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As transit riders, we NEED congestion pricing. It’ll fund critical improvements to our transit, like elevators, escalators and ramps; upgraded signals so trains can run more frequently and reliably; new electric buses; and even transit extensions like the Interborough Express and Second Avenue Subway.

Unfortunately, lawsuits from traffic-loving politicians in New Jersey are stalling transit’s progress to a halt. Just last week, the MTA announced that they can’t issue new contracts for the repairs and upgrades riders desperately need.

The good news? There are millions of us who depend on transit every single day, and we are the majority. Don’t let the traffic lovers tell you otherwise— all of us who ride the subways, buses, LIRR, Metro-North, Access-A-Ride, and Staten Island Railway will benefit from congestion pricing.

If you depend on transit and want faster trains and buses, now is the time to tell the MTA.

The MTA is accepting public comments about congestion pricing until March 11, 2024. You can sign up to testify in support live at one of four public hearings here or submit a comment to cbdtp.feedback@mtabt.org.

Click below to send a pre-written email to the MTA, and feel free to add your own transit experiences!

Sample letter in support:

As someone who relies on transit, I want to see improvements to trains, buses, and Access-A-Ride. Congestion Pricing will make this possible. I support Congestion Pricing because it will bring New York cleaner air, less traffic, and much-needed funding for transit improvements.

The delays to critical projects like signal upgrades, new elevators and accessibility projects, flood-proofing stations, and new expansions like the Interborough Express need to stop. I depend on transit every day, and Riders need Congestion Pricing Now!

The post Tell the MTA why you need congestion pricing! appeared first on PCAC.

Taking the LIRR from the station near her home would shave considerable time off her trip, whether it meant riding to Penn Station or Atlantic Terminal and ending her trip on the subway. Taking the railroad would eliminate transferring from bus to train to train and reduce her travel time to 30 minutes. The time savings of commuter rail comes at a high cost: a weekly ticket cost $75, plus the $33 weekly subway fare to get her to her destination.

But that was before she discovered Atlantic Ticket, a discounted $60 weekly LIRR ticket from stations in Southeast Queens to Atlantic Terminal that provides a free transfer to the subway or bus. With Atlantic Ticket, Karen can benefit from shorter commutes using the LIRR, at a much more affordable price.

Expanding commuter rail discounts beyond the current LIRR Atlantic Ticket pilot program is needed now more than ever, both for riders and the MTA itself. That’s why PCAC is recommending that the MTA implement Freedom Ticket, the genesis of Atlantic Ticket, a discounted Metro-North and LIRR ticket from stations within NYC that includes a free transfer to subways and buses. It would be transformative for riders from the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens by offering them access to faster and more affordable commutes. And with the MTA exploring creative fare restructuring strategies to announce and vote on at its December Board meeting, there is no better time to implement Freedom Ticket type discounts and other proposals, like 20-trip tickets at a discount.

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically affected the MTA’s ridership, especially on its commuter rail systems, resulting in far less fare revenue for the transit system.  Ridership data indicates that riders are returning, but there is still a long way to go before all riders come back, if they ever do. As of October 2021, NYC Transit subway and bus ridership had rebounded to 56 percent of pre-pandemic levels of October 2019, with the commuter railroads at 46 percent for Metro-North, and 49 percent for LIRR. Making the most of our commuter rail assets will be crucial not only for riders and the MTA, but also for regional recovery efforts. Fare discounts like Freedom Ticket can be the backbone of these efforts.

Freedom Ticket can:

• Help regional riders and essential workers travel more affordably and efficiently
• Fill empty commuter rail seats with fare paying riders
• Support regional economic recovery efforts
• Attract drivers out of their cars in time for congestion pricing implementation, reducing roadway congestion and CO2 emissions.

City riders need improved transit, especially in areas where affordable and efficient options are limited.

Highlighted during the pandemic are the nearly 300,000 essential workers in the proposed Freedom Ticket expansion areas in Northeast and Central Queens, Far Rockaway, and the Bronx who are disadvantaged by inequitable transit options. With 35 percent employed in healthcare or the service industry, NYC depends on them every day to show up in person no matter what crisis the city may face. But travel times for these workers ‒ and all riders ‒ in these areas can be as high as an hour-and-a-half each way using local buses to connect to the subway to reach Midtown Manhattan, compared to just 30 minutes on the LIRR and Metro-North. This would save hours weekly for the people who make up the backbone of our region.

