently than the subway. During the rare subway photo-ops DeBlasio has the homeless cleared out first.
Bloomberg also fought very hard to keep unions from getting too greedy. 300K compensation for an AVERAGE subway manager. I wish I had known that before applying to medical school.
DeBlasio is very transactional and hypocritical. Trained by the Sandinistas and admiring of Castros Cuba (where he honeymooned), DeBlasio uses every opportunity to engage in race and class warfare. He proposes a millionaire tax, knowing State Senate Republicans will never allow it to pass. He willfully ignores the fact that 10% of NYC families pay over 70% of the NYC taxes. Under DeBlasio, NYC should evolve into apocalyptic Detroit where everyone is equally poor and there are no more rich people to target.
I
10
Your subway crisis in NY illustrates the beauty of LA’s pathetic MTA . . .with so few people using it, when it screws up hardly anybody is even aware of it, let alone bringing the city to a standstill.
2
The picture of an unsustainable system has its nexus at UNIONS and POLITICIANS. 300K per year pay for a subway "manager" and 170K per year for an average employee -- twice what other systems pay. Union greed and inefficient work rules fed by politicians eager for their money/votes/endorsements has led to a system that is unsustainable. Ignoring this fundamental problem means the truth of fixing this system is impossible.
5
To the staff who moderate comments:
I just submitted a comment and mis-stated a dollar amount. I wrote $800 plus dollars instead of $800 plus million dollars. Would you please correct that.
[THIS IS NOT AN OPEN-LETTER-TO-THE-EDITOR, but a request for a correction to my recent comment. I tried telephoning the paper.Thank you.] s/A.F. Wed. 10:10 a.m.
I remember when a back in the day Daily News headline was something like "Drop Dead New York" attributed to Pataki when money was being sneakily sucked out of the NYC subway system.
1
I love it. Too bad I’m not a NY Post reader.
Cuomo to NYC subway riders: Drop Dead.
1
Our politicians, especially this governor and mayor need, unfortunately for all of us jammed into a 1 car, to be educated, emotionally educated. Along with the NY state assembly, which should be forcibly removed from their next session in chains and subjected to compassion training in Tibet. Ditto, the Dolt 45 on Penn avenue and his minions, the congress and most of the voting public.
2
This NYT could be about any major city , just change the City name and topic. Until we get leaders in our US cities and not politicians who keep putting money to get short term campaign donations and votes . then put money to non "sexy" maintenance or basic services . We will continue get these crisis that are now out of control
1
The only thing great about this country is the ability for the public to accept a totally insulting unfeeling unworkable horrible lifestyle and do nothing.
1
One person can not change the whole system but they can make a difference. As of Tuesday, Toronto has lost Andy Byford, who New Yorkers will soon find to be a visionary who has a flair for gathering the leaders and the money and focusing them on a singular vision with service improvement as a guiding light.
We are sorry to lose him, please do not waste this opportunity. He will be in demand eslewhere if you do not get together with a common goal.
Good luck and don't screw it up.
2
I think we should rename the subway lines...The Pataki...The Cuomo...The Guilliani...The Blasio...The Bloomberg (for the 6 obviously)
Ah, the tyranny of the automobile. Free-dum for all of us. Free-dum.
Why did the NY Times wait until AFTER it helped re-elect De Blazio to come out with its expose on the subways? Sounds like the NYTimes is colluding with the Progressives.
5
This is a very simple problem. New York City has immense amount of wealth. Condos go for between 3,000 to 30,000 a foot and prices go up. The poorer NYC dwellers don't have the money. Put a tax on all condos, apartments etc that trade over a certain value or rent. An extra few thousand a year from these owners and renters won't make a dent in their funds.
Old saying, "Got a problem? Can Money fix the problem? Got Money? You don't have a problem!"
2
"We need to create a new Subway Authority with an executive and board elected by the people of the boroughs served by the subway and since the prosperity of NYC benefits all residence there should be a dedicated tax with a commuter tax to fund the reconstruction of the subway. '
are readers of the NYT familiar with the profit motive to accomplish goals and achievements. governments have no visions except to get themselves re=elected.
the last thing the city needs is another tax on the overburdened working class ( those people working in the private sector, not the over-privileged government "workers.")
4
The profits derived from mass transit are real, but they're too indirect for our market-driven system. Passenger rail, on any scale, has almost never been directly profitable, and has long-since been bailed out by government. That's why the MTA and AMTRAK exist: socialism for corporations, free markets for people.
1
The profit motive doesn't apply to the provision of a public good like public transit as the benefits are too widely spread out to be captured in a price accruing to any one single actor. But I won't bore you with an economics lesson, you've already seem to have the solution (more of the same...?)
not true. the definition of public good depends on the speaker.
my solution is to privatize the subways. hand it over to 3 or more private companies. there is nothing like competition to result in the best available service.
1
it's all part of a greater problem that our once great, now mediocre country has:
the unwillingness to work for the greater good--as in the "greatest good for the greatest number".
Today, our country suffers from a practice of taking as much as possible from the greatest number so that a select few can be unnecessarily more powerful.
3
The mere fact that 16 percent of the MTA's budget goes to interest payments for bloated labor contracts such as subway manager's $300,000.00 salaries is breathtaking. How can Mr. Cuomo dare talk about tolls from east river bridges to pay for such a criminal waste of taxpayer dollars? There needs to be a sea change in leadership, or this great city will never have the mass transit system it rightly deserves.
1
The $800-plus dollars that were "re-directed" by this current Governor and others is now offered back as a somewhat emergency infusion to the M.T.A. to effect a fix. No, that is merely restoring what shouldn't have been taken. Let Governor Cuomo now come up with an additional $800 million to ameliorate our transportation ills. -- Alan Flacks
5
The editors are wrong. It's not governors and mayors who are to blame. It's governors, period. Proof: the governor controls the MTA, and the MTA runs the subway.
Who shut down the subway in a snowstorm? Cuomo. Has he ever relied on the subway? Did he consider how better to move around in a snowstorm? Only a nonresident would think shutting down the most reliable system is a good idea. I guess he thought everyone in Park Slope would drive to Wall Street instead.
The subway, like the schools, should be controlled by the mayor. A fixed percentage of the operating cost should be provided not the state, both because the city contributes disproportionately to the state's coffers, and because nonresidents benefit from the subway when they use it (or when NYC produces something they use, like a checking account).
As things stand, everyone can happily blame everyone else. Upstate can vote to ruin the subway, and the mayor can shrug because it's out of his hands. If the city must suffer lousy subways, it should be within the voters' power to change.
2
Ya know the subway system was once controlled by the mayor for a long time. And then, they ran out of money and asked the state for a bailout and the state said sure, but we're taking over. And the unions were happy and nothing changed.
2
I agree but don’t let the mayor off the hook.
The city has money to contribute and it’s not.
I spent several weeks recently in Berlin. One of the things I noticed was that nobody runs to catch the U-bahn, probably because if you miss your train the next one will arrive in four minutes.
7
Yep. Seen that myself in Berlin.
And quickly adapted to civilized society.
Stopped running. Stoped rushing.
In the end somebody has got to pay. It will usually trickle down to subway riders and taxpayers. State of NY and City of NY need to look at all the extra cash that the Trump budget will free up for the ultra-rich and tap in to that deep well. The rich never ride the subway anyway so why not extract some cash from their deep pockets - and getting deeper - to modernise the mass transit system as their huge limousines clog the streets of NYC.
2
45 years ago, I took the NYC subway to and from high school every day. It was bad then. The old cast iron cars from the turn of the century, complete with ceiling fans, were still in use. The pedestrian tunnels exuded the bracing smell of years' old urine. But it did run, and the fact that it went everywhere meant you could live in NYC and not use a car every day. Too bad that the politicians let the problems fester. The subway should be the city's crown jewel, not its shame.
4
Of these people you name the only one I've ever voted for is Andrew Cuomo, and that with some misgivings ... particularly after the Moorland commission.
I don't get to vote in NYC, it's not my residence.
That being said, I ride the NYC subways a lot, and it's bad. I cannot imagine committing to being "a real New Yorker" and living with this all the time. It reminds me far too much of Eastern Europe before the Berlin wall fell, or Terry Guilliam's "Brasil."
The tragedy of New York City is that it does everything it possibly can to convince people that despite enormous wealth, great numbers of smart and enthusiastic people that graft, developer interest and Trumpian morals will prevail in producing the most insanely-expensive slum in the world.
3
There is a near-perfect solution to this mess if only De Blasio and Cuomo would look out their black SUVs’ windows and allow a lightbulb to go off over their heads. NYC is awash with wealth - some based in Manhattan or the boroughs, some in the suburbs, all of which carries with it the option to either take mass transit or drive. Those who take the former option should be rewarded and pay the same fare as everybody else. Those who don’t- who clog the streets of the densest city center in the Western Hemisphere- should pay for the privilege. And that money should be truly lockboxed for transit improvements- rather than diverted for shiny lights on bridges.
The middle class and poor by and large don’t have the same options and must take mass transit. And they get stuck behind the millionaires from Westchester who probably would rally behind De Blasio’s millionaire’s tax on NYC residents!
