» Buses

October 27, 2011

Are you happier riding the NYC subways and NYC buses than you were last year? That’s what the annual MTA Customer Satisfaction Survey sets out to determine. Based on surveys from June 2011, customer satisfaction with NYC subways and NYC buses service increased over last year.

How did the Subways Do?

  • 84% of subway customers reported being satisfied with the overall comfort and convenience of using the subway, up six percentage points from last year. Satisfaction with temperatures onboard trains increased five percentage points to 84%.
  • Countdown clocks appear to be having a positive impact on the overall customer experience. Customers using stations with countdown clocks rated 54 attributes more highly than customers at stations without the clocks. 96% of customers reported being satisfied with the clocks themselves.
  • Customer satisfaction with information about planned service changes increased to 76% this year from 69% a year ago.
  • Ratings for six of the eight major categories increased significantly: comfort and convenience, safety and security, service reliability, service frequency, cleanliness of subway cars, and information and communications aboard trains.

And What about the Buses? Read more…

Filed under: Buses,NYC Public Transportation,Subways — Tags: , , — mtohn @ 10:03 am
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Jay Walder signed a 6 year contract to be the Chairman of NYC’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) but resigned after just two years to exponentially increase his salary and run an international transportation and development corporation in Hong Kong. Jay Walder had a tough two years dealing with the Second Avenue Subway, more than one fare and toll hike, the 60 MTA unions (yes, 60!), lower revenue due to people losing jobs, and interest payments on debt from the MTA’s capital plan.

The new MTA Chairman is Joseph Lhota. Who is Lhota?

  • Lohta is a former investment banker who specialized in public finance,
  • He worked for former Mayor Rudy Guiliani’s as Budget Director and and served as Deputy Mayor of Operations looking after NYC’s Department of Transportation from 1998 to 2001, Read more…
Filed under: Buses,NYC Public Transportation,Subways — Tags: , , , — mtohn @ 7:06 am
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March 17, 2011

According to a March poll from the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, New Yorkers are more concerned with transportation than NYC traffic and congestion.  They care more about the NYC buses and NYC subways than adding or taking away traffic lanes for things like fast-service buses.

Granted, only 5% of the registered voters surveyed targeted transportation as the most important issue for NYC, after education and the economy. Of that 5%, two-thirds cited ‘quality mass transit’ as the top issue, and 20% were concerned with traffic congestion.

Turns out that 54% of NYC households don’t have a vehicle, so this all makes sense.

Read the full article from Streetsblog.

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March 16, 2011
Rejected 34th St Pedestrian Mall

Rejected 34th St Pedestrian Mall

If you drive in NYC on 34th Street, you may just be about to have a slower drive. And if you take the M34 bus, you may just have a faster ride.

Mayor Bloomberg’s office just announced a revised plan for 34th Street where cars and trucks would have just two lanes — one going east and one going west, at the inner roadways of the street. There would be separate eastbound and westbound NYC bus lanes outside these car and truck lanes.

This is actually a scaled-back plan from the earlier proposal, which called for concrete barriers that would have separated the NYC bus lanes from the car and truck traffic.  Since the bus lanes would have been closest to the curb, local retailers and NYC parking garage owners strongly objected, saying that they would lose business if street parking spaces and garage entrances were eliminated. The new plan might actually provide more street parking for NYC along 34th Street, more pedestrian walkway, and faster travel times.

Read the entire article in The New York Times.

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February 1, 2011

The MTA’s new Select Bus Service and other improvements have installed Bus Lanes to help increase travel speed for bus travelers. the Bus Lanes are painted a dark reddish-brown and you can be fined up to $150 if you’re found drivign in one of them when you shouldn’t be there. Bus Lanes have posted signs telling you when you can and can’t drive in the lane.

Here’s everything you need to know about the NYC Bus Lanes.

What’s the Fine? If you drive, park, or stand in a bus lane during hours of operation you face fines ranging from $115 to $150. The City enforces bus lanes in two ways: Read more…

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According to Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign, the M34 NYC bus crossing NYC’s Manhattan 34th Street is “slightly slower than a Ringling Bros. elephant walking into Madison Square Garden.” During the summer of 2010, the M34 was clocked at an average speed of 4.4 mph, making it the sixth-slowest in the Pokey Award survey by the Straphangers Campaign.