Even 19 months into the pandemic, there is capacity for Freedom Ticket riders on both Metro-North and the LIRR – both still operating with nearly half the riders they once had in 2019, and with thousands of empty seats.

And let’s not forget about suburban riders, who also deserve affordable and efficient transit options.

When combining commuter rail fares, MetroCard fares, vehicle ownership expenses, and parking fees, as many suburbanites do, overall travel expenses can be overwhelmingly expensive. LIRR and Metro-North commuters who live the furthest out pay up to $500-$600 per month when factoring in city subway/bus fares – but not including parking fees at home stations and vehicle expenses. The second phase of Freedom Ticket includes proposed suburban off-peak discounts for those who can commute outside of traditional peak hours, and for reverse commuting, in order to foster much-needed suburban economic growth.

More affordable fares will help entice drivers out of cars and onto transit while generating revenue for both Metro-North and the LIRR by filling empty seats with fare paying customers, including the more than 500,000 essential workers who live outside of NYC. Especially in anticipation of congestion pricing, the MTA needs to prove to suburban drivers that the railroads will get them into the city efficiently and affordably. Freedom Ticket is the perfect opportunity to do so.

This is exactly the right time for Freedom Ticket discounts. With economic hardships for riders and the MTA, available railroad seating capacity, and the need to drastically cut vehicle emissions, our region needs it now more than ever.

Read the Freedom Ticket Phase II report with recommendations:

The post Freedom Ticket: Needed Now More than Ever! appeared first on PCAC.

Over the past several years, the MTA has been hard at work identifying and implementing several climate related initiatives to include energy efficiency measures – such as the goal to electrify its bus fleet by 2040, and its Solar Program.

Electrifying the MTA bus fleet is underway, but remains a gargantuan undertaking as the transportation agency works to reach its 2040 zero-emission bus goals. The MTA currently has 25 battery electric buses in operation, with initial plans to expand the fleet to 500 all-electric buses as a part of its 2020-2024 Capital Plan. Those plans, however, were put on pause with the rest of the MTA’s Capital Plan as scarce dollars were diverted to pay for operating the system as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

An infusion of $12 billion in federal stimulus funding is now allowing a delayed Capital Plan to begin moving ahead. Most recently, 45 all-electric buses were purchased for deployment in five depots across the city. As deployment continues, the NYC Transit Department of Buses must work through infrastructure challenges in its aging depots and yards, and enter into partnerships with various stakeholders to plan for such a substantial change in the bus system. Collaborating with all levels of government, and with utility companies, community boards and planning design commissions will be necessary in order to implement an efficient, aesthetically sound and resilient charging network which functions year-round no matter the weather – be it a power-disrupting storm or the harsh New York winter.

The MTA’s efforts to reap the benefits of solar power are also ongoing. On Earth Day 2019, the MTA issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for solar development at seven MTA properties. In it, the agency outlined its plans to expand its solar development and generate enough electricity to power 18,000 New York households, noting that the MTA’s overall vacant space spans “…more than 100 bus depots, train yards, repair shops, and commuter lots across all MTA agencies – totaling more than 10 million square feet of industrial roof space – which would be suitable for solar development.” The project would establish a new source of income and would be relatively costless because the MTA would be leasing idle space to companies for solar installation. Energy generated from these solar projects would be offloaded to the grid, producing 100 megawatts of electricity and contributing to the growth of New York as a renewable energy hub. The hope was to begin negotiations that fall, but the plan has yet to come into fruition. Smaller solar projects at bus depots, warehouses, and other facilities are in place.

As our region and nation aim to Build Back Better, investments at all levels will be looked at through a lens of sustainability and preserving resources for future generations. Lifting the MTA Solar Program off the ground and successfully integrating electric buses into the MTA’s fleet are both long-term and ongoing projects with broad reach that will have lasting effects on New York’s clean energy use and generation. Neither project is an easy fix or implementation, but both will ultimately bring large-scale change and help the MTA solidify a more sustainable and resilient future for transportation in the region.