Congestion pricing - particularly Gridlock Sam’s extremely well-thought through MoveNY plan - may not be a panacea but it’s by far the best option anyone has come up with in recent memory. Maybe because it’s written by a lifelong New Yorker rather than someone whose advisors - and literally no one else in the world- are sure will be living in DC four years from now.
1
Congestion Taxation ? I often need to get to NYC for business, and my trips are not consistent. When they are, I usually pay a bridge toll. I sometimes pay to park. It cost me $75 to use a car in NYC yesterday...I'm not crying, just stating fact. A congestion tax on top of this ? NYC is part of New York, and I don't see why I need to pay it to go there. I doubt anyone who works in NYC consistently uses a car to get there...it isn't 1960. Congestion Tax will also ding you for crossing the Bronx to get from Westchester to Long Island...in addition to the Bridge Tolls. I have a $200 per month EZ pass bill. Congestion pricing won't change my behavior,....it would just be another tax. Don't forget that it really is a commuter tax...as 60% plus of all vehicles in Manhattan on any given day are registered outside, whether legitimately or for cheaper insurance purposes.
1
Uh Casey ... congestion pricing is proposed only for Manhattan, and perhaps only southern Manhattan. You have perhaps heard of the Whitestone and Throgs Neck bridges?
And if "congestion pricing" won't change your behavior (really?) then at least two of three things is true:
* the charge isn't high enough
* you are fibging
* you are much too rich to be whining about it
2
I have been living in London for the last few years and the difference between its subway system and New York's is startling. The trains almost always run on time and are usually only a few minutes apart. Signs on all platforms clearly indicate when the next train is arriving. There are multiple ongoing projects to provide further improvements to the stations. Within a couple of years, an entire new line will be completed connecting London East to West which was done in under 10 years. The main reason is that the TFL, the equivalent of the MTA, controls its own finances and uses all funds for improvements on the system. London appreciates that its subway is a critical part of the City's infrastructure and has invested in it accordingly.
10
But you didn’t mention that the London Underground DOES NOT run all night. There is time between 1:00 AM-5 AM (or thereabouts depending on the day) for inspection and repairs. Will NY stand for that?
It's a good point, but only partially true. Five of the lines now run all night on the weekends and there is an extensive night bus network. It still comes down to investing in the system. If MTA had the funds and was properly managed, it would be able to make improvements and keep the subway running.
A common thread comparing NYC seems to be that NYC runs all night or other systems are smaller.
This logic implies the problem is insurmountable and we therefore can’t have a system that compares to other cities. I don’t accept that. We’ve had our subway running better and there’s no reason why we can’t get comparable to other world class cities.
1
The stakes are now much higher than in the 70s when New York was the undisputed financial capital of the world. Today the city must compete with better run rivals across the globe. Without first rate public transportation, long term capital flight and departure of creative classes is a real risk.
6
Austerity for everyone but the rich is in vogue. Only morons pay taxes. Poliiticians do not work for us, they are corporate prostitutes. These are the disgusting times we live in and it's affects everything we do. Until there is a middle class revolution it will only get worse. The deterioration of the subway is indicative of our failed leadership. Welcome to the third world.
23
The average subway rider doesn’t vote but Unions do. Who wins? Change is in our hands should we choose to use it. We can vote locally. We can join the strap hangers. We can join Transportation Alternatives. We can send, call, write our representatives.
5
Hard to hold people accountable if the problem doesn't reveal itself until they are gone or dead.
3
I always enjoy comments to the effect that "we're not here to assign blame."
That is such a fatuous statement. Especially given the fact that "Empty Suit" Andy Cuomo is still in charge, and he's prominently displayed in pictures grinning at the opening of the Second Avenue subway.
But The Times said he was OK, so I must be wrong since I don't live in New York City.
1
His name is Andrew. There is no need to demean the man.
You cannot make a silk purse our of a sow's ear. Our subway is worn out and needs to look like the modern system in Japan.
We need to create a new Subway Authority with an executive and board elected by the people of the boroughs served by the subway and since the prosperity of NYC benefits all residence there should be a dedicated tax with a commuter tax to fund the reconstruction of the subway. Assuming, of course, that our economy does nor crash, war does not break out over a tweet and the tunnels are not used for the homeless as our nation is being destroyed piece by piece. fy a foreign regime.
4
you just endorsed deblasio why didn't you put this story out before the election ?
11
Maybe because De Blasio doesn't run the MTA?
4
No reference to Robert Moses?
3
There once was a transit enterprise
Suffering a dismaying demise
Yet starved for attention
By partisan tension
Now looks for a new transit sunrise
1
Failure has another parent here: the New York Times.
The Times consistently endorsed its favorite candidates for re-election without seriously holding them to task for the decrepit state of the subways. Then it waited until after De Blasio's re-election to publish its excellent and deservedly scathing expose. This was a missed opportunity, and one really has to wonder about the timing and the Times's priorities here. Now De Blasio can skate through his second (and final) term without having to deal with the subways in any meaningful way, and Cuomo certainly knows that he can continue to get re-elected without doing anything.
Thanks a lot, guys.
17
".. however, if every major city in the world old and new can do better why cant we..."
not one of the postings blathering this hypothesis ever provide proof through meaningful statistics.
2
As you read through the comments, one cannot find one positive comment on how to solve the problem just a plethora of blame. Yup people screwed up. There was incompetence and shortsightedness. Recognizing that you have a problem is a first important step; but, don't dwell on it. Time to come up with a two part solution (1) Set up a continually funded budget to adequately maintain what you already have (2) Develop and adequately fund a capital improvement plan to construct what is needed going forward. Now is a great time to issue bonds with interest rates at the lowest rates ever. Everyone benefits from a smoothly functioning rapid transit system whether they ride it or not. Get on with it.
4
Great that the NYTimes bring this scandal to public attention, but why is this story published now and not before the Mayoral election?
15
Why do so many commentators here fail to realize that the MTA is run by the governor, not the mayor? Assuming voters understood that fact, this story would have had little or no effect on the mayoral election.
5
What a joke. You cite as the main reason $1.5b siphoned over a period of 20 (that is twenty) years and only in the end you mention the $1.6 billion a YEAR that MTA pays in interest for money borrowed mostly to pay for unresonable contracts signed with the union.
NYT had a series of articles about the subway system and most of them ignore or just mention the elephant in the room: the union. The MTA budget for the subway system increased constantly but union payroll went up exponetially.
Subway issues? That's good news for the union. It just means more work for them, overtime, negotiation power. Do you think that subway performance is in anyway related to the members compensation? The only thing the union cares about: better hours, better benefits and better comp for their members. That what all unions fight for and it makes sense. There is no incentive for them to fix the system.
10
This is the sort of fact-based reporting and opinion that typifies a great newspaper, reminding us why, when at its best, organizations like the Times serve a role that the internet simply can't. At the same time, it highlights a disconnect between the political views of the editorial board and facts on the ground. To wit, given problems at home, how does one justify the mayor galavanting around the country, or continue to endorse a governor overseeing this mess and the mess in Albany. When does it become mandatory that politicians prioritize their jobs over their egos? And yes, ex-NY'er with the misfortune of coming to NY for business.
2
I am against congestion prices hikes to subsidize the high salaries and benefits of the subway stafs. How about making those 300k salaries 100k instead? If the leave, you'll find plenty of people working for more sensible salaries. The subway fare is already very high for people on m inimum to average wage. In eastern Europe a much cleaner and modern subway with wireless capabilities has a fare of 5o cents.
4
In the current environment urbanization is not viable. When only he rich can live within commuting distance of the cities, the cities will drown in garbage and broken down transportation systems.
2
Foreign Millionaires' Property Tax - Every day a new $10 million + luxury condo is completed or started. Many of these 8 figure units are purchased by a foreign multi millionaire. Based upon recent NYT reporting we know that the funds used to purchase the luxury condo were taxed, if at all, at a single digit tax rate paid to a tax shelter country such as the Cayman Islands or Isle of Jersey. Some of the purchasers may have stolen enormous amounts of money from their own countrymen based upon corrupt and unstable political environments. So why not impose a steep tax on any multi-million $ condo purchased in NYC by any foreign national. Make the tax rate 10% of the sales price. Rich foreigners use NYC as a shopping mall to spend billions of dollars of money that was taxed at low tax rates ordinary citizen's can only dream about.
9
Eight billion in annual fare revenue. The problem is not on the revenue side of the balance sheet.
2
When I see the transit systems in Europe and now China, I weep. The systems in NYC and Boston belong in museums. (I’m sure the MTA damages it riders’ hearing.)
4
Actually, I did not vote for DeBlasio and yes I do blame him for the MTA mess, as well as the other messes he has created with his ridiculous policies. If the MTA is in such dire need of funds, I guess it makes no sense to encourage people to be fare beaters, and let the place be a free for all of lawlessness.
1
The point of this article is to deflect blame from the villains — Cuomo and De Blasio — by mentioning much earlier actors. Cuomo has been governor for 7 years and De Blasio in office for 4. They not only own the problem, they are the problem.
