Remarks of PCAC Associate Director Ellyn Shannon
On NYC Subway Performance Indicators
Before the MTA Board Transit Committee
MTA Headquarters, 2 Broadway, New York, NY
September 27, 2017
Good morning, I’m Ellyn Shannon, Associate Director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA. On Monday, MTA Transit Committee members and the public were given a presentation on Transit’s new subway performance dashboard. It has been a very long road, but we are thrilled to see so many of the items we have been advocating for included in this dashboard.
We would like to thank Chairman Lhota for calling for the initiative as well as Peter Cafiero, Al Reddy and their talented New York City Transit team who made the dashboard possible. It’s exciting to see New York City Transit staff take the lead in this innovative initiative and showcase their talents.
If the public chooses, this information can be transformational for subway riders and all stakeholders. For the first time we will all be able to clearly understand the trends for travel time performance, major delays and their causes, the amount of service delivered by line as well as legacy metrics such as car performance.
Understanding the frequency and causes of major delays and setting goals to reduce them is critical to achieving a reliable system. They are the delays that disrupt life.
Understanding the amount of service being provided by lines means that Transit is just one step away from adding a critical overcrowding metric. Some stations already reach dangerous levels of overcrowding when there is a subway delay. Having this public crowding metric will mean a better response to addressing overcrowding and possibly the political push that is needed to make investments that reduce those crowds. That is high on our wish list now for the next iteration, as well as the crucial performance metrics for bus, Access-A-Ride and the Capital Program.
In late 2018, the 20 Year Needs Assessment will come out. Its purpose is to inform the investments to be made in the 2020-2024 Capital Program. If the public wants a reliable system, it must learn more about the system. Not just how to get around on it, it must understand the cause of delays and push for the necessary investments in its infrastructure to keep it going. Again, we look forward to working with the new information tools and with NYC Transit to refine these tools as improved data and analytical capabilities allow.
Download here: 092717 MTA Board NEW NYCT Performance Metric Dashboard