The post Looking Forward This Earth Day appeared first on PCAC.

Staff retention at the MTA is already a problem, and will be made worse by the headcount reduction proposed in the reorganization plan.

Over the last few years, we have seen how the loss of key MTA staff is playing out and it’s not pretty.  Too often, it’s the best people in critical positions who leave. As more senior staff retire and younger staff leave for greener pastures after just a few years, there is and will continue to be a negative impact on riders unless steps are taken to slow the “brain drain.”

The 2010 cuts, followed by the constant whiplash from leadership change, has made staff retention that much harder. When Governor Cuomo hired three extremely strong agency leaders and their visioning plans were released, there was hope that the whiplash would stop… but here we are! The infrastructure and operation of our vast system REQUIRES informed and knowledgeable staff. Attrition has severe and unintended consequences: needed positions do not get filled; institutional knowledge gets lost; and important positions focusing on accountability are no longer to be found.

A full and transparent review of the effects of the hiring freeze, attrition, and retirements by departments and management levels should be undertaken and analyzed.

We strongly encourage an analysis of the full impact the MTA hiring freeze is having on retaining its professional workforce, and what the proposed headcount reduction will mean to service. Such an analysis must be done quickly to help determine whether simply cutting jobs is the best way out of the growing deficit. It is possible that with the dream team the Governor brought on – Cathy Rinaldi, Andy Byford, Phil Eng, Janno Lieber and Pat Foye – there is another way to go… a thoughtful restructuring that will reduce the MTA’s deficit through improved reliability, ridership growth, fare flexibility, congestion pricing, value capture, and more. Unfortunately, the AlixPartners’ plan is a rushed response to institutional problems that have taken years to develop. Nearly nine million people rely on the subways, buses and commuter rails every day. Steps to implement the still-developing reorganization must be thoughtful and deliberate to get riders where they need to go.

The MTA relies heavily on a knowledgeable, skilled and supported staff at all levels.

The MTA’s commitment to retaining and developing talent and establishing succession plans is crucial to maintaining a productive and functioning transportation agency. Also crucial are metrics that measure processes and performance. For example, the MTA’s Enterprise Asset Management team developed performance metrics in response to federal requirements, but their internal purposes are far reaching – internal planning and external funding needs are fact-based and metric driven.

Critical and publicly available performance metrics must also be developed to make it easier to understand the unintended consequences of the vacancies that have been occurring as long-time employees head for the door. The burden those vacancies have on staff – and the work that isn’t being done – also have serious consequences for riders.

Performance metrics are not just necessary for service and process performance, they will be needed to measure the value of AlixPartner’s recommended changes.

Given the large-scale changes that are being proposed, it is critical that the users of the system have the opportunity to provide meaningful input into the reorganization plan. They must be included in the decision-making process. The best way to do that is through a 45-day public involvement process that includes public forums, with significant review and consideration in the final plan. PCAC stands ready to assist the MTA in this effort to ensure that the people who use the system have their voices heard.

The post The MTA’s Transformation Plan and the Need for Staff Retention appeared first on PCAC.

It was disheartening reading through the disclaimer that the plan “is speculative and includes estimates and assumptions which may prove to be wrong.”

The Transformation Plan claims it was based on data that “varied widely in accuracy and completeness.” A $4 million-dollar plan based on assumptions and not on verified facts is worrisome. With a weak basis, the plan also fails to identify some key references: What are the “AlixPartners reference metrics,” “MTA historic performance,” “Performance parameters,” “Peer data published by the FTA and other resources” and “3^rd party benchmarks & KPIs” that the report relies on? Where are the hundreds of pages of appendices that form the basis for the assumptions included in the plan? These are crucial in understanding the validity and applicability of the plan to the MTA.

As some recommendations seem helpful on the surface, how implementable are they?

It is worth delving into the efforts the MTA has undertaken that have been effective, like Save Safe Seconds, and which ones haven’t. How have the past consolidations affected performance? These factors contribute to the analysis of what a realistic and successful reorganization plan could be.