4
The pervasive problems in the subways started with “deferred maintenance” during the fiscal crisis of the 1970s (while I was in high school, commuting from Staten Island to Manhattan).
It has not been properly addressed, the encomiums tossed at Richard Ravitch and David Gunn here notwithstanding. They only prevented a total collapse, but should not be covered in glory.
The fact is that the Governor controls a majority on the MTA board, which has failed its fiduciary duty to assure that it is a wise steward of the public fisc, especially in its capital budget.
Its failure to adopt performance clauses, and penalties for lateness and flying well over budget is an egregious failure of the MTA board, and the assorted politicians who appointed the members. David Mack, the longtime Vice Chairman, quit in a huff when he had to surrender his NINE umlimited, prepaid EZ Pass tags.
Cuomo and DeBlasio have been terrible on transit, but so were Koch, Dinkins, Giuliani, Bloomberg, Cuomo pere, Pataki, Spitzer, and Paterson, as well.
Whose idea was it to hire John Leguizamo to do commercials for EZ Pass lauding the cashless tolling that Cuomo put in place, without knowing or caring that there is a burgeoning industry to make license plates unreadable by their cameras (not to mention red light and speed cameras). CBS news did a story about the fines being harshly levied on people whose autopay credit cards fell out of date.
1
This issue was so present when I caste my vote few weeks ago, and will do the same in 2020.
If the subway serviced the vaunted `Billionaires' Row', this mess never would have happened. New York has abandoned New York for outside money.
What I don't quite understand is how other cities manage this problem admirably. The Tokyo subway system is roughly as old as the NYC system (first stations were built in 1921) but runs like a dream. I've lived in Beijing and the Chinese were able to build a massive (about as big as in NYC in terms of mileage and stations), very modern subway system in the proverbial blink of an eye--roughly 20 years. The same in Shanghai.
Yet NYC hobbles along, lurching from one crisis to another. What happened to the visionaries and leaders that pushed NYC to world status in the early 1900s? The rot started to happen in the 1950s, and there was a short revival from the 1970s to the 1990s. The rot is setting in again.
Voters, we must do something, to restore the accountability and efficiency of the early 1900s, the accountability and efficiency that made this city great to begin with.
6
The signal system was state of the art more like around when people were dancing the Charleston in the 1920’s.
Really, the current state of the subway is reflective of how the entire country has been horribly mis-managed by elites from both parties who I really feel don’t care about the regular people who make them money and put them in power.
Overcrowded pot-holed highways, crumbling bridges, hundreds of dams in dangerously poor condition, pathetic inter-city rail service, antiquated computers used for air traffic control, awful health care system, to name a few issues that most Americans deal with while the .1% elites have so much money they don’t have to deal with these “little annoyances” as the rest of us do.
And the elites want even more in their pockets and leave the government less to spend on fixing this country with these latest tax cut proposals?
This country has literally gone off the rails.
43
I think NYC becoming a sanctuary city has contributed. Let's not forget that the mayor receives a large chunk of votes from the ethnic communities in return for giving the illegal members of their community protection and benefits as soon as they reach this city. Mayor de Blasio knew he would get elected no matter what so he didn't need to do much for those of us who pay for those benefits.
Illegal immigration has a corrosive effects on the society and this is just one manifestation.
3
Yeah maybe it was NFL players taking a knee or maybe it was Mexicans crossing the border or maybe it was China!
3
"A non sequitur (Latin for "it does not follow"), in formal logic, is an invalid argument. In a non sequitur, the conclusion is either true or false, but the argument nonetheless asserts the conclusion to be true and is thus fallacious."
Or in the case of this comment you've laid metaphorical tracks straight into the Hudson without building the tunnel first, so that train won't get anyone to Brooklyn.
A few more dots might help to follow the plot. So...try again?
2
"A few more dots might help to follow the plot. So...try again?"
Here are de Blasio's approval ratings by ethnicity. Observe which groups support him most, then ask yourself why. It can't be because he's doing such a great job fixing the subway system.
https://poll.qu.edu/new-york-city/release-detail?ReleaseID=2458
1
My son transferred to NYU and now lives in Brooklyn, and has experienced his share of train delays in his daily commute. That the biggest city, in the most powerful country in the world, with gobs of obscene private wealth (that ugly thin tall skyscraper of billionaire apartments near Central Park!), would allow its public infrastructure to deteriorate to this point, is a testament to two disturbing and unsustainable trends: growing income/wealth disparity, and a fraying social contract in America.
17
London and Hong Kong are also two of the wealthiest cities with the highest income disparity (by Gini terms), yet there systems are inexpensive, clean, safe and reliable.
I can promise you it is not all the billionaires riding the subway system jamming up the system. Also, JS of Seattle, Seattle also has a lot of billionaires, is municipal dysfunction the result of that concentrated wealth?
2
Many forward thinking countries have fully automated their transit systems. The issue here and certainly worldwide with continuing advances in technology and automation is what happens to the people who are displaced. That is the 800 lb gorilla which no one wants to talk about but which undoubtedly fuels the anxiety of voters in the US and elsewhere.
4
The nation's passenger railway system, especially the railroads now merged as AMTRAC, have experienced the same mismanagement. I can personally relate to poor upkeep of several of those northeast railroads dating back to the mid-1950s when I travelled between Stamford, CT and Northampton, MA. Breakdowns were frequent. Windows were broken. .....
1
Because I don't live in NYC, I suppose I have no right to comment on this as a local issue. The last time I rode the NYC subway was a decade ago. However, as an American, I see the subway problem as a microcosm of a much greater problem that applies nationwide. We are unwilling to raise taxes when necessary. It's easier to make future generations pay or make existing consumers "pay" by reducing service. America, it's ok to raise taxes when needed. As I have often said: I would love to pay less tax, but I can't afford it.
13
I respectfully disagree. 10% of the NYC families pay for 70% of the NYC taxes (they are also least likely to use the subway).
Hong Kong has a 17% top tax rate and still has a clean, reliable, efficient and inexpensive system. I would posit that if subway fares were increased about fourfold to $10 per ride, the problem of underfunding would remain the same. Our culture and our politicians view government and an endless slush fund to be used to buy votes, buy power, enrich friends, family and cronies. Accountability is always obscured as there are so many guilty parties.
In the same time that we built the Second Avenue Subway, Chongking, built 30 times as much subway underground at half the price. In Africa a rail line was built connecting Ethiopia to Eritrea, 60 times as long, for one third the price, and twice as fast as the it took to do the Second Ave Subway.
The idea that the solution to every problem is more money is old and disproven. We need better governance, not more regulation, not more taxation.
1
You get what you pay for. If we are to have a subway system that is repaired, updated and maintained as it should be, then it is going to cost us money, either through increased fares or increased taxes. Of course politicians should to be honest, managers competent and staff responsible and reasonable in their expectations. But we still have to pay more. Someone cited the Swiss transport system as a model. The Swiss system did not happen through political magic, and it is not cheap. It is a product of a societal agreement of how taxes and fares are assessed and allotted. And yes, it is a beautiful thing.
3
I think you missed the part of the investigative article that explained that the issue is the diversion of money. Fares already account for a disproportionate share of the budget compared to other, modern transit systems around the world. What is the point of paying more if the people in charge are just going to use the fares and taxes as their own petty cash fund? The money needs to be earmarked for MTA use only and anyone who uses it for other purposes needs to be removed from office. Until we get serious about this, raising taxes and fares is just throwing money in a black hole.
It is still the quintessential New York experience: traveling underground across the length and breath of the city, watching families, workers, students, and others, affirming our common humanity. I love the clack of the wheels, the chime of the closing doors, the crowded platforms, the murals and music. The subway is New York!
13
I'm a lifelong New Yorker, and I agree with you completely. I delight in the diversity I see on the subway, and, though I don't often admit it, even in the "entertainment." I don't see why we don't all take enough pride in this wonder of engineering and humanity to find the will to keep it working as it should, and can. Why spend fortunes on opulent new stations and pittances on tracks and signals. But then, I've always been a techie, so I'll never understand the hubris of politicians.
1
Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden and Adolph Green:
“New York New York!
It’s a hell of a town.
The Bronx is up
And the Battery’s down.
The people ride in a hole in the ground!
New York, New York!
It’s a hell of a town!”
from “On the Town.”
1
Walter ,a valuable visitor to ny is correct.Its a daily ride in the belly of the beast that is ny.Garbage and track fires,stairways are all quite hazardous in need of more focus,people react to ticketing for litter and other violations.System is close to the end of its useable life.Rail bridges and raised structures are dangerously neglected,,starting with massive neglect and regular meaningful maintenance,chipping and paint renewal projects are few and far between any systems care ,safety and simple reality.its failing people....visitors from around the world are appalled...
Of course pandering incompetent politicos are responsible. Who allows a critical system to have parts that are so old and basically obsolete. Now both moving money from the system and perhaps a lack of guts to raise fees to properly maintain and expand the system. Politics is to blame.
5
Politics is value neutral. Politicians are not. And only the youngest among us are unaware that politicians are controlled by the wealthy--always have been, and at the present rate, always will be. And what might be the point of raising "fees" if the income is diverted on the demands of the wealthy? Simple fact, public services like the MTA and Amtrak are starved of funds.
