Foo - The NYC MTA loves their fare hikes.

Effective May 31, the NYC MTA will be increasing per-ride fares to $2.50 from $2.00 and making tons of service cuts both on their subway and bus services.

Link. (http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/25/mta-board-meets-to-vote-on-fare-hikes/index.html?hp)

Honestly, I'm mostly for it. While the price hikes may be somewhat devastating for many commuters around here (Unlimited 30-day MetroCards will be $106 from $81), seeing the wonderful work that the MTA has been doing with the subway over the years (the 1 to R line transfer at South Ferry, the R160 rollouts on the N, Q and now E lines, as well as unfinished projects, such as the Fulton Street Transportation Center and T service on 2nd Avenue, coming 2015) relieves my feelings somewhat. They have been having trouble getting capital funding for lots of stuff, so this and other savings cutbacks are the only way I can see them going through with their 10-year plan.

The bus terminations make a lot of sense, since the lines that are being cut mirror subway lines that are faster and more reliable. In my case, it just means that I have to walk the three blocks to the subway instead of going down the street to catch a (usually) slower bus. I can understand how this might negatively affect some people who relied on the bus pretty heavily (the elderly and disabled, for instance). Additionally, the subway service cuts also make sense, since the stations that are losing late-night service hardly get any passengers then anyway. Nobody goes to Rector Street or City Hall at night, at least from my times being down there at 2AM and later.

Lots of savings could have been realized from cutting salaries, since transportation workers get paid a lot for what they do. However, the gist that I'm getting is that working a bus or subway train is a LOT of work, so those salaries are probably justifiable. Plus, I don't want to see another strike happening any time soon.

What do you foosters think about this? I know that this may not be national news (though it was on the front page of the Times and still is), but I wanted to hear what others had to think.

In 1980, I lived in Manhattan and fares on MTA were $0.60, and the CPI was 77.8. Today, the CPI is 212.2 and the fare is $2.50.

So, the fare has gone up 417%, and the CPI has gone up 273%. So, MTA fares have outpaced inflation by about 7.5%/year for the past 19 years.

So, the fare has gone up 417%, and the CPI has gone up 273%. So, MTA fares have outpaced inflation by about 7.5%/year for the past 19 years.So you can write off your subway fare as an investment? Sweet!

So you can write off your subway fare as an investment? Sweet!

Hahaha.. if only I had bought a bag of 1000 MTA tokens back then.

It doesn't make much sense to me to raise public transportation fees during a recession.

This should probably go in the NE board, but interesting to hear everyone's two cents from elsewhere.

TA supports the Ravitch plan. They're looking at the big picture, not a few nickels per day... My main beef is that there are infrastructure issues that could/should be addresses for the long haul that are not, namely the tracks and signals and tunnels themselves.

Eventually, all of the trackage will need to be replaced. Some sections of it are approaching 50 years old. However, as you can see from the 2nd Ave Subway project (which I wish would have been done already; the overcrowding on the Lexington Ave. line is ridiculous, though lots of fun), laying new track down takes a while. They are already doing it; I even saw workers replacing track on the 1 line a year back and talked with them about that problem.

Signalling, which also takes a while because of the complex interactions between them, is already being worked on. Most of the weekend and late night delays are because of this. I'm noticing that some improvement has been made already; speeds on the N and D lines passing through DeKalb and over the Manhattan Bridge have increased noticeably, for example.

The tunnels are even harder to work on than the signals and track, since that would require entire sections of subway service to be closed off and tons of long term re-routing to be done. Some are not so bad, like the tunnel from Whitehall Street/South Ferry to Court Street/Downtown Brooklyn. That would just require all service to be diverted over the bridge, and the effects wouldn't be so bad, since all of the stations from Canal Street to Whitehall have nearby stations to connect to. Imagine rebuilding the tunnels nearby Times Square. That's millions of dollars lost in revenue from that station alone, not counting for the millions that would be lost from lost ridership. Additionally, if the street has to be opened up, that effects above-ground transportation as well.

Either way, I think the tunnels are constructed pretty good, since collapses are extremely rare here.

