Trainspotter Posted July 24, 2008 Share #1 Posted July 24, 2008 Enough is enough Editorial: A fare deal for riders NY DAILY NEWS JULY 24, 2008 Enough with transit fare hikes that drop out of the blue. Enough with worthless promises that hikes will be kept in line with inflation and eased in every two years. Enough with cattle cars that would violate cruelty-to-animal standards were they transporting cattle and not human beings. Enough with subway lines where trains are getting later faster, and enough with the Transit Authority professing to be clueless as to why. Enough with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority needing $30 billion to keep subways and buses in good working order and to expand service - while having about as much cash as your average subprime casualty. Enough with governors, mayors and lawmakers decrying fare hikes while denying the MTA adequate funding to avoid them. This is the year that New York must rescue mass transit - and in the process play fair with riders. This is the year Gov. Paterson, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and Mayor Bloomberg must forge a comprehensive strategy for the sustained well-being of regional transportation. Not a patchwork to get through the coming months. Not a menu of fixes that leaves the riders exactly where they are now - on the hook for paying up as the system spirals down. And not the financial plan unveiled Wednesday by MTA CEO Lee Sander. The law required Sander to produce the document, and he did it ably. Per the mandates of the statute, he had to present at least semiplausible ideas for closing a $900 million budget deficit. The headline was that Sander proposed a second fare hike in two years while penciling in new money from the state and city, both of which are sinking into red ink of their own. Bottom line: The plan was DOA. But Sander achieved the valuable aim of hammering home the fact that the MTA is in horrendous financial shape, largely because tax collections dedicated to the agency have plummeted with the economy. He still has big work. Bloomberg and members of the MTA board were right to call on him to trim projected spending more than he has already targeted. He must squeeze out additional millions or prove that it simply can't be done without hurting service. After that, the matter is pretty much out of Sander's hands. The MTA's fate will rest with Paterson, Silver and Skelos, and, to a lesser degree, with Bloomberg. In very tough fiscal times, with the national economy in worse shape than it has been in decades, they must rise to the challenge of putting mass transit, a system vital to the city's future, on sound footing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trainfan22 Posted July 24, 2008 Share #2 Posted July 24, 2008 The MTA could cut back on maintaining subway cars thats one way to save money. Being the NTT is so easy and cheap to maintain i say cut back on mainence thats one way to save money. Same goes for the buses. And i agree with the article about the trains being slow. Like the brooklyn bound ( and lines. It takes the like 45 minutes just to go from canal st to atlantic ave, same with the line and grand st. And the line is always late sometimes two trains come before one train comes. Not to mention the A/C on NONE of the R32-R160 fleets has been working good this summer. Were paying more for less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metsfan Posted July 24, 2008 Share #3 Posted July 24, 2008 The MTA could cut back on maintaining subway cars thats one way to save money. Being the NTT is so easy and cheap to maintain i say cut back on mainence thats one way to save money. Same goes for the buses. And i agree with the article about the trains being slow. Like the brooklyn bound ( and lines. It takes the like 45 minutes just to go from canal st to atlantic ave, same with the line and grand st. And the line is always late sometimes two trains come before one train comes. Not to mention the A/C on NONE of the R32-R160 fleets has been working good this summer. Were paying more for less. The R62 cars have bad A/C as well. I would rather deal with slightly dirty and squeaky trains vs fare hike. - Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamaica Express Posted July 24, 2008 Share #4 Posted July 24, 2008 the only problem here is bad management....if the keeps it up the subway is going to end up looking like it did in late 70's & 80's...graffiti covered trains...fires everyday...and 2 to 3 derailments every month....any oh yea...red flag zones everywhere!!!...with trips taking 3 to 4 times as long as they are supposed to take (even though the lines seem to be victims of extreme tardiness now) I don't want that to spread system-wide.....even though I wasn't alive during this time pictures, articles & people who rode the subway during back then can definitely tell you that subway was in a serious state of emergency for about a good 12-14 years...& thats something I believe everyone would pefer not to have repeated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trainfan22 Posted July 24, 2008 Share #5 Posted July 24, 2008 The R62 cars have bad A/C as well. I would rather deal with slightly dirty and squeaky trains vs fare hike. - Andy Yes i agree i find nothing wrong with the SMEE's. But the whole fleet has been having crappy A/C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion Posted July 24, 2008 Share #6 Posted July 24, 2008 The MTA could cut back on maintaining subway cars thats one way to save money. Being the NTT is so easy and cheap to maintain i say cut back on mainence thats one way to save money. Same goes for the buses. And i agree with the article about the trains being slow. Like the brooklyn bound and lines. It takes the like 45 minutes just to go from canal st to atlantic ave, same with the line and grand st. And the line is always late sometimes two trains come before one train comes. Not to mention the A/C on NONE of the R32-R160 fleets has been working good this summer. Were paying more for less. Buses? They are bad enough already! We don't need filthier buses, hell I even took some garbage out of a few buses myself @ the last stop for drivers I knew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pablo M 201 Posted July 24, 2008 Share #7 Posted July 24, 2008 I agree with it all. Management at the MTA is just not good. Hell, I'll even say its a little corrupt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UlmerPark B6 Posted July 24, 2008 Share #8 Posted July 24, 2008 QUESTION: Is the building at Jay St. used right now or the headquarters are somewhere else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7LineFan Posted July 25, 2008 Share #9 Posted July 25, 2008 QUESTION: Is the building at Jay St. used right now or the headquarters are somewhere else? I think it's somewhere in Maspeth now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamaica Express Posted July 25, 2008 Share #10 Posted July 25, 2008 headquarters is located at 347 Madison Ave NY, NY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOB2RTO Posted July 25, 2008 Share #11 Posted July 25, 2008 Enough with governors, mayors and lawmakers decrying fare hikes while denying the MTA adequate funding to avoid them. This line is what I need to hear. Playing politics to get votes, and not solving the problem, but making it worse with slashing funding...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastman346 Posted July 25, 2008 Share #12 Posted July 25, 2008 This line is what I need to hear. Playing politics to get votes, and not solving the problem, but making it worse with slashing funding...... IAWTP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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