Good morning, I’m Lisa Daglian, Executive Director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, PCAC.
Today I have several cheers and a big Bronx jeer. First, the cheers:
To the crews that worked tirelessly to restore service after the incredible rains on July 14th so that riders could have a normal morning rush the next day: thank you!
To everyone instrumental in the resiliency project on the Hudson line to reduce the threat of rising waters: thank you!
M9As, a huge cheer for you, can’t wait to meet you! And M3s, you’ve served us well…we’ll raise a glass and cheer you as you trundle off into the distance.
Riders! The record numbers of us on board trains are a testament to resiliency and faith in the LIRR and Metro-North, their safety and reliability, in the people who run them, and the importance they play in living our lives. Let’s not forget 4.8-star TrainTime App rating either.
Happiness also comes in the form of favorable farebox revenue due to higher ridership on both railroads. Congrats to Metro-North on reducing the percentage of fares not collected. We hope it’s a similar decline on the LIRR, but don’t see that in the Performance Update. We would give a double cheer if the information was mirrored for both railroads so we could make that comparison. Cheer on some healthy competition, perhaps?
I would like to personally cheer Paul Dietlin for helping thousands of LIRR-riding fans, well, cheer on David Wright at his number retirement on July 19th. That Saturday, Woodside was scheduled for an outage, but Paul and team responded quickly to open a window for service. It literally allowed Mets fans to take the train to the game on a day packed with meaning and platitudes. Thank you!
The Bronx Jeer goes to whatever entity is slowing down Penn Access work (ahem: Amtrak). Unacceptable! This month, you’ll be looking at New Rochelle yard improvements, but it will be a train to nowhere unless said entity bucks up and gets back on track. East Bronxites have been waiting patiently. A stuck cog should not derail the project.
Thank you.