Either way, I think the tunnels are constructed pretty good, since collapses are extremely rare here.

yes - sorry, I should have specified, flooding - those pumping stations are hurting.

Flooding and water leakage is a big problem, but they are pretty structurally sound.

Newsflash: the actual unsubsidized cost of a NYC Subway ride is really about $6.

^

Unsubsidized costs doesn't equal the true cost, though. Same thing with anything offered at a discounted rate, which is almost everything.

Same thing with anything offered at a discounted rate, which is almost everything.

Not Macs.

Well, yeah because Apple provides the tools and software in-house.

Well, yeah because Apple provides the tools and software in-house.

There are plenty of tools on the subway.

But not as many tools as there are in the Apple camp.

ZING!

Newsflash: the actual unsubsidized cost of a NYC Subway ride is really about $6.

that subsidy provided one of the best reading environments out there.

http://thetripe.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/reading-on-train.jpg

So I take it you're sticking with a Windows laptop.

There's a shock.

Maybe
It's kind of like the concept of "Fred."

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w243/5mudg3_photo/bucketviii32405pelham123poster.jpg

Maybe
It's kind of like the concept of "Fred."

It is quite arguable that anybody who seriously discusses Linux as an OS option or actually defends Windows in 500+ word diatribes is a massive computer Fred.

So what do you call a person that can defend both Windows, OS X and Linux in 500+ word diatribes?

they were probably jealous of the recent fare hike in chicago ($2.25). how do the trains ride there? when i used to take the red line in chicago, i once got off a train because it was vibrating so badly I thought it was going to fall apart (and my ass was getting numb). In general they're loud, bumpy, and dirty. The london underground on the other hand...

This isn't only happening on the east coast. Bus fares out here were just raised to $2.25. Free transfers are no longer given either, and many routes have been cut back or eliminated. The commuter train monthly pass has increased by $28 in the last six months.

This isn't only happening on the east coast. Bus fares out here were just raised to $2.25. Free transfers are no longer given either, and many routes have been cut back or eliminated. The commuter train monthly pass has increased by $28 in the last six months.

public transportation in socal? :eek:

So what do you call a person that can defend both Windows, OS X and Linux in 500+ word diatribes?

An IT veteran?

they were probably jealous of the recent fare hike in chicago ($2.25). how do the trains ride there? when i used to take the red line in chicago, i once got off a train because it was vibrating so badly I thought it was going to fall apart (and my ass was getting numb). In general they're loud, bumpy, and dirty. The london underground on the other hand...

Depends on the line and the train you ride on. As I mentioned, several lines (M, N, Q, W, L, and now the E and F lines) are starting to receive the (almost) brand spankin'-new R160 consists (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R160B_%28New_York_City_Subway_car%29) from Kawasaki and Alstom, which have air-bag suspension and significantly improved noise isolation. They ride absolutely great; almost like railroad trains (modern trains are super smooth), even on uneven track. The digitized voices sound crystal clear as well, though the software driving that and the all-digital destination map has several bugs in it (i.e. no quick way to change route information mid-route, wrong transfer information, etc.). After riding on the subways in Boston and Philadelphia, I'm convinced that these subway trains are the best in the US right now. The R142 consist (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R142A), also from Kawasaki and Alstom, ride about as good. They were deployed in 2001 on the 4, 5 and 6 lines and in 2002 on the L line.

As for the older rolling stock (the R68 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R68_%28New_York_City_Subway_car%29) on the B, D, F, V, and sometimes the N and Q lines, the R44 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R44_%28New_York_City_Subway_car%29) on the R, G, A, F and Staten Island Railway, the R40 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R40_(New_York_City_Subway_car)) on the A, C, E, B, F, J/Z, and the R36/R33/R31's nearing their EOL), they ride harsher, but not that bad. The R30's (seldom seen on the A, C, E and F lines) are a lot of fun to ride, since they have a clear window up front and are the fastest trains on the system, but they are getting phased out completely by the end of this year.

that was thorough, thanks :)

public transportation in socal? :eek:

Yes, we now have large horseless carriages and even a couple of choo-choos.