The plan references hiring 30 + new top-level management, while extending the hiring freeze for the rest of the organization and consolidating departments – including a decrease of up to 2,700 positions. Many of the report’s key recommendations revolve around the centralization of mission-critical operating agency functions into all-agency operating support groups. While such actions have the potential to realize cost savings and increase inter-agency dialogue, MTA operating agencies historically have been resistant to cooperation and coordination across jurisdictions and disciplines. What mechanisms does the Transformation Plan put in place to ensure that centralization efforts do not end up complicating the smooth coordination of critical tasks?

Most importantly, the plan does not look at international best practices and lessons learned from other transit agencies.

Looking to public transportation systems that have undergone restructuring would help ground recommendations in the Transformation Plan. The Construction and Development recommendations were based on an MTA Board Working Group’s Cost Containment Plan, which has merit, but has yet to be reviewed for success; it was only presented on once after its conception and the public is unaware of what it includes and how it has been successful in reducing costs in the process. What are the actual cost savings? What are the “best practices” of its implementation and how effective is it?

$4 million dollars for a report without “a verification of the facts” is a disservice to riders and taxpayers. Riders want a reorganization plan with assurances that it will work, not one built to fail. They also want to be able to provide meaningful input, and we urge you to include a 45-day public comment period. Nearly nine million daily riders deserve a chance to weigh in on the proposed plan and its proposals. They should have that chance: change is most impactful bottom-up, not top down.

The post MTA Transformation without the Facts appeared first on PCAC.

Riders need options, like those embodied in the Freedom Ticket model.

Atlantic Ticket has paved the way for equitable fares in far-flung areas of the city for riders who are priced out of commuter rail service and don’t live close to subways. This is especially important as fares have recently risen and much-needed congestion pricing is on the horizon, which should encourage more people to leave their cars at home and take transit.

Since its June 6, 2018 launch, Atlantic Ticket has increased daily ridership at Atlantic Terminal by 5%, providing much needed revenue along a corridor that was operating trains that were running more than half empty during peak hours – getting more out of an underutilized asset. From what we understand, over 870,000 tickets have been purchased, and that number is continuing to grow – now at about 20,000 tickets sold per week.

Applying the Freedom Ticket model to other areas of the city.

With this success, the NYCTRC is looking beyond Atlantic Ticket to address commuting needs elsewhere in the MTA region to include Bronx stations along the Metro-North Railroad (MNR). Meanwhile, current capacity constraints going in and out of Penn Station during peak hours has made this concept challenging, but once the effects of all the proposed new fare payment discounts agreed to as part of Congestion Pricing are understood, and once East Side Access (ESA) is complete and the East River tunnels are repaired, a Freedom Ticket type fare structure to Penn Station LIRR must be studied and considered; its implementation will be made easier with the new OMNY fare payment system. Until then, applying the Freedom Ticket model to the Bronx for MNR riders will help make for faster and more affordable commutes.

The post Atlantic Ticket is Extended! appeared first on PCAC.

In 1959, development and population growth along the Lexington Avenue line led the Transit Authority to undertake a $130 million modernization program  to enhance stations and lengthen platforms and trains to accommodate greater ridership. This modernization plan included making the Lex/59 St station an express stop on the 4/5 lines.

Lex/59 St originally housed only local train service, with express 4/5 trains going directly from 86 Street to Grand Central/42 Street.

Serving an estimated 10 million riders a year in 1959, the New York City Transit Authority began a three year project to allow the express service deeply below 59th Street. By expanding express service to the station, the Transit Authority expected the following benefits:

• Reduce Grand Central congestion due to local and express transfers at Lex/59 St
• Reduce Grand Central Shuttle congestion by providing N, R, or W service to the West Side
• Provide convenient N, R, and W transfers for Queens riders to Lexington line 4/5 express trains
• Eliminate the need for express riders to transfer to local service

Today, the 4/5/6 Lexington Avenue line is the most heavily traveled corridor in the NYC Transit subway system and as a result, trains are often overcrowded and stations along the route are congested.

Among these stations stands Lex/59 St, a major transfer point for riders traveling between Manhattan and Queens. By 2017, the station’s ridership had climbed to over 17 million, almost double than in 1959. The increase in riders entering the station has been compounded by greater numbers of transfers occurring there. Population growth in Queens to upwards of 2.3 million people, as well as continued job growth in Midtown and Downtown Manhattan, has helped to increase transfers at this station.