6
As the Times has done a good job of reporting, previous state and local administrations have lots of culpability for the state of the subways. However, the problem now sits squarely with Cuomo and DeBlasio, neither of whom has articulated a plan for how they will WORK TOGETHER to fix the system. Voters don't seem to be in the mood to demand more from their leaders, as DeBlasio was just re-elected. Bottom-line: don't expect things to get better anytime soon with the Keystone cops running the show and pointing fingers at each other.
11
Cuomo and DeBlasio, who managed to work together at Bill Clinton’s HUD, would rather drink hemlock smoothies than work together now. Cuomo seems especially animated that due to the arcane rules of New
York state’s governance, almost everything DeBlasio wants to do must get Cuomo’s approval.
And what’s up with Cuomo bringing state troopers from upstate, paid overtime, food and lodging per diems, to conduct traffic stops on NYC bridges, tunnels and highways when, if you total up NYPD, PAPD and MTA police there are already over 40,000 cops in this city?
1
Americans should check out Japan for how to do trains right. Shinzo Abe was just over there in Washington a few months ago trying to get Trump to sign on for trains. Out of the 51 busiest train stations in the world, all but 6 are in Japan! And trains move people more efficiently (in terms of using fossil fuel energy) than cars and buses. So America needs to comprehensively spend money on trains and I recommend taking some of the Pentagon's billions for this. I live in Japan and the trains are super, clean, fast, and in some cities not even crowded.
32
Yes in Japan and with their culture they work. Long distance trains in the US are a waste of money and this article is about mass transit within a metro area not going to Florida from NYC.
1
Yes, the US is half a century behind Japan in railroad technology. If anyone wishes to see this locally, NHK World (in English) has an occasional program called "Japan Railway Journal" that covers this topic. Their website allows you to watch some shows on demand. If it is of any consolation, the wheels of NYC subway cars are manufactured in Japan because of their superior quality.
3
Tokyo has three times the population of New York City, and NYC is twice the population of the next biggest American city.
In Japan, “tax” is not a four letter word. Thanks, Grover Norquist...
2
In addition to our love of guns another cultural glitch we Americans have is our love of the automobile and disdain for mass transit. The irony is that this cultural glitch has given the American public the worse of both worlds---clogged expressways and broken down mass transit systems.
35
In both NYC and Washington DC I have ridden the mass transit systems. I liked them until you could not even move for being packed in. Both systems have been neglected, plenty of people actually use them and more would if they were actually decent. Now where I live a car is essential to me, but we don't have massive traffic jams either, and if we did I would (being retired) avoid them.
3
We voted for them and the NYTimes endorsed them!
38
A crying shame.
3
Bring back Mike Bloomberg! Why the Times EB would endorse DeBlasio and Cuomo is beyond me.
22
Amy obviously you don't know very much about city government.
" public transit aficionados that pay nowhere near the actual cost of their conveyance are to blame for the fantasy world where everybody is going to pay for you to take a subway trip."
you have defined a perfect example of socialism in action. it is very close to reality of the manner in which the typical Left wing/liberal readers of the NYT react. let's spend YOUR money on my grandiose visions.
8
You have no idea what an economic engine the subway is. The economy of the city would collapse without them. The race that pay for them benefit all.
2
Name an actual grandiose vision.
2
We all pay for the road you drive on, by the way. You think you could afford that yourself?
2
“Collectively, over the last two decades, they diverted a total of $1.5 billion from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for other undertakings that caught their eye.”
That diversion is chump change. It represents 25% of a Single Year in the MTA capital budget, that saw the Fulton Hub go 100% over budget, that saw the LIRR East Side access at 400% over budget...so far. It is four years past its intended opening date, yet is still five years away.
This year, Andy Cuomo rammed through a third track on a ten mile stretch of the LIRR Main Line at a cost of $2 billion, a price which could have brought the subway and commuter rail signal systems into the 20th century.
This newspaper has lauded Joe Lhota, the damage to the L tunnel and the LIRR tunnels under the East River from Hurricane Sandy five years ago have yet to be addressed.
Still, Andy Como throws ma$$es of money at a purely cosmetic remake of Penn Station, that doesn’t deal with anything that makes subway or commuter trains run better. Funny how the Times was all in on this facelift on a critically ill patient, too.
It doesn’t have to be beautiful. It has to be functional.
As long as the capital budget deals with cosmetics alone, & dwarfs the operating budget, nothing will improve.
An example? The MTA closed down the 36th Av. & 30th Ave stations on the N&W in Astoria for eight months (if on time, hah!), in order to do cosmetic work that does not include installing elevators to make those stations ADA compliant.
20
Typical do what makes you look good rather than what will make the system work decently. Voters like those cosmetics, and don't understand the engineering at all.
3
The cosmetics, at least as they concern Penn Station, are part and parcel of a giveaway to a favorite real estate developer, The Related Companies, which built the Ma$$ive Hudson Yards development on a platform built on a platform over the LIRR West Side Yards, the air rights for which went for less than that $1.5 billion diverted as written in this editorial. Pretty good deal for Steve Ross.
1
and how many of these politicians, including most recently deBlasio, did the New York TImes endorse?
16
Really? This your takeaway? That it's the Times's fault? Sheesh...
Amazing!
An article about "who's to blame" for the sad state of the NYC subways that names all BUT ONE of the possible culprits: Pataki, Paterson, Guiliani, Cuomo, and even de Blasio (who inherited an utter mess)... but not a SINGLE SOLITARY mention of the name Bloomberg?
Bloomberg was merely mayor for TWELVE long years (3 terms, including a 3rd illegal term), including FIVE years that overlapped with Pataki and both TWO years of Paterson's term). And yet is name is NEVER mentioned in this article? How can that possibly be?
Talk about an utterly Orwellian re-writing of history!
What about Bloomberg's pet West Side Extension Project, which cost the city $2.4 BILLION? (just the sort of "flashy projects" chosen over maintenance the Times article derided on Sunday!)
Or the boondoggle SAIC scandal, related to time-keeping, in part for the subways, that cost the city $500 MILLION dollars? That money would have paid for a lot of subway repairs, no? (Bloomberg's response, quoted in the Times: "Should we have known?")
Can this jaw-dropping "oversight" possibly have anything to do with the Times' relentless boosterism of Bloomberg and its well-known tendency to paper over scandals and "shortcomings" of his administration. Even so, this is jaw-dropping!
Perhaps an explanation or clarification is in order?
57
During those twelve long years, the governor controlled the MTA.
Bloomberg has stuff to answer for, but not this. At a time when the MTA was at it's recent peak of capabilities, with improving on-time performance, he proposed a congestion pricing plan that would have moved more people to the MTA and assured a robust funding stream to them. Unfortunately the governor shot him down
2
Bloomberg was central to the sale of the air rights over the West Side Yards to a favored contributor/developer of the Hudson Yards at what turned out to be a bargain basement price. He extended the 7 train to make Hudson Yards viable, but didn’t countenance any stations to be built between Times Square and Hudson Yards, which is the longest stretch on any line in the city without a stop, with the exception of express trains bypassing stations.
Bloomberg similarly was central to the bargain sale of other MTA air rights over the Brooklyn LIRR tracks to facilitate Bruce
Ratner’s Atlantic Yards project. What ever happened to the promised “affordable housing” there?
1
" He extended the 7 train to make Hudson Yards viable, but didn’t countenance any stations to be built between Times Square and Hudson Yards, which is the longest stretch on any line in the city without a stop, "
Sorry--he offered such a station to the developers--if they agreed on a way to pay for it. They thought he'd roll over. He didn't. While I personally think they should have gotten the state to add a property tax based on proximity to the new station, the lack of a station wasn't on Bloomberg, it was on the developers who wanted a free ride
3
I'm so glad we've invested billions of dollars in the WTC and Fulton Street stations, so that Brooklyn Hipsters and Jersey commuters have something nice to look at while the rest of us burn.
49
Hey it's not just Brooklyn hipsters and folks from Jersey that get to gawk and have fun but tourists like me too!
On a more serious note, the chart on the original article regarding on time performance may be a bit unfair (as much as I appreciate the piece and the research on the MTA's challenges) I mean the NY Subway has more than 10x the daily riders of its nearest US competitor. Baltimore has for instance 36k daily riders on its one subway line versus over 8m riders in NYC.
An idea may be to change the model as one reader mentioned when discussing Tokyo's fantastic system. In Hong Kong, the MTR Corporation, which runs its subway is a significant landlord. It owns and develops the real estate above subway stations. Directly above stations are large apartment blocks, office towers and shopping malls (there is plenty of retail within stations as well). So although trains serve the public, their designed purpose is to transport passengers between places of commerce and business that generate revenues and thus profits for the MTR. Everyone benefits however and the system is spotless, nearly faultless and beautifully run.
2
Jersey commuters pay NY State taxes and subway fares, too. You're getting a bargain when a NewJerseyan works in NY.
I am just glad that those projected were actually completed. Usually the money just disappears with nothing to show for it.
