Wednesday Winners (and Losers)
A weekly roundup of good deeds, missteps, heroic feats and epic failures in the tri-state region and beyond. Winners MTA Chairman and CEO Tom Prendergast — Chairman Prendergast, who has led the MTA since 2013 and recently brought the first phase of the Second Avenue Subway project across the finish line, announced that he will […]
5 Ways Your Subway Commute Might Be Better in the Future
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo joined MTA Chairman Tom Prendergast and New York City Transit President Ronnie Hakim this morning in Brooklyn to announce some changes coming to New York City Subway trains and stations. This week, the MTA will issue a request for proposals for 1,025 new subway cars and another RFP for the overhaul […]
The Awful Logic of Commuting via UberPOOL
Earlier this week, Uber hooked up with Gilt to offer a flat-rate commuter program that entitles participants to unlimited uberPOOL rides in Manhattan below 125th Street, between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. on weekdays. Here we have an example of something that looks like a good idea from a microeconomic perspective (I […]
Missing From the MTA Board: New York City
Last June, with only a few weeks before the end of the 2015 New York State legislative session, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio nominated three fresh faces for the MTA Board of Directors, which were submitted to the State Senate for confirmation by Governor Andrew Cuomo. Within two weeks, the Senate voted to confirm one […]
MTA vs. New Jersey: Who Runs Out of Money First?
We’ve known for some time that New Jersey’s Transportation Trust Fund is running on empty and will become completely insolvent on July 1 — just 100 days from now. But it turns out the Garden State is not alone in its fiscal hard times. Gothamist reports: MTA Chairman Tom Prendergast told reporters on Wednesday that unless the State budget is finalized […]
New York 2015: Looking Back on the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
You might have thought the biggest transportation story coming out of New York this year was about a pizza-loving rodent, but if you’ve been paying attention, you might have heard about Citi Bike upgrades and expansion, a debate between the governor and the mayor over the MTA, progress on a highway-to-boulevard conversion in Rochester and two […]
Looking Beyond the First Giant Step of the MTA Capital Plan Deal
This past weekend brought a collective sigh of relief to the New York metropolitan region. The “deal” brokered between Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio will provide the transit system with a $26.1 billion investment in the 2015-2019 capital program. While substantially less than the $29 billion initially identified by the MTA as the floor funding need, once signed this agreement will […]
Former MTA Chairman Ravitch is Candid on Capital Plan, Calls for City and State to Work Together
Former New York Lieutenant Governor and MTA Chairman Richard Ravitch appeared on NY1’s Inside City Hall with Errol Louis last week to talk about the MTA capital plan. The full video is available here, but there were a few snippets in particular that were worth sharing: (1:28) “Historically, the State of New York has been responsible for designing the […]
Wednesday Winners (& Losers)
A weekly roundup of good deeds, missteps, heroic feats and epic failures in the tri-state region and beyond. WINNERS U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy — Surgeon General Murthy announced Step it Up!, a call to action that goes beyond simply encouraging Americans to walk more by urging city planning and transportation professionals to design […]
Governors of Transit-Dependent States Don’t Seem to Get It
According to Census journey-to-work data, 27 percent of New York State commuters, and 11 percent of New Jersey commuters, use public transportation to get to work each day. That makes New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie the chief executives of the nation’s two most transit-dependent states. But you’d hardly know it based on […]