The N/R/W platform at Lex/59 St is bi-directional and narrow, which causes portions of it to get dangerously congested. With six lines (4/5/6/N/R/W) stopping at the station, combined with a walking F/Q line transfer from Lex/63 St station, transfers can be problematic due to the limitations of the narrow N/R/W platform, often resulting in stairwell and platform crowding. The perpendicular shape of the station causes all transfers between trains to occur at one end of the platform, resulting in pinch-points and stairwell crowding.

As population and subway ridership continues to grow, it is critical to adequately address crowding issues.

The recent rezoning of East Midtown in 2017 will expand development rights in exchange for widening of staircases between the Lex/59 St mezzanine and the N/R/W platforms, but not until a proximate project is identified and gets underway. While these solutions have the potential to alleviate some of the rider flow issues that plague the station, more needs to be done to address crowding issues.

NYC Transit’s Subway Action Plan (SAP), instituted in 2017, has garnered some positive results in reducing system crowding due to delays along each line, which contribute to congested platforms and subway cars. The Fast Forward plan can go further to address critical issues like the station’s geometry and other factors that cause line delays that converge at Lex/59 St. Fast Forward includes the need to upgrade critical infrastructure; review potential route changes to reduce reliance on critical interlockings; and revitalize the station experience. Once these actions are implemented, riders using and transferring at the station will see more reliable service and less crowding.

The post Lex/59 St station: Something needs to give! appeared first on PCAC.

The rezoning of LIC has created substantial growth – with more potential rezoning on the horizon.

Once an industrial and manufacturing hub, in 2001, 37 blocks were rezoned in LIC, which is now experiencing sky-rocketing growth and the City wants to rezone again. In fact, it’s fast-developing urban core saw the most rental housing construction in the nation between 2010 and 2016, with Los Angeles’s downtown coming in a distant second. As with the new and proposed development in the area, the 2001 rezoning was designed to take advantage of LIC’s mass transit access and its supply of large underdeveloped land parcels and foster investment in the community. Since then, LIC’s skyline has clearly taken shape, with thousands of units already completed and more on the way.

Planned Growth by 2020:

• 4 million square feet of commercial and industrial development
• 11,000 + residential units in the pipeline
• 5,200 + hotel rooms will be completed with the addition of 36 new hotels
• 411,000 square feet of retail development

LIC’s rapid development is impacting nearby subway stations like Queensboro Plaza.

From 2011 to 2017, Queensboro Plaza’s ridership increased by 41%, not including the thousands of daily passengers who transfer at the station. With more people and businesses moving to the area, ridership will continue to climb, causing more delays and frustration, which in turn will require the MTA to look at ways to expand system capacity. Our forthcoming report entitled, “100 Days and 100 Nights: From Astoria to Lower Manhattan and Back,” details the daily trek of riders who regularly experience the delays and overcrowding.

Clearly, LIC’s rapid growth warrants investment in its transit infrastructure to ensure it can keep up with demand.

NYC Transit’s Fast Forward plan has emerged as the best option for the City’s aging transit system. It has the potential to improve the lives of those who live, work and play in LIC, and those who travel through. The Plan will upgrade many of the tracks, signals, stations and structures required to run the system effectively and improve the ride for millions, with potential route changes and revisions to improve running times. Now is the time to make investments to ensure the area thrives as an attractive place to live and work.

The post LIC Needs Fast Forward! appeared first on PCAC.

The hearing focused on the MTA’s dire financial situation and the need for sustainable and recurring funding sources to support the operating and capital budgets. More than a dozen Senate members grilled MTA President Patrick Foye, Managing Director Veronique Hakim, Chief Financial Officer Robert Foran, and Chief Development Officer Janno Lieber for over five hours on the Governor’s Executive Budget proposals, with a focus on Congestion Pricing and how it would be implemented.