Been there through those six administrations from 1983-2007. The bitter Queens attorney - he detested WASPy Wall Street - had not a clue about financing hard assets, sourcing vendors or how tax policy affects behavior. The two very able women he eventually had running all things transportation for him undestood; but they were wooed by soaring rhetorical nonsense, which he got away with often. The son of course has no such verbal talent, and not a hint of competence among his acolytes. The Pataki years began with promise but quickly devolved into Westchester/Manhattan-centric social climbing, coupled with get-rich schemes from his close handlers. Over the course of these 25 years, various "locked boxes" with various "dedicated revenue" for highway and mass transit use were routinely, and I might add gleefully, raided to fund one or another porky piece of...junk. Inside, the practice got to be a joke - one played on the people and it continues to this very day. Who to blame? Start with the Hollis frat boy - an ego-driven empty suit - and include those two hacks running each of the Houses of the inept, corrupt Legislature. Thank goodness for fully-funded pensions, and still-sensible States to live in elsewhere.
4
Well written. People love to carp, finger point, ax grind and bait and switch but as the old saying goes, we have met the enemy and they are us.
6
When are we ever going to opt for 1) holding politicians accountable for their action, 2) higher taxes to pay for the services we require to give life meaning and a sense of pleasure, 3) get off of our dead rear ends to vote for people who will think of their constituents first?
1
In this case not higher taxes but rather a combination of fees on those that use it and fees on developers who benefit from it.
Higher taxes? We are the highest taxed people in the country, and also have the worst services. How about voting for people who don't waste our tax money, and are fiscally responsible?
2
Cities around the world have done better than we have at some things.
PArt of the reason is the subway or metro systems have operated as public enterprises. They develop the properties above and around their stations and they have profitable concessions. To say that is un american is a cop out.
We in NYC deserve to be a part of the modern era as do our infratructure. To say our subway system with all hours of operation does not add up for improvements is not a solution. We need our city to invest in more efficient contrating and new rail lines and more new stations. Its fun to be a part of NYC and all its backward steampunk rail.... however, if every major city in the world old and new can do better why cant we..... its not healthcare after all .... c'mon guys n gals, lets do this. I lived in asia for the 90's and Europe for years as well so i am not just making this up....
2
'Whom to blame for the subway nightmare?"
Simple, Donald Trump.
"But he is not mayor?"
Doesn't matter. Everything bad is HIS fault.
Next question! (smile).
3
DT is New York born. His father made his billions in NY. What did DT ever do for NY other than block the sunshine with buildings built with his father's money and that of foreign banks?
8
At least we have pretty murals on the upper east side. Thanks Cuomo.
1
Stunningly irrelevant!
WHOM to blame, guys, or is that considered bad form and elitist? If so, I apologize.
3
Why?
Toronto's loss is New York City's gain. Andy Byford instituted a policy of 'maintenance first' in Toronto. Still it is the politicians who need to plan for major capital investments and Toronto is suffering from overcrowded subway cars, even thought they are reliable, in good repair and on time.
3
You need both, but without proper maintenance being larger does not work for long.
First, we should be thankful for the noble men and women who hold together this awesome subway system in spite of it all. Second, we do indeed need a nationwide renaissance where the words "public," "taxation" and "labor union" are not are not vilified to elect vultures and thieves at the expense of the common good. It will take more than newspaper articles in a thinking city like New York, but at some point we need to find elected representatives ready to educate voters on the difference between long term thinking, investment in the future and its opposite -which, considering the looting of the treasury at the federal level will only bring us greater misery in our children's future.
7
There is no "common good" for me in having the federal government pay for your mass transit system. Pay for it yourself and charge users.
Gladly, now please give back your share of the net subsidy in Federal taxes NY'ers provide to the rest of the country, and stop consuming the products, services, information, culture and funding we create as the backbone to the nation's economy and your job. And by all means, please carry on in survivalist mode.
1
Having ridden them all in the last few months, I assure you that given the vast superiority of the systems in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Paris, Shanghai and even Istanbul, not to mention the dismal comparative state of the city's airports, NY has literally no choice but to invest in its infrastructure if we have any hope of remaining a viable financial center in the years to come......the world is passing NY by, and small-minded parochialism and backroom politics will further erode the city's already shaky stature......
68
Totally agree as I live part time in Paris.
The examples that you mention Tokyo, Hong Kong, Paris , Shanghai are all cities that while wealthy, are not as ethnically homogenous, with Shanghai being 98% Chinese for example. Tokyo is also 95+% Japanese.
The sad truth is that multiculturalism, given enough time, devolves into tribalism and corruption. Government and its functions is not seen as us, but rather as a slush fund to be taken advantage of. "If we and our group dont get it, someone else will" Our neighbor in Belgium is another wonderful and close example of why multiculturalism does not work.
3
Ours is a city that has been thrown the wolves of the real estate developing clans. One ugly and unnecessary building after another has been built in the past 30 years with absolutely zero thought towards neighborhood integrity or mass transit infrastructure. Sure there's loads of pretty open spaces and bike paths, but the people who were kicked out of those neighborhoods to make room for the new parks and new inhabitants now can't get to work without enduring hour long commutes from their new homes (that they can afford) to their old jobs.
Giulliani took away cultures (fireworks in chinatown, gambling during San Genero) and started the march that Bloomberg's arrogance concluded to a city the thumbs its nose at its oldest inhabitants. I have no interest in sharing my crowded subway with new residents living over the old rail yards in Brooklyn and Manhattan. The addition of over 20,000 new residential spaces that I could never afford to live in is an insane occupation of my city. You want to live here and invite more newcomers to share in a culture that can barely afford to continue to exist? then build your own darn train.
I want my rice and beans places back, I want to not feel like it has to be a huge trek to buy a bialy.
no vision, no leadership, no respect.
11
New York's subways are mismanaged and underfunded for exactly the same reason that policemen are grossly overpaid, visits to the DMV take hours, and post offices are paragons of efficiency. The sword of Damocles inspires hustle in private enterprise. Replace it with the butter knife of Beelzebub and the pathologies of government manifest instantly.
2
An analysis that's right on target and that could also be applied to that other trouble-prone transportation agency affecting the region, The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
you are putting de Blasio on notice, to get his act together and make the NYC subway system more accessible, by renewing it's crumbling infrastructure in lieu of an exploding population requiring it's service. Otherwise, the city will irremediably wither and die, unable to provide access to the workers it depends on. We are already witnessing the dismantling of "Mom and Pop" stores to provide 'gentrification', another killer of the financial 'locals' survival and the unique quirks that made New York the 'big apple'. Growing pains versus chronic arthritis vs unrelieved stress of it's various communities, unable to function harmoniously, out of sync with it's potential. We can, and must, do better.
Metro North and the Long Island Railroad run fine. The subway is dysfunctional. It takes less time to get from upstate than it does to get from 125th in Manhattan to Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn. Wheel to rail both Metro North and the Long Island rail are also cheaper than the subway. More than half the readers who are writing into the Times claim the riders ought to pay more per ride and blame labor. Both rail systems under the MTA (MNR & LIRR) pay workers more than the subway. Railroad riders upstate pay far less for their service quality road to mile then does the subway rider. The subway is a political tool. Nothing prevents the MTA from fixing the subway except the people who run it on every level. Bringing in a Canadian Transportation expert will make it easier for the existing MTA management to scapegoat his failure after it occurs. The MTA NYCT operation (subway management) won’t change until it gets forced to change. It is not happening. It’s a culture problem with multiple mechanical issues. The Times failed to compare interagency throughout the investigative journalism piece. Why?
1
The problem is grandiose delusions.
Both Diblahsio and Cuomo think they could be President. Neither has a chance, but they both want to strike a pose instead of serve their constituents.
A little humility would help.
I think we should pass a law that the mayor of New York must use public transportation.
5
I blame Congress. It has the ability to fund much of these requirements, but refuses. Our fiscal situation is thus: Congress is not financially constrained and can fund anything it requires without borrowing from the money markets. What? The federal government creates the currency. Everyone else, including New York city, uses the currency. The only real restraint on Congressional spending is resources; either you have them or you don't. If you don't you need to figure out how to get them before you start large spending projects. Fortunately, the United States has tremendous resources. So why doesn't Congress fund these projects? Power Politics. Wall Street is the conduit between federal spending and the debt, most of which is unnecessary. Wall Street makes enormous profits managing the primary and secondary market in Treasuries. This debt is used as a political restraint on Congressional spending. Simple and effective.
The banks are getting away with murder in NYC. Large numbers of depositors, earning very little in interest and the interest payments to the big banks that consumes 16% of the MTA's budget(and growing) is unconscionable. One reason for these large interest rate payments is the swap agreements that the MTA entered into with the banks prior to the financial crisis in 2007. In effect these agreements were "bets" on future interest rates. If rates went up, the MTA's payments would go down; if rates went down, the MTA's payments would go up. The economy tanked largely because of bank malfeasance and interest rates went down, so MTA payments went up. In effect, the banks were rewarded for their malfeasance!
In addition to a millionaire's tax, a tax on banks that do business in NY is long overdue.
1
Politicians never want to spend money on infrastructure maintenance on any kind. Doing so does not buy votes or play well with the public. And the public doesn't want to pay for it either.
