Transit
Streetsblog Basics
Quinn, Citing “Middle Class Squeeze,” Ignores High Cost of Transportation
Just hours before her final State of the City address today, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn released a report on the challenges facing middle-class New Yorkers. But her vision has a conspicuous blind spot: the transportation costs consuming more than one in ten dollars of the average NYC household budget.
February 11, 2013
London Mayor: Get Bigshots Out of Cars, Onto Transit “Like Everybody Else”
London Mayor Boris Johnson, whose entertaining quotes about Mike Bloomberg have been ricocheting around New York's political circles today, could teach a thing or two to the candidates running for mayor here in NYC. Yesterday, "Boris from Islington" called in to a radio talk show with a recorded question for Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg about Parliament's profligate spending on cars for political leaders. It's a question New Yorkers can appreciate.
February 8, 2013
Does Riding Transit Make You More Civic-Minded?
Civic pride, attachment to community -- what does that have to do with how you get around? According to a recent study commissioned by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, possibly quite a bit.
February 7, 2013
Today’s Transit Dreams May Come True — 78 Years From Now
By the looks of it, my humble hometown of Washington, DC, is winning the transit space race. The region currently has 45 transit projects either planned or underway -- and one that's stalled. You may have heard of the Silver Line to Dulles Airport, but a new map from Reconnecting America proves that that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to transit starts in the DC area.
January 22, 2013
Costs of Subway Slowdown Would Add Up Fast
Following the recent deaths of two subway passengers who were pushed onto tracks, TWU Local 100 is urging operators to slash train speeds as they enter stations, the New York Times reported yesterday. A TWU flier, which you can view here, advises operators that “Preventing a [run-over], and saving yourself the emotional trauma and potential loss of income that go with it, is worth a few extra minutes on your trip.”
January 16, 2013
New York Needs Cuomo to Talk Transit in Tomorrow’s State of the State
In his State of the State address tomorrow afternoon, Governor Andrew Cuomo has the opportunity to set the tone for transportation policy in the year ahead. And with the NYC region's transit system having absorbed billions of dollars worth of damage from Hurricane Sandy, it's going to be a very important year indeed. Cuomo has to chart a path to recover from the storm and prepare the region's transit infrastructure for the future, all while maintaining the existing system, which is staggering under the load of excessive debt.
January 8, 2013
Transit Tax Benefit Equalized With Parking Benefit in Fiscal Cliff Deal
Happy New Year, transit riders! Thanks to some shrewd maneuvering on the part of some U.S. Senators, transit commuters will be able to claim as much in tax benefits as car commuters do in 2013.
January 2, 2013
Jim Brennan Reintroduces $4.5 Billion Bond Measure for Transit and Roads
When New Yorkers go to the polls less than a year from now, they'll definitely be voting for a new mayor, and they might also be voting for billions in state-backed transportation funding, if a measure put forward by Assembly Member James Brennan clears Albany.
December 19, 2012
With Joe Lhota’s Impending Mayoral Run, Transit Can’t Be Ignored in 2013
A few quick thoughts on the news that MTA Chair Joe Lhota is going to leave the agency at the end of week to clear the way for a mayoral run...
December 19, 2012
This Awards Season, Manhattan Buses Rank as the City’s Worst
Since 2006, Streetsblog has provided red carpet coverage of the annual Pokey and Schleppie awards, given out by the Straphangers Campaign and Transportation Alternatives to the city buses with the slowest average speed and the least reliable service, respectively. This year, Manhattan buses took the crown in both categories.
December 11, 2012