NYC Transit 2008 Service Initiatives

[Trainspotter]

NYC Transit 2008 Service Initiatives

 

Continuing the massive effort to upgrade and improve mass transit services to its seven million daily bus and subway customers, MTA New York City Transit plans to offer a series of initiatives funded through the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s 2008 budget. When combined with the ongoing investment in rehabilitated stations, new vehicles and improved accessibility these service improvements will provide tangible benefits for our customers.

 

The service initiatives reflect the NYC Transit’s ongoing commitment to meeting the needs of the city’s bus and subway riders. Customer needs and changes in travel patterns are being addressed with new, speedier bus services, route extensions and service increases along Staten Island express routes.

 

Increased subway use will be addressed by service additions on several lines, including the L, which has seen huge ridership gains over the past several years.

 

Selected Planned Service Increases for 2008

 

Bus

• Bus Rapid Transit initiative scheduled to begin with implementation along two routes.
  
• B83 bus route extended to Gateway Shopping Center in Brooklyn
  
• B61 and B77 routes extended to Ikea in Red Hook section of Brooklyn
  
• Increased Staten Island express bus service on weekends, weekdays, middays and nights.

Subway

• 
  
• Additional rush hour, weekday off-peak and weekend service on the L Line to provide shorter waiting times and more comfortable travel conditions.
  
• Additional evening service on the Nos. 1, 4, 5 and 7, and additional weekend service on the No. 7.
  
• New R160 cars to be delivered for service on the J, Z, L, M, N and Q Lines. (We expect board approval of the first of two contact options for 620 cars)
  
• ADA accessibility at South Ferry (new No. 1 Line terminal), Union Turnpike-Kew Gardens on the E and F, and 47-50/Rockefeller Center on the B, D, F and V.
  
• Longer hours of weekday service on the B and W and extended service (on the G) to Church Avenue, Brooklyn

In addition to these operational upgrades, several capital improvements will be either begun, completed or remain underway in 2008. Customers will benefit from the ongoing delivery of aforementioned R160 subway cars, which are brining 21st century amenities to subway lines that are currently being served by 40-year-old equipment.

 

NYC Transit has been taking delivery of a 660-car order of new technology R160 cars, manufactured by Kawasaki and Alstom. The final 198 cars of the initial order are scheduled for delivery by May 30th, 2008. These cars, like the new cars serving the numbered lines, are providing customers with unparalleled levels of reliability, comfort and customer information.

 

Next year, a total of 12 subway station rehabilitations are scheduled to be completed, and five of those stations will be made accessible. During the same period, 23 station rehabilitations will be in construction and six of those jobs will include the addition of ADA features. Additionally, nearly 60,000 feet of new track will be installed in the subway.

 

Several hundred new buses are scheduled to hit the streets next year, providing more comfort for our customers and cleaner, more efficient operation. NYC Transit is scheduled to take delivery of 106 Hybrid/Electric buses, 82 high-capacity articulated models and 66 express coaches.

 

The opening of a new bus depot at Grand Avenue, Brooklyn will help improve bus maintenance and quality control efforts, benefiting bus customers in Brooklyn and Queens.