During their lengthy testimony, it became increasingly clear that while Congestion Pricing is critical to funding the improvements spelled out in Fast Forward, there is no plan yet, just a concept. It’s a concept that we strongly support, but agree with the elected officials – and riders – who want to know how it’s going to work: Will it mirror the FixNYC Report? Will there in fact be “…variable and dynamic pricing options…” as the panel suggests? How much will it cost to enter the Congestion Zone? How much money will it yield, and how will that money be spent? Will it go into a lockbox for transit use only? Will there be a flat fee for trucks and delivery services that enter and leave the zone several times a day? How will trucks be charged? Where will the toll gantries be placed, what kind of construction will be needed – and how will that be coordinated with New York City?

Support for Congestion Pricing has never been stronger, but time is running out for its inclusion in the 2019-2020 Adopted Budget. Missing the deadline could mean missing key milestones for critical subway and bus improvements – and that could mean more time for riders stuck going nowhere fast.

We urge the MTA and the Governor’s office to develop and release a real plan that New Yorkers can understand: Riders want to know what Congestion Pricing is going to mean to their families and neighbors – and they deserve answers. Earlier this week, we participated in a press conference with TransitCenter, elected officials and other advocacy organizations that highlighted TransitCenter’s analysis of how much time New Yorkers could save if Fast Forward is funded. The answer: tens of thousands of hours a year – hours that could be better spent doing just about anything else.

Don’t Forget LIRR and Metro-North!

In addition to the Fast Forward plan, LIRR Forward and Metro-North Way Ahead set the stage for capital improvements across the region. While Congestion Pricing has been tied directly to Fast Forward, significant investment is needed to meet the needs of all of the agencies. Two other key aspects of the Governor’s proposed budget got less attention but are equally important since funding for the capital plan has been linked to their enactment:  expansion of speed camera zones in New York City; and MTA restructuring.  While we support each of these, we do not agree that critical infrastructure funds should be tied so directly to passage of these requirements.

New York City Speed camera zones expansion in New York City

Speed cameras will keep children safer in school zones, help buses move faster, catch people running red lights – and add a layer of enforcement in the Congestion Pricing zone. Why wait? Start putting them up now and lift the restrictions on how many can be placed and where. Tell us how much revenue will be brought in and how it will be spent.  We support allocating revenues from the fines to transit-related purposes and street-based safety-related projects.

MTA Restructuring

Here’s a term that’s been bandied about, but without a definition of what it even means: changing board membership and voting structure? Breaking down agency boundaries? Bringing in new leadership at the top and keeping the agency heads? We agree that there is a need to continue to make process improvements and that efficiencies can be found – but the strong leadership at NYC Transit, the LIRR, and Metro-North are making a difference, which riders can see. A new and independent Chair is needed to support the agency heads in their efforts and work with them to identify savings, but structural review and revision are too important to do in haste. There should be a longer, multi-stepped approach leading to a well thought out proposal.

But Wait, We Need More…

These funding sources are a good start, but will not meet all the needs of the MTA or its riders.

Finding creative ways of raising transit funds

Consistently capturing and use of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) would create tremendous opportunities for the MTA. Transit access can A portion of that value should be captured and funding set aside to finance transit infrastructure improvements when proximate projects – such as upzonings, Amazon’s H2Q in LIC, and TOD on Long Island and in the Hudson Valley – are developed. We’ve seen how successful these programs can be and mechanisms already exist for the types of agreements; they should be used consistently and constantly.

They say that desperate times call for desperate measures.

These are desperate times: delays and disrepair are causing people to flee the system, leading to declining ridership, which means less revenue, less faith in the system, and less investment.  We’ve been down this slope before and it doesn’t end well. We need to look at every possible revenue source, including incremental tax increases in the sales tax, gas tax, recording tax, Millionaire’s tax, corporate tax, and future cannabis taxes, to address the real state of emergency that we are seeing unfold. Now’s the time for the state to pony up the more than $8 billion it has committed to the MTA, and for the city to kick in its share. We shouldn’t have to wait for the MTA to accrue more debt before getting these desperately needed funds. Getting out of debt by getting into more debt doesn’t work at home, and it won’t work for the MTA.

It is clear that the MTA must do its part to regain the trust of the legislature, and the faith of the riders it serves. The New York region is built around a robust transit system. It’s critical that it remain the driver that supports our growth, vitality, and identity. Investment in the future of the transit system is investment in the region’s economic stability and ability.

The post Talking to Albany, let’s hope they are listening! appeared first on PCAC.