The recent Subways Report Card issued by the New York State Public Interest Research Group was interesting, but missed some key issues.
Their “Best to Worst Metro Card Ratings for what they believe the value of a ride on each of the 20 subway lines was incomplete.
They used the fare of $2.75 as a base line with various factors to determine the value of a ride.
The Flushing No. 7 line was No. 1 in value at $2.15 while the B line came in last at $1.45. This analysis did not include a number of factors.
In 1996, the Metro Card was introduced. It included a free transfer between New York City Transit and New York City Department of Transportation franchised subsidized buses with the subway.
A significant number of riders saved money by elimination of the two fare zone.
Clearly the value of their subway ride is worth more with a free transfer from a bus. A growing majority of riders use either a monthly or weekly Metro Card which reduces the cost per ride significantly below the Subways Report Card base line of $2.75.
More and more employers including the federal, state and city government along with various private employers offer Transit Check to their employees.
This provides major savings for the cost of anyone’s monthly Metro Card.
Again, this significantly reduces the cost per ride of anyone using a Metro Card, clearly increasing the value of each ride.
Another issue not factored in is the value by distance per trip. Those in the know take the subway using either the No. 7 line to Flushing, F line to Jamaica 169th Street, J/Z & E lines to Archer Avenue or A line to Far Rockway.
Long Island Bus provides connecting service from Flushing on the N20 to Great Neck or Hicksville or N21 to Glen Cove, from Jamaica on the N4 to Rockville Center and Freeport,N6 to Hempstead, N22 or N24 to Mineola and Hicksville or from Far Rockaway on the N33 to Long Beach.
A resident from Staten Island riding either a local New York City Transit bus riding the Staten Island Rapid Transit commuting to Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx or Queens would take the Staten Island Ferry.
The ride from St. George, Staten Island to Whitehall Street, Manhattan is free. Upon debarking the boat, they could board the subway with a free transfer and travel up to one hour more to their final destination.
A rider boarding the R subway line at Forest Hills, Queens could ride one hour to 96th Street Brooklyn.
Ditto for a rider on the A subway line from the Rockaways to midtown Manhattan.
Trips on any of the 20 subway lines easily range from 30 minutes to 60 minutes or more especially for those between boroughs depending upon the origin and final destination.
Isn’t a longer ride worth more to the rider than a shorter ride?
Frequency of service is also dependent upon cost and funding sources.
Reduction of waiting times between trains especially off peak and late night would require running more trains. This can only be accomplished if both New York City and New York State provide millions of dollars more in operating assistance.
Additional funds are needed to pay for engineers, conductors and maintenance employees. Some lines have no capacity to increase service during rush hour.
This is due to either the tight spacing of trains or the need to upgrade antiquated signal systems to increase capacity for the number of trains that can run per hour.
Communication Based Train Control has increased capacity on the BMT Canarsie L line.
New York City Transit is in the process of installing CBTC on the Flushing No. 7 line.
New York City Transit has future plans to install CBTC on the Queens Boulevard line including the E/F/M and R lines. Future Capital Programs from 2020 – 2024 going forward may add even more. Both CBTC projects are dependent upon the MTA 2015 – 2019 Five Year Capital Plan being fully funded and approved. CBTC can cost hundreds of millions per line.
It is common sense to know that seating is dependent upon the station boarded. During rush hour, riders who board at the first stop have the best chance for seats.
As the train progresses stop after stop from the Bronx, Queens or Brooklyn into Manhattan seats become more and more difficult to come by. Sometimes for those riders willing to put up with a longer trip, using the local versus the express increases the odds of obtaining a seat.
The closer the outer borough stop is to Manhattan, the odds of obtaining a seat grows slimmer. Historically, generation after generation many riders have been accustomed to standing rather than sitting. This is nothing new. There will never be the capacity to provide seating for a significant number of riders.
Reliability of subway service on each line is also impacted by the mean distance between failure (when a car has to be removed from service for unscheduled maintenance) and average age of each fleet assigned to accommodate riders (Newer cars with less mileage usually have less frequent mechanical problems versus older cars who may have more frequent mechanical problems due to excessive mileage and service life) .
Maintenance of equipment may also be impacted by both age and capacity for the yard each lines yard.
Under the Five Year Capital Program, it is always a struggle for the MTA/New York City Transit to have sufficient funding in place to replace older subway cars as they reach the end of useful life. It can average five years or more between the design, procurement, construction, delivery and acceptance of new subway cars before riders reap the benefits.
New York City is one of the few subway systems around the nation which runs 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.
As a result, many maintenance activities and capital improvement projects have to work around active right of ways. It is frequently like asking a doctor to perform heart surgery on a jogger who at the same time is running a 24 hour marathon.
Managing the New York City Transit subway system is the equivalent of a Fortune Five Hundred company. It has never been easy.
At the end of the day, the success of New York City Transit , including successfully meeting all the goals as outlined in the Subway Report Card, is dependent upon adequate funding.
This includes a combination of fare box revenue, city state and federal financial assistance. Unless all four partners carry their respective loads, service will never reach the optimum level millions of daily customers desire.
Riders and the federal government (Uncle Sam pays for about 35 percent of the capital program not counting even more provided under the New Starts program for such projects as the 2nd Avenue Subway) are pulling their weight. It is both Albany and NYC who are not contributing their fair share.
Based upon the original 1951 Master Lease and Operating agreement, it is the City of New York who actually owns the buses and subways.
The MTA is really managing the system under contract to City Hall without adequate financial support.
At the end of the day, subway riders are dependent on Mayor Bill de Blasio and the New York City Council to do the right thing and significantly increase New York City’s financial contribution.
Larry Penner
Great Neck
