PCAC’s latest report, Going The Distance: Transportation Mobility in the New York Metropolitan Region, arose out of a concern about the slow advancement of the MTA’s smart card initiative. Eventually, this component of mobility led to questions about service integration — in light of the Metro-North Railroad and NJ TRANSIT collaboration on the Connecticut-New Jersey Meadowlands game service; and unified travel information based on the growing number of websites and services, such as 511NY, Google Travel, MTA Trip Planner, etc., which often do not give the most accurate or efficient directions. Some major recommendations include:
For sevice integration —
MTA should work for more inter-jurisdictional and inter-agency service across the region
MTA should continue to fund rail projects that remove “choke points”
More Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) routes should created within NYC and on Long Island
Weekend service should be improved
There must be consistent and compatible ADA compliance across all modes and all agencies in the region
For fare integration —
MTA must make a strong, sustained effort to implement a “smart card” form of payment that will be operative across agencies and modes in the region — a transit riders’ “E-Z Pass”
The commuter railroads should also be part of a smart card program
CityTicket should be expanded to include late nights and early morning hours
A “Freedom Ticket” (fixed price travel on any MTA facility within a fare zone) should be created
Unified Travel Information —
Transit agencies in the region need to enhance and increase communication to ensure travel information is accurate and timely
Web-based travel planner programs need to be improved so that they provide the most efficient trip, including routes where short walks between modes can shorten travel times.
Web-based travel planner programs need to be created for travelers that have special ambulatory needs or use wheelchairs
Click here for the report:Going the Distance