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MTA chief Elliot Sander to approve $46M service expansion plan


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MTA chief Elliot Sander to approve $46M service expansion plan

By Pete Donohue

Daily News Staff Writer

March 3rd 2008

 

[float=right]busstop.jpg[/float]Transit Chief Elliot Sander will Monday give the green light to a $46 million program to create new bus routes and enhance service in the first State of the MTA address.

 

The bus and subway Service Enhancement Program, which includes more frequent subway trains and extended hours of operation on some lines, was part of the 2008 budget the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board approved in December.

 

At the time, the MTA agreed with Mayor Bloomberg's request that implementation wait for a review of its first-quarter finances.

 

Officials have now decided that the MTA's revenues, including tax receipts, can support the program, the source said.

 

The improvements include:

 

  • Establishing a new bus service from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to midtown Manhattan via the Williamsburg, Greenpoint and Long Island City waterfronts to serve growing neighborhoods.
  • Creating a new M1 route from the lower East Side to east midtown and converting the M21 to a Houston St. crosstown bus.
  • Extending weekday evening hours for B and W trains until 11 p.m.
  • Increasing staffing at 34th St.-Herald Square, 14th St.-Union Square, 42nd St.-Times Square and Bowling Green stations.

The State of the MTA is to be an event "not unlike the State of the State, the State of the Union and State of the City," Ernest Tollerson, a top aide to Sander, wrote previously in a memo to authority honchos.

 

Sander will deliver the speech in the Great Hall at Cooper Union this morning.

 

He is also expected to make the case for the MTA's five-year capital plan - a $29.6 billion program to maintain, upgrade and expand the system.

 

Major programs include the Second Ave. subway and Long Island Rail Road extension to Grand Central Terminal.

 

But the program has a huge revenue shortfall and needs financial support from the state Legislature and city.

 

The transit chief also is expected to outline the role he envisions for the MTA in the coming decades, including being a leader in green, environment-friendly initiatives that conserve energy and reduce pollution.

 

The bus and subway Service Enhancement Program, which will be phased in between June and December, is projected to cost $46 million over a full calendar year.

 

It comprises some 32 initiatives, including bringing back overnight service on the No. 3 subway line in Harlem.

 

Another provision reduces the current evening gap between No. 6 trains, which now run as much as 10 minutes apart. The new schedule reduces the gap to six to eight minutes.

 

This morning also marks the first time weekday commuters will feel the pinch of the latest fare hikes.

 

The base fare remains the same, but the pay-per-ride bonus is reduced from 20% to 15%.

 

That means riders often will find themselves with MetroCards that have no trips left, but still some monetary value.

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Its good to see the extension of Hours Of operation on the (:( & (W), and plus implement late night (3) service, and increase headways on the late night (6), but what does this mean for? :

 

Reinstating 24/7 (R) service and

 

Weekend (M) Service between Middle Village and Chambers St?

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Its good to see the extension of Hours Of operation on the (:( & (W), and plus implement late night (3) service, and increase headways on the late night (6), but what does this mean for? :

 

Reinstating 24/7 (R) service and

 

Weekend (M) Service between Middle Village and Chambers St?

Looks like that was forgotten to to be mention or they aren't going to do it anymore.
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Darn. Was hoping to ride the (R) at From Times Square to Brooklyn at 3am B)

 

I dunno man, some flights, trains, and busses get in kind of late/early, and people end up having to wait forever or take a taxi to get where they are going.

 

- Andy

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so the M1 will not run in Harlem anymore and i was hopping to ride the M during the weekend

 

What are you talking about? The M1 is running in Harlem.

 

The (MTA) is supposed to be creating a new M1 from the LES to east midtown (most likely 42 St). Current M1 service will not be affected.

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