Transit

This map of NYC’s subway distorts geography to give commuters more realistic arrival times
December 13, 2017

This map of NYC’s subway distorts geography to give commuters more realistic arrival times

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While the standard map of New York City's subway from the MTA might be easier to read, it distorts the geographic distance between stops making it tough to really know how far apart they are from one another. Many designers and architects have taken a stab at creating more accurate maps to ease the struggle of subway straphangers. And now designer Nate Parrott has released his own interactive subway map that shows how many minutes it takes between point A and point B, as Co.Design reported. Click on a station and the whole map changes to show the travel time to reach every stop.
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MTA to close East River tunnel to speed repairs

Image ©6sqft

December 13, 2017

MTA to close East River tunnel to speed repairs

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As part of an effort to speed up its emergency repair plan, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has announced plans to close the E and M line tunnels under East River between Manhattan and Queens for five days at the end of this month, the New York Times reports. The shutdown will start early on December 26 and end early on Dec. 31, taking advantage of a rare lull: Almost a million fewer people use the subway during that time than other weeks of the year— five million compared with 5.9 million according to MTA data.
Find out the timing is right for a shutdown
To relieve Brooklyn Bridge congestion, the city wants a bike-only entry and fewer vendors

Photo of the Brooklyn Bridge via pixabay

December 8, 2017

To relieve Brooklyn Bridge congestion, the city wants a bike-only entry and fewer vendors

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Dubbed the "Times Square in the Sky," the Brooklyn Bridge promenade remains the borough's most popular attraction, experiencing an increase in pedestrian volume by 275 percent between 2008 and 2015. The New York City Department of Transportation released a report on Friday that details ways to reduce the growing congestion of cyclists, pedestrians and vendors on the promenade. After hiring the consulting term AECOM over a year ago to conduct an engineering study aimed at improving safety, DOT has finally outlined steps to be taken in order to limit crowds. As the New York Times reported, the city is exploring ideas like building a separate bike-only entrance to the Manhattan side of the bridge, possibly expanding the width of the promenade and reducing the number of vendors allowed to sell goods, while restricting where they can sell them.
More this way
Port Authority approves more than $1B for construction at NYC airports

Interior rendering of LaGuardia Airport, via Governor Andrew Cuomo on Flickr

December 8, 2017

Port Authority approves more than $1B for construction at NYC airports

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With the approval of its $8 billion 2018 budget on Thursday, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey plans to spend more than $1 billion on major redevelopment projects at LaGuardia, Newark Liberty International and JFK Airports next year. The agency’s board of commissioners approved a budget that allocates $3.2 billion for operating expenses and $3.4 billion for capital expenses. According to the Wall Street Journal, $578 million will be put toward the $8 billion redevelopment of LaGuardia and $167 million toward a $2.3 billion redevelopment plan of Newark's Terminal A.
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Helmut Lang’s throwback “Taxi Project” collection uses real NYC cab drivers as models

Credit: Alex Lee. Image courtesy of Helmut Lang

December 5, 2017

Helmut Lang’s throwback “Taxi Project” collection uses real NYC cab drivers as models

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Iconic fashion brand Helmut Lang has launched a capsule collection called the "Taxi Project," named in celebration of the fact that the eponymous Austrian designer–though he no longer heads the company–was the first designer to advertise on top of the city's yellow cabs starting in 1998. InStyle reports that as part of the project, actual NYC taxi drivers posed for an editorial shoot by Alex Lee, held in a body shop in Queens, in which they're wearing the new hoodies and tee. The brand is having a giveaway of items from the sporty collection–via taxi, of course.
Find out more and win free stuff
See inside the MTA’s proposed open gangway subway cars

All photos © 6sqft

November 30, 2017

See inside the MTA’s proposed open gangway subway cars

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All photos © 6sqft The Metropolitan Transportation Authority unveiled its newest class of subway cars during an open house at the Hudson Yards station on Thursday, allowing the public to tour the sleek trains and provide feedback to officials. In order to reduce delays and speed up boarding time, the new R211 cars feature 58-inch door spans, eight inches wider than doors on existing cars. As part of a pilot program, some of the initial cars will be equipped with open gangways, which are accordion-like walls located at the ends of cars. This technology aims to let straphangers move freely between cars and reduce overcrowding. While some of the city's buses already have the open gangway, it remains unclear whether subway straphangers will enjoy this sometimes-wobbly section of the car.
Check out the prototype here
Subway fixes proposed by the RPA include ending 24-hour service and expanding Second Avenue line
November 30, 2017

Subway fixes proposed by the RPA include ending 24-hour service and expanding Second Avenue line

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Today the nonprofit Regional Plan Association released its Fourth Regional Plan, a collection of broad and sweeping suggestions to make the MTA's very bad subway system start working again. In fact, there are more than 60 suggestions total in the 351-page document, which the association has been working on for years to improve infrastructure throughout the tri-state area. The RPA explicitly ignores political realities, but in the past their suggestions have proved influential over the region. And so they've offered up a few biggies to the MTA: ending 24/7 subway service, eight new or extended subway lines, and taking away the responsibility of subway maintenance and repairs from the beleaguered transit agency.
Read details of these ambitious proposals
With ridership booming, NYC Ferry could get new express routes
November 30, 2017

With ridership booming, NYC Ferry could get new express routes

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In a city with both its subway and bus currently in crisis, hearing anything positive about a transit system seems impossible. But, as the New York Times reports, the popularity of New York City’s ferry service continues to grow, with its fleet carrying 700,000 more passengers than officials had first expected. Plus, two of the four ferry routes already serve more riders than had been projected for 2019. The success of the citywide ferry, which serves as an alternative to the problem-plagued trains, has officials brainstorming ideas for express routes to get commuters to their destinations even faster.
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Proposal to extend PATH train to Newark airport heads to public meetings this week

Photo via Paul Sableman/Flickr

November 29, 2017

Proposal to extend PATH train to Newark airport heads to public meetings this week

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A new proposal from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey would extend the PATH system's Newark to World Trade Center line from its current terminus at Newark Penn Station to the Newark Liberty Rail Link Station (Airport Station) at Newark Liberty International Airport. The addition would allow better transit access to and from the airport for Lower Manhattan and Bergen, Hudson, and Essex Counties in New Jersey–there is currently no pedestrian or bus access to the Airport Station. The Port Authority is holding two public meetings this week in Newark to discuss the project's scope.
Details, this way
Running at the slowest pace in the country, NYC buses lost 100 million passengers since 2008

A Brooklyn-bound bus, photo via Wikimedia

November 28, 2017

Running at the slowest pace in the country, NYC buses lost 100 million passengers since 2008

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Among large cities, New York City’s bus system runs at the slowest pace in the nation, traveling at just 7.4 miles per hour, according to a report released by City Comptroller Scott Stringer on Monday. Due to an outdated fleet, inefficient routes and buses running at near-crawling speeds, the system lost 100 million passengers over the last eight years. And while it serves more than two million passengers each day, more than the daily ridership of LIRR, MetroNorth, PATH and NJ Transit combined, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has largely ignored the system’s failures. In his report, Stringer urges the MTA and city to better coordinate to address the bus system's crisis and lists 19 recommendations, which includes updating routes, replacing old buses and introducing all-door boarding and tap-and-go fare payment options.
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MTA hires Toronto’s Andy Byford to fix growing subway woes

Photo via Wikipedia

November 22, 2017

MTA hires Toronto’s Andy Byford to fix growing subway woes

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After a wide-ranging investigation