PCAC Commends MTA Long Island Rail Road and MTA Metro-North Railroad for Creating Webpage to Present Information on Delayed and Canceled Trains
The PCAC applauds the efforts of the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad to provide riders with data on their delayed and canceled trains. The PCAC has long advocated for the MTA to provide more meaningful metrics that better inform the rider perspective. The improvements announced today by the MTA follow a dialogue conducted over the past four months between the PCAC, the MTA, and its commuter railroads regarding enhancements to the on-time performance information provided to the public. The information on late and canceled trains that is now being made available will be of value not only to riders, but also researchers, economists, policy makers and elected officials.
The PCAC is currently finalizing research focusing on the need to develop passenger based statistics that better convey the impact delayed and canceled trains have on riders. The PCAC will release a research report outlining its findings and further recommendations within the next month. In the course of this research PCAC staff met with MTA and commuter railroad officials to discuss the PCAC’s concerns and preliminary recommendations for increasing transparency in this area. As a part of these recommendations, the PCAC requested that metrics be added to MTA Board committee materials and that a webpage be created to provide a greater understanding of how many trains are delayed and canceled, which trains are repeat offenders, which branches are most affected, and when these issues are happening.
The PCAC regards this as a substantial initial step. In addition to empowering riders through giving them better information about train delays and cancellations, these data will be analyzed by advocates, economists and policymakers to inform decisions about the need to invest in the MTA’s infrastructure.
Please see the MTA’s LIRR and MNR new webpage
on Delayed and Canceled Trains @
http://www.mta.info/accountability/