Proper maintenance means higher fares and more taxes. (I know, lets tax the rich until they move out of state). Who is in favor of that?
Note to the Editorial Board: You probably endorsed these officials too, while not holding them accountable for chronically underfunding mass transit and blocking congestion pricing for automobiles entering Manhattan.
In a further note, these are the same politicians whose attempts to preserve the city’s “light and air” have made housing dramatically more expensive for all New Yorkers.
3
So if interest payments are $2.6 billion a year, are you telling me the subway system has a debt load of approximately $50 billion? $50 billion in the hole? Well, someone needs to come up with that $50 billion. So, there are 8 million people in New York City... That comes to $6000 owed to the subway system per resident person in New York City. Congratulations are in order ... to someone. Who should we blame, the man on street, the politicians, or the media that let them get away with it?
What a mess, probably worse than the bankruptcy of the public utility of Puerto Rico. The entire island owes $73 billion. This looks just as bad.
The entire annual budget of New York State is $153 billion and the entire budget of New York City is $82 billion. Out of that they need to figure out how to get the subway out of debt. Good Luck.
2
After I wrote my comment I thought... "Well, we wasted a couple of trillion in the Bush / Iraq / Afghanistan fiasco which is still on going, so I guess $50 billion isn't really that much and it goes a long way in explaining why everything is broke. ... which would include every subway system in the US ... etc."
1
Rockefeller conjured up the MTA in the mid 1960s. Its constituent parts are NYC Transit, the Long Island Rail Road, Metro North Railroad, and the Triboro Bridge and Tunnel Authority.
It has its own budget, outside of the NYC and NYS budgets, and its own bonding authority, subject to state legislative approval.
Its capital budget, $32 Billion for the current five year plan, is largely funded on bonds. The capital budget is a wreck. LIRR East Side Access was due to be completed in 2013 at a cost of $2.5 billion. It is now due to be completed in 2022 at a cost of $10 billion, barring the inevitable further cost overruns and delays.
2
NYC should bid it out and sell it. The MTR in Hong Kong is aggressively expanding and offers a service that is efficient and inexpensive. It's a public corporation listed on their stock exchange and regularly turns a profit. But this won't happen. So we will see higher fares, lousy service, more panhandlers and 'entertainers' fleecing riders who cannot escape and diverted money to benefit our politicians. Best way to protest? Don't use it.
2
Writing this from Switzerland, where yesterday a train from Basel to Zurich was delayed by 2 entire minutes. This prompted a repentant announcement over the loudspeaker as fellow travelers on the (meticulously clean) platform shook their heads in disbelief. Those are their standards: 2 minutes late is a rare phenomenon that warrants a formal apology.
What has bothered me so much about traveling around this country is that there is no technological reason why America cannot have a similar transit network. The Swiss don't have some supply of magic horsepower that we lack. What they do have is a collective understanding that a state-of-the-art mass transit network benefits all, that thus it needs to be a top priority for public spending.
Coming from NYC, it's almost unimaginable to see commuters in the morning leave for work without the panic of wondering if/when their train will show up. I can't even fathom what public health, economic productivity, and general social pleasantness benefits this has for an entire country.
This Times article this past weekend hit the nail on the head when it recounted readers' stories of hardships wrought by NYC's subways: missed doctors appointments, meetings, job interviews, and the agonizing stress that goes with it. Perhaps if our Governor relied on the subway as his daily method of transit, he would understand that the impact of his managerial incompetence isn't expressed on MTA spreadsheets, but on the quality of people's lives.
142
I remember being in a German train station when an announcer came on saying the train would be delayed 11 minutes. I set my watch to it: the train came EXACTLY 11 minutes late.
Efficient trains can be built and be on time in any city, including New York. For starters, look at the Atlanta Airport train. This type of train can be operating anywhere in the world and in any city. The train tracks and stations are completely closed off, with the station and train car operating with double doors for safety. The train do not even need a driver and can be controlled by a computer, just like an elevator in a larger building.
The big difference is American "free-market" ideas. In Europe and Japan, the government invests in mass transit because they recognize it's a benefit for citizens and the economy. If anyone tries to offer that reason in the U.S., others will complain that such diversion of funds are not free-market and that people, not government, should invest in mass transit (which I think is total nonsense).
Is it really that bad? On a recent visit to NYC, the subways looked like corridors in a hospital compared to what I remember from the 1970s-80s. If I could make one suggestion, tokens never failed me but the cards you use now seem to require multiple attempts and some finesse to swipe successfully.
2
Please don't say that non-riders are paying for the rides of people who use mass transit, as if we're talking about frivolous joy rides. Mass transit systems are like elevators in skyscrapers: they don't just serve the people who ride in them, they serve all the tenants in the building by making it possible for employees, clients, guests, cleaners, repair people, et al. to get to their offices and apartments.
7
step 1. fire lhota. anyone who thinks that the priority should be USB charging stations instead of actual maintenance is simply not qualified to run this agency. does not help that he also thinks it a good idea to remove seats instead of improving service.
step 2. fire at least half of MTA mgmt. it is criminal that half of them make more than the 280k reported as median comp. there is absolutely no way to justify this kind of comp on clear incompetence. (and as for "assault" being the reason the regular works have to be so richly compensated...well maybe if you actually did work to improve the service you may not be assaulted at all, never mind that 170k is also criminal comp for a take that requires zero higher education)
step 3. stop spending on new stations, timer clocks, and "modern" signal system. the current signals aren't breaking down because the system doesn't work, they are breaking down because you can only "repair" something only so often. take the money, build all new components of the existing system. easier to replace. the existing system was more than adequate until money to keep it in good shape was taken away.
step 4. start repairing the roof of the above ground stations
step 5. send cleaning crews for weekend cleaning if each station to make them look less like the dumps they currently are. a pressure wash now and again will make the stations more tolerable to wait at for the trains that do not come along.
1
A key piece missing from the prior article and this editorial is the reduction in Federal funding that occurred in parallel with the City and State cutbacks. FTA oerating subsidies have largely dried up. Also, the much vaunted recovery of the subway system in the 80s was enabled by the Westway trade-in and other project grants. Today, grants are piecemeal and directed mainly aboveground.
A major difference between NY's subway system and those of other world capitals is that other systems are treated as national assets by the national government. Absurdly, NY's is not. Millions of people from a 4-state region and other countries use the trains daily to drive the national economy. Yet the responsibility for the system's inadequacies is placed exclusively on the City and State, two entities locked in perennial fiscal crises. Even if the mayor and governor were to operate perfectly effectively and without any cupidity, we'd still have an overcrowded, unreliable system that exludes a huge number of origins and destinations it should be serving, as was true In the days before Giuliani and Pataki raided the MTA.
5
Maybe we should insist that our mayor, governor, and city legislators take only the mass transit while they are in town. That would shift their priorities very quickly!
1
Misery loves company; The story is familiar and similar to how the transit system is run in Boston. One thing that rings a bell is that the people who determine the existence of public transit never ride it. They too were voted into office by the people who ride it.
Look to Europe for how to run a transit system but, Americans seem to have a superior attitude towards how other countries live and the way they manage.
1
The MTA's lack of accountability is by design. The MTA was set up as an independent authority to insulate it political influence, which of course also insulates it from political oversight, and ultimately from voters' oversight. The governor holds the most MTA cards, but he is accountable to New York State voters as a whole, not to New York City voters in particular - and non-City voters really don't care very much about how well the City subways and buses work.
The subways and buses, which run entirely within the boundaries of New York City, should be separated from the MTA and placed under direct mayoral control. If the subways and buses don't work well City voters would have someone to blame for it at the polls.
politicsbyeccehomo.wordpress.com
2
You voted for some of them, sure. But let's not forget one of the biggest root causes of this: A unionized *public* workforce at the MTA.
A public union is anathema to the efficient operation of the government. Individuals should not be allowed to commandeer public resources for their own private gain while holding taxpayers hostage.
Here, the public Transit Workers Union has taken all of the excess monies directed towards infrastructure maintenance and updates, and allocated it to themselves in the form of higher wages. Yes, that avenue runs through elected officials, but the obvious truth is that success in any election runs through the endorsement of these powerful public unions.
Fail to swear fealty and accede to wage and benefit increases, and you won't ever find yourself elected. And thus the cycle continues: Another election, another raise for the TWU. Worse service and crumbling infrastructure for the rest of us.
5
"A public union is anathema to the efficient operation of the government. "
Not true, it works in many other countries. The biggest problem is diversion of transit money into non-transit-related projects. And the failure by people to realize that using taxes to pay for a good transit system benefits all, including those who don't use it (but decry such plans as "leftist")
You took David Gunn from Toronto and he fixed your subways and then went home to Nova Scotia. We've been doing well with Andy Byford but don't expect him to solve your problems. Toronto's transit system was not a disaster when he stepped in - the mayor at the time despised transit. Byford updated things but that meant days and nights with subway lines shut down and buses as inadequate replacements. I hope New York has enough buses for Byford's repairs.
I rode the trains in the 1970's, as I do today! Except for the graffiti, and some crime along a few lines, the trains normally ran on time, were somewhat less crowded, folks were more congenial, and the females were a lot better looking than they are today! This editorial presents some amnesia about that time.