The MTA agrees that the M34 bus is very slow and come the summer of 2011, the MTA is doing something about it. The M34 bus routes will now have you pay before you board to speed up the boarding process. Just like the Select Bus Service routes on 1st Ave and 2nd Ave, you will pay at a MetroCard machine on the street, get a receipt, and then board the M34 bus at any of the bus doors opening.

Currently, 34th St has ‘bus only’ lanes, which ideally should make traveling along 34th St faster than the other lanes. The Department of Transportation is planning to put barriers to separate the bus lanes, making a ‘Transitway’. That may further increase the travel speed in the NYC bus lanes, but it could also greatly hurt any parking garages that are located along the Transitway when drivers are reluctant to cross the barriers to park their car.

The Select Service Bus routes on 1st Ave and 2nd Ave started in October, the MTA anticipated a 20% increase in speed. As of January 2011, the MTA is reporting increases of up to 19%.

Filed under: Buses,Getting Around NYC,MTA MetroCard — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 9:16 am
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October 28, 2010

When I missed my stop on the 1st Ave M15 bus yesterday, I knew it was time to figure out what was going on. It’s all about the new MetroCard Fare Collector boxes on the sidewalk at the M15 Limited Bus Stops on 1st & 2nd Aves, and the buses labeled ‘Select Bus Service’ (they have flashing blue lights at the front).

NYC M15 MetroCard Machine, E 57th St & 1st Ave

NYC M15 MetroCard Machine, E 57th St & 1st Ave


Welcome to the new M15 Select Bus Service (instead of the M15 Limited), which is supposed to give us a 20% increase in speed during rush hour. What’s different?

You now need to pay before boarding at the machine, get a receipt, and show it if you’re asked. You can’t buy or refill your MetroCard at the machine, but Read more…

Filed under: Buses — Tags: , , , — admin @ 10:49 am
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September 5, 2010

The MTA is at it again — talking about raising MetroCard prices. Right now, we’re paying $2.25 for a single ride, $27 for a weekly card, and $89 for an unlimited monthly card.

Just last month, in July, the MTA was talking about a $104 unlimited monthly card, a $99 monthly card with 90 rides, and a $29 weekly card.

But on August 23rd, the whopping cost of $130 for a monthly card was being tossed about — that’s a 46% increase! And the MTA also mentioned a $38 weekly card and a $2.50 single card ride. Check out the Public Notices, like the one below.10-08-23_mta_unlimited_1301

Read more…

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February 28, 2010

Remember back in late May 2009, when seemingly overnight the North/Southbound streets in Times Square were suddenly turned into pedestrian lounge-rooms? The streets were painted green and filled with plastic chairs and tables.

The results are in, and those newer metal chairs and tables are going to stay plus get an upgrade to permanent furniture.

Times Square - before new traffic pattern

Times Square - before new traffic pattern


Times Square's pedestrian area

Times Square's pedestrian area

It’s all part of the Green Light for Midtown project spearheaded by Mayor Bloomberg and implemented by the NYC DOT*, where the goals are to make the NYC streets safer and to reduce NYC traffic and congestion. For Times Square, DOT was looking to improve the NYC traffic flow on 6th & 7th Avenues and make Broadway safer for pedestrians and drivers. If you’ve been through that area, you’ve seen the new pedestrian spaces on Broadway from 42nd – 47th Streets, and also on 33rd – 35th Streets.

How do we know if it worked? DOT used GPS units in taxis to compare travel times in fall 2008 against fall 2009 and found that: Read more…

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February 23, 2010

Yesterday the NYC MTA announced that it was going to cut 1,000 jobs as an effort to manage a huge revenue shortfall. In December, the shortfall was estimated at $400 million. A few days ago, MTA Chairman reported that the deficit is now about $800 million.

Where are these job cuts coming from? 600 of them are administrative staff from different MTA divisions, and they make up about 15% of the non-union employees. The other 450 staff are NYC subway station agents. Get this, though, those 600 admin jobs somehow create a savings of $50 million. How does that work? Read more…

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