Robert Spire

Maybe the should be local in Brooklyn again like it was until the late 90s and the should just be 168-WTC?

De-interlining might also help long term. A more controversial permanent suggestion once the 63rd Street work is finished might be to do this: Queens Boulevard Express to Jamaica Center all times except late nights with select rush hour trains to 179th Street. Late nights is Queens Boulevard Local to Jamaica Center. Queens Boulevard Local to Forest Hills-71 Avenue all times except late nights. Both and run via 63rd Street. Queens Boulevard Express to Jamaica-179th Street all times except late nights. Late nights is Queens Boulevard Local to 179th Street. runs between 96th Street and Coney Island as Broadway Express all times except late nights skipping 49th Street with the . Late nights runs between Astoria-Ditmars Boulevard and Coney Island as Broadway Local via tunnel. runs between Astoria-Ditmars Boulevard and Bay Ridge-95th Street all times except late nights.

Running the via 63rd Street would make the merge with the south of 63rd Street rather than the current 34th Street setup now. The way I'd have it would be like this Queens Boulevard Local via 63rd Street and Broadway Express all times except late nights; late nights runs to Astoria via 60th Street Astoria Local via 60th Street and Broadway Local all times except late nights; late nights replaces shuttle between Bay Ridge and Lower Manhattan Queens Boulevard Express via 53rd Street all times except late nights; late nights Queens Boulevard Local via 63rd Street 6th Avenue Local to 57th Street all times except late nights

I forgot to add one thing I'd have the run between Middle Village-Metropolitan Avenue and 57 Street/6 Avenue all times except late nights.

The way you can make the on the Queens Boulevard Line work both operationally and politically might be like this: Queens Boulevard Express via 53rd Street all times except late nights. Late nights Queens Boulevard Local via 53rd Street and Queens Boulevard Local via 63rd Street. runs between Forest Hills-71st Avenue and Church Avenue via Crosstown Line at all times. runs between Forest Hills-71st Avenue and Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue via Queens Boulevard Local, 63rd Street and Broadway Express bypassing 49th Street all times except late nights. Late nights runs between Astoria-Ditmars Boulevard and Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue as Broadway local via Montague Street tunnel like it does now. runs between Astoria-Ditmars Boulevard and Bay Ridge-95th Street as Broadway local and all trains become trains so there's no reduction of service, you can even try to add service to Brooklyn since they would now be all trains. This would be all times except late nights. During late nights would be extended to Bay Ridge-95th Street to replace the current shuttle. I would also boost express bus service between Queens and Manhattan to compensate for the loss of a subway line between Queens and Manhattan. That would be politically beneficial as well.

The going back on the Queens Boulevard Line would be something that would be politically hard to claw back today if they brought it back. Question is, are we willing to have less trains run into Manhattan in order to make room for the ?

I actually never thought the subway is a fortified bear trap to catch farebeaters. If anything the subways are the "marquee" mode of public transit the MTA operates. Notice how when the NYCT president is mentioned in the media, they're called "the subway chief" or "head of the subways" or "train daddy" in the case of Byford. Buses have always been second fiddle and it seems as if MTA is forced to have a bus network that they don't want to have. I mean much of the history of buses in NYC is NYCTA or MTA being forced to pick up bus operations that failed or the city didn't want to oversee or have any responsibility for.

If you tap with OMNY in the subway, you pay $2.90, you transfer to a bus, it's a free transfer. You purchase an unlimited ride because you have to use the subway anyways, bus transfers are included. Subways will have to have fare payment infrastructure no matter what, this is something recognized with how they've reimagined station agents. Fare evasion is also tied to crime in the subway system and a lot of anxiety about using transit stems from the subway system. OTOH with buses, we had several months of fare free local buses in 2020 and that glass ceiling has been broken, especially now with 5 free local routes and the Q70 being free. I mean, fare free local buses means less staff needed to deal with money and fares and less dwell time at bus stops. I can see how MTA decides trying to have fares on local buses is worth more trouble than they get in fares on local buses.

Eventually what is eventually going to happen IMO is that the entire local bus system will officially be made free. Look at the fare free promotions in Westchester, look at the 5 free pilot bus routes, look at how express buses are cashless and how pre pandemic MTA was going to evaluate local buses being cashless. If you think about it, most people who use MetroCards eventually use the subway system anyway and the MTA gets their money there. With free bus to subway transfers, the actual fare paid per ride has gone down considerably. If the MTA is going to switch everyone over to OMNY and have fare capping, which may even replace an unlimited ride option, while keeping free bus to subway transfers, and possibly not accepting coins on the local buses, might as well make the local system free at that point. The moment all local buses become free, IMO that's the moment NYPD will crack down hard on subway fare evasion.

I wonder if it has to do with Manhattan losing one depot because of the 126th Street Depot closure?

That the issue about driving vs. transit that has come up over the past several years isn't if one drives a car or encourages people to drive a car, that means they're anti-transit. You can be pro-transit and pro-car at the same time. It's just that what's really going on in society at large in recent years isn't pro-car or anti-car, it's attacking the individual ownership of cars, Ubers and Lyfts flooding the streets while being backed by venture capital money, while Vision Zero was brought to NYC is no accident IMO. Public transit should be improved for the people who have to rely on public transit. I'm not arguing that, I agree with you. MTA is in public transit because they have to be, I'm pretty sure they'd rather be in the real estate business. Where I do see things going is *oh, go take Uber* or *oh, go take Lyft* and I think that's worse than people choosing to buy their own car. Lyft who owns Citibike even admitted in an article, they want Citibike riders to go into their cars, and you know what, Citibike serves to draw people away from the subway and local buses. What I also find troubling about Citibike, and this is worth noting because there are advocacy groups that want Citibike to be subsidized, is the same group of people that hate express buses for drawing people away from the subway and costing a lot of money have no problem with Lyft doing the same thing with their cars and with Citibike.

To be honest, I think we should have better transit service and I don't blame you one bit for feeling that way. What the anti-car advocacy groups really want IMO is a two tiered system where "chosen" people can use Uber or Lyft on the regular or can afford to live in Manhattan with that Sex and the City Lifestyle and Citibike to where they have to go while the rest of us have to deal with dog crap transit service which will get worse with the borough bus redesigns. If you notice how Riders Alliance is pushing for 6 minute subway service and 6 minute bus service on the top 100 ridership local bus routes ONLY + how MTA is forcing people to choose between frequency and coverage while trying to remove bus stops = a realistic possibility that the top 100 ridership bus routes might be the ONLY bus service we may have in the future. Yet the city is doubling down on street redesigns despite pedestrian deaths being more correlated with overall crime than anything. Murders and pedestrian deaths went down in the 1990s and 2000s without Vision Zero ever being a thing. I think the real problem isn't pro transit or anti transit. It's that the anti car groups and those associated with them want to take away individual ownership of cars and other property including homeownership. Some of the funders of Transportation Alternatives includes Uber, Lyft, Revel, all of which have rideshare or micro mobility services that are popular, especially with the gentrifier crowd. Some of the other funders of Transportation Alternatives also includes car share apps. Which again goes to show that this isn't about improving transit, but attacking individual ownership of property and with the 15 minute city concept, dare I say restrictions on freedom of movement. They want people to live in cities who are more likely to afford and be reliant on their services. (On another note, Tri-State Transportation Campaign put out a report attacking Liberty Lines for providing subpar service, but has gotten donations from Uber in the past as per their 990 form)