2
This week, we people in Toronto heard that the head of the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) Andy Byford is leaving to head up the NYC transit agency. The TTC much like its New York counterpart had been busy for the last couple of decades 'patching' rather than 'fixing'.
Remarkably, even though he started his tenure under former penny-pinching Mayor Rob Ford, he forged ahead with major renovations fixes.
For instance, a major streetcar line near where I live has been out of service for the last couple of months as the streetcar rails are being ripped out and replaced. The rails had been sitting there for perhaps the last 50 years or so and if you were riding this streetcar, at certain points it had to slow way down to avoid ... going off the rails. Likewise there have been regular subway disruptions on the weekends where portions of certain lines have been taken out of service for upgrades.
Look forward, folks, for it to get worse before it gets better. But that's what happens with 'deferred maintenance'.
However, Mr. Byford leaves Toronto with I'd say most people quite happy with the job he has done.
Good luck to all you subway riders. You have a good man heading up your agency, even if he might head off to retirement before everything gets done.
Your piece here and the investigative article although great in its breadth and outing the people in charge and their poor decisions will unfortunately fall on deaf ears. No politician of any stripe (currently yellow) has the guts to make hard choices or the brains to come up with a plan. All we can be assured of as riders is that the price will go up, the execs and unions will have raises and more crumbling will occur. The subway runs on employee self interest first, electricity second. How much did they spend to call us "everyone" and not passengers as an example? That was very important, not the signals. I agree, the MTA execs should be required to take the subway and busses. cancel their car service. Let's see if that cures their myopia toward the system.
As to the mayor and governor, these princes are too busy spending money on trying to secure their preK and daddy bridge along with anything other than true concern for the public.
Much like student government, these positions aren't about service, but padding their own egos until the next job.
And we as a society keep voting them in. Until there is a smart politician to do what's actually right, not even a total collapse and numerous deaths will save the subway, much less anything else.
I have no solutions and although I don't think we should all collectively shrug and sip a drink on the porch as the subway and our entire subway slips into the abyss, without that leader or will nothing will change, ever.
22
Disagree on two points. PreK does serve the public and our future. And the "daddy bridge" was essential, although not in the name change. The Tappan Zee Bridge had been crumbling for a very long time and needed replacement. Hence, a public service. Naming the bridge after Cuomo, Sr, came after the bridge was on its way.
1
In just about every article discussing how subway service has gotten really bad one of the main factors that is cited is that trains do not arrive on time. For example "on-time performance has slid to around 60 percent". However the idea that the passengers that ride the subway schedule their arrival at the station based on the schedule of when the train is due to arrive has no basis in reality.
There is practically not a single rider standing on the platform during normal hours that has any idea when the next train is due to arrive. Whether its in 2 minutes or 6 minutes. And there are most certainly practically not a single rider who waits an extra 2 minutes before going to the station because the train is due at :25 after the hour and not :23.
So while there may be serious problems with the subway, the idea that people arrive at the station during regular daytime hours based on some sort of official schedule and they have their schedules timed down to the minute has no basis in reality.
3
This simply is not true. Many people are aware of the schedules for their regular commutes. Some of us even look these schedules up on the MTA website. But the unpredictability of on-time performance means that few people plan their trips down to the minute.
3
Politicians want to be remembered (as they move up to higher positions in government) for the great things they added. Rarely do we hear about a political office holder who was remarkable at "the quality of maintaining everyday services".
This seems like a default; "isn't just that what they are supposed to do?" So it wouldn't go in political advertising. But it is not default, as we have seen; it is in fact quite unusual.
Wouldn't it be refreshing for a politician to brag that s/he had "made my successors jobs much easier than they would otherwise have been"?
1
Money. The problem is money. It is part of the reason why there are other problems here and in other urban areas too, and I am talking about money and the federal government here.
States like NY and places like NYC in particular are generating it through individual income taxes are a percentage of income which makes large concentrations of higher income workers provide more in total dollars to the government's general fund. We all know or should know by now that the money is not being returned dollar-for-dollar in spending, amd that more rural inland and western states are getting more than their people put in while our people get less.
This is money going to things like the what, like, $770 billion dollar budget the Pentagon now has? If they shaved one single percent off of that and put in into NYC Transit, subways and busses would be the most amazing forms of transit in the world. Washington does put in an amount probably close to that already, but if they doubled that up with the 1% the Pentagon will definitely misspend, they might even be able to have a subway with tracks you could eat off of with no fare whatsoever!
Maybe that's a stretch, but you get my point. We in NY are not getting the reinvestment from our national government we are owed, a point beautifully illustrated by our current conversation on subways. No one is perfect and our politicians definitely have room to improve, but even if they were gods it still wouldn't do all that much without it.
52
That just gives the MTA cover for its atrocious performance. The problem is not money, it is an MTA the runs the system for the benefit of the unions, not the public. Paying thousands of useless mid-level bureaucrats $280k a pop in exchange for... what exactly?
2
The apples to oranges difference between the 1970s and today is that ridership is higher. There has been little to no infrastructure planning to handle the real estate development. For instance, we now have riders who commute to the new office towers in Long Island City and riders who live in the new residential towers who commute to the other boroughs. They subway lines that serve the area are unchanged, at maximum capacity and suffer frequent service outages and delays. The building construction continues apace with no end in sight, and no corresponding plan to deliver riders to their destinations.
50
AND those developers-developments are NOT contributing to our tax base as they FREQUENTLY if not ALWAYs get 20 year tax abatements from the city.
20
A child of the 60s and 70's subway system I grew up thinking the odd car with cane seats was the norm. If you wanted to induce the train to show up you lit a cigarette- worked like a charm. And the graffiti- by the 80's deserving of its own art book.
That said the subway is the fastest way around town. Bikes are great for the fit few or those who need not show up to work fresh as daisies. Perhaps those card dealing guardians of public revenues should be required to get around town underground. No official cars - no cabs!
27
Used Citibike the week I was in NY. Much more reliable than the subway, faster than most taxis in midtown. Cheap. Downside is that drivers are not kind to bicyclists. But, if I stayed going north on 1st, south on 2nd, the dedicated lanes were great. And Central Park is a pleasure with almost no traffic north of 72nd. Good for getting across town.
8
Any article on the subway always gets the inevitable "bikes are better" comment. And for a lot of people they are.
But there are millions of people in New York City who, because of age or injury or location or something, can't use a bike in NYC. So bravo for those who can and do ride their bikes but let's concentrate on realistic solutions - such as fixing the subwyas - for those who can't.
189
But for pedestrians an added danger arise from some bikers who do not have any bike etiquette and suddenly turned left from a right lane, cut through traffic without warning, zipped pass opened doors of buses with passengers getting off, or rushed through changing traffic lights. I witnessed two cases of bikers who knocked down pedestrians ( a young woman, and an elderly one ) who had right of way, and not even stopped to take care of them.
11
Really, thank you, Doc for pointing out to us hardened life-long New Yorkers, that for-profit bicycles, that use dedicated lanes whose construction of which is the root cause of current day traffic and the strangled constriction of once-flowing avenues, is better than a bespoke transit system designed to shuttle citizens from borough to borough for almost 100 years.
8
I guess what threatened to lose me most sharply was the statement "... the city and state to each pay its fair share ...". When Democrats use that phrase "fair share", hold on your wallets, because it's already two-thirds out of your pocket.
I arrived in New York City about Christmas of 1976, and I saw and lived the subway horrors of those times described here. I have as many hilarious horror stories about using them for decades as ANYONE else.
But the problem isn't one that sprang fully-formed from the forehead of Zeus in the seventies, and today's headaches don't threaten a "return" to those "unique" horrors. Corruption, malfeasance in office and predatory use of public funds for political purposes have been characteristics of governance in both NYC AND NY State for as long as they've existed. In fact, the resolve to fix the system, largely in the 1980s under Ed Koch, was the unique moment. And consider the goads: the city was broke, crime-infested, gearing-up for a hideous AIDS toll, unions were going out on strike paralyzing transit and garbage collection … and there was nowhere to GO but up. If Koch and state leaders including Mario Cuomo hadn’t done what they did at the time, the NYC portrayed in “Snake Plisskin: Escape From New York” would have been a paradise compared to what we REALLY would have suffered.
Today, the city’s hardly broke, crime levels are the envy of our other large cities, there’s relative labor peace and no pandemics on the immediate horizon.
2
And the system today isn’t within three galaxies as bad as it was then.
So, where really are the goads that impelled the herculean action that brought back the subway system back in the day?
Because daylight has been focused on Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s poorly-camouflaged political miscues with MTA money, the likelihood is high that more will be spent on tracks and signals. But until it gets a Texas ton worse than it is now, don’t expect a Phoenix-like rebirth of a state-of-the-art subway system anytime soon.
Of course, de Blasio is 6’5” tall and presumably a strapping guy. He could always get out and push.
4
To the left, I guess!
1
"The governor offers a congestion-pricing concept that is enticing in theory"
Just how does implementing congestion-pricing (C-P), now, help subway riders now? It will only force more people to take the already overwhelmed subway system. Before C-P is implemented, the capacity and reliability of mass transit has to be drastically improved. At best, that will take ten years.
