Good morning, I’m Brian Fritsch, Associate Director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, PCAC.
I’d like to start by applauding the tremendous amount of work and outreach that has gone into the Queens Bus Network Redesign, which has been years in the making. We appreciate that you listened to the gamut of stakeholders and incorporated many of the improvements that will significantly improve people’s quality of life. Some people don’t want to see any changes, but as the borough has changed and grown, it’s critical that the bus system evolves to make buses faster, safer, more reliable, and more frequent. We are hopeful that you will continue to adapt and expand service as field testing turns into actual experience.
To support this work, we were also very happy to see Automated Camera Enforcement for “Blocking the Box” included in the Governor’s Executive Budget last week and are urging the Legislature to support it. We hope they will go a step further and support PCAC’s Rider-First Fare Agenda, which would introduce a weekly CityTicket that includes transfers to New York City Transit subways and buses. With the transformative changes we’re making to the bus system, we hope that new fare discounts and offerings will incentivize riders who wish to switch between modes without incurring additional costs.
We were also pleased the Governor continued to demonstrate her commitment to riders and public safety underground in her State of the State Address. Funding uniformed officers on every overnight train will help resolve issues immediately and ensure riders feel as safe as the stats show they are. The officers complement the other safety features slated for implementation: LED lights in every station; cameras on every train car; platform barriers at 100 additional stations by the end of this year; and the installation of ‘hop-proof’ fare gates to curb fare evasion.
To truly support transit, however, we know the 2025-29 Capital Plan must be fully funded, and we are pounding the pavement with our partners in advocacy to ensure the Governor and Legislature make it happen. We know the future of the MTA system hinges on what happens over the next few months.