C-P is discriminatory. The aristocracy simply wants the commoners to get out of their way.
26
The real plebeians of NYC don’t own cars. They are stuck on broken down subways, or on buses frozen by traffic.
Congestion pricing has worked everywhere it’s been tried to bring steady income to mass transit AND lower congestion. A revamped bus system would be easy and fast to implement if actually enforced bus lanes were brought about. London is a great example, where bus routes are often faster than by underground.
The Move NY plan actually lowers tolls in outer borough bridges to make it more equitable. Now, we certainly need to ask more out of our public monies, the MTA is a monster of inefficiency, as the article points out, but a class argument on CP is not how we will “pull together”.
Is he being paid to float “concepts”?
Traffic in London is awful and they charge a hefty sum to enter the city.
It has generally been my experience that public transit aficionados that pay nowhere near the actual cost of their conveyance are to blame for the fantasy world where everybody is going to pay for you to take a subway trip.
7
But do you really think car drivers pay the true cost of their transportation? SUVs chew up streets at logrhythmically higher rates than cars, but pay gasoline taxes at the same rate. The same is true, worse even, for large trucks. Furthermore, the cost of air pollution caused by cars in terms of emphysema and lung cancer isn't captured in gasoline taxes. If we added these social costs to a gallon of gas, it would add several dollars to the cost. Not to mention the other costs of smog (dirty buildings, laundry, etc.).
Furthermore, there is a significant benefit that straphangers provide society by taking the train and not a car or taxi. By choosing their method, we all benefit from fewer cars on the streets and therefore less air pollution.
Subsidizing public transit makes economic sense, far more so than the subsidies we provide cars and trucks to the detriment of daily transportation life.
224
sez some guy on the other coast who knows not what we pay in taxes that are supposed to cover this, were our coffers not constantly robbed to pay for other stuff while Cuomo and deBlasio fight like petulant toddlers
9
You apparently live in California so I wouldn’t expect you to understand this, but people in New York take the subway not because they are “aficionados” but out of necessity. If everyone in New York commuted by car, the city would cease to function. Having a functioning subway is a necessary public good for a large, dense city such as NYC.
22
Yes, this situation has been the result of decades of neglect. Crowded conditions exist not only during rush hour, but late at night, on weekends and even mid day. All I can say is how dare the MTA and the politicians allow this to occur? In fact, nearly every time I get on the subway, I think, why isnt there a revolution over the conditions here? So what can we do? Well the NYT barely gives us any suggestions to us NY'ers on what we can do.
One thing we can do is vote out the GOP and DINO's (Democrat in name only) state senators that are not allowing DeBlasio’s millionaire tax to be passed. Some of these DINO are in NYC (here is the list: Jeffrey D. Klein, David J. Valesky, David Carlucci, Diane Savino, Tony Avella, Jose Peralta, Jesse Hamilton, and Marisol Alcantara).
We also need to become more active and organized. The Strap hangers campaign is a good site to check out (https://www.straphangers.org/). There are action alerts so us New Yorkers can actively fight for basic transit services in NYC.
I would enjoy hearing other suggestions on what ordinary New Yorkers can do to change the state of our mass transit system.
75
Another suggestion is, don't be so naive to think that DeBlasio or the rest of the "real" Democrats in Albany give two farthings about you or the subway. If the did they would have been advocating on your behalf years ago.
1
Be careful what you wish for. The last time the Democrats ran the Senate, it was a feeding frenzy of corrupt and greedy pigs.
Ending the IDC seems like an idealistic notion, but we will likely end up with an even more dysfunctional state government.
2
Let's just hire the Japanese to run our subways. I'm being facetious, but there is so much to learn from that country. There, a train is late if it is behind schedule by seconds, not minutes. And they're never late. And if they are late, the train company will issue a letter to all riders so that they may inform their employers that the train was late. Imagine that degree of accountability by the MTA. And get this--the Japanese metro system is largely privatized! Really puts our system to shame.
It all starts with pride. Whether it's the government or a private company, everyone in Japan takes pride in their work, and it really shows. Here, politicians can't be bothered to take pride in their work, as long as they do the bare minimum to manage re-election. It's maddening.
120
Your suggestion sounds great, but do keep in mind that cleanliness is a very important part of Japanese culture. (It is ingrained in the people at an early age.) One is not allowed to eat on the subways, let alone litter on the cars. Imagine trying to enforce a no-eating policy on the subways here in NYC...people will cry discrimination.
2
Have you ever ridden the metro in Tokyo really? It's incredibly dangerous. People are literally shoved into the subways by professional shovers, and you are so crammed in the cars it's hard to breathe and God forbid if there were any accident--people would get trampled.
4
And who take pride in deluding the public - no thanks, as far as I am concerned, the small isalnd that should be heated with geo-thermal but instead has chosen nuclear to the delusion of the public is NOT an example, please no.. I don't want to be shoved in a train like a sardine, to meet time schedules..
1
Sad comment to begin with: am I really the first? Do most readers care so little about our urban transport that they will not write in comments? And what a shame that the funds have been diverted. It's an old system and it needs many expensive upgrades. But most people in NYC rely on the subway to get them from home to job and back again, let alone deliveries of flowers and expensive clothes. It's a disgrace that the people of New York have been shortchanged.
28
The fact that they are even considering phasing out the Metrocard for some sexier system while the train are running as they are is maddening. Also I wish they would stop painting over the sides of my stop to make it look like they care about us when my train hardly ever comes and is always overcrowded. I'd rather look at chipped paint or even graffiti while knowing my train will be on time and I won't be shoved this way and that as way too many people try desperately to get on...
70
@Humanesque. The metrocard system is outdated and costs the MTA millions more each year to maintain than a more modern system would. It should have been phased out years ago as originally planned. Compare the time it takes you get on a bus in London vs NYC. And in 2017, you should not have to wait in line to buy, top up, or swipe a card.
Don't blame the MTA for the very few things it's finally getting right. They should be able to walk and chew gum at the same time.
8
As relayed in a recent NYT article, the cost of replacing the metrocard will be rough a half billion dollars.
This at a time when many train signals are 50 years old and failing.
2
"for some sexier system"
You meant "creepier". No, I don't want to use a phone to pay for ANYTHING. The security and stalker implications are as imaginable as they are potentially massive.
I won't even attempt to think about whether it would actually bring in more money, or instead be an unnecessary big expense just because iPhone. There's so much catching up to London's, the rest of Europe's, Japan's, and China's trains to do, that their focus on the *payment system* comes off as a completely absurd boondoggle atop the many other boondoggles of the cookie-jarrers the MTA answers to.
2
In a democracy aren't problems like this supposed to be self-correcting over time?
Forget the politicians - if the problems really are that bad, why haven't New York voters done something about it?
8
Actually, the "most privileged class of employee" in America today would be the elected officials, followed shortly by the hedge fund managers and others in high finance.
The NY Times's campaign to find someone to "blame" is getting ridiculous.
The real cause for the current malaise is nothing other than the US transit unions' fight to interpret the congressional law, UMTA act of 1964 Section 13C/Section 5333. It effectively ensures that no transit manager can ever exert control over the compensation packages of unionized positions.
The union stakes out its unreasonable demands, the transit managers are allowed to offer then no less than they currently are given, the union rejects the offer, and it goes to an arbitrator who picks the halfway point. Then the process starts again. If only any of the lesser-privileged in American society knew that transit workers are the most privileged class of employee, the only class of employee in American society to have such extravagent labor-compensation protections... It's a social justice issue now.
56
I agree with you position and anger at the union's role in all this, but the NTY did highlight the exhorbinant compensation MTA employees receive as well as where it stems from, political back scratching with the governor as well as very poorly negotiated contracts. I say fire them all for incompetence and start hiring anew at 50k, which is rich enough. the only "working class" people who seem to have it.good in this city are the unions who live off of our taxes.
1
Yeah forget about all those redirected funds. It's the union's fault.
1
You would need to show us some actual numbers to prove that the union is the sole villain here. My guess, knowing the strength of the unions in countries like Germany, is that the NY transit workers aren't paid significantly more than their counterparts in other advanced countries. For example, a quick search showed that the average German bus driver makes about 25% more than his American counterpart.
1
.
"Taxes are what We pay for a civilized Society" is inscribed on the IRS Building in Washington (attributed to Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr).
As long as Politicians, in particular, and the Citizens, in general, treat "taxes" as a punching bag (or a slush fund), we're going to continue to get situations as described in this Editorial.
1. Publish a list of what needs to be accomplished (w/estimated costs),
2. Prioritize and schedule these tasks (incl cushions for the unexpected),
and ONLY then:
3. Raise enough in taxes to - as Larry the Cable Guy sez - Git 'r Done!
38
#JPG, with all due respect, do you not see the contradiction in these two statements:
"Politicians...treat "taxes" as a...slush fund" and
"Raise enough in taxes to...Git 'r Done".
?
The MTA spent twice as much between 2000 and 2009 as it did between 1980 and 1989, when things actually improved. And you want to give these crooks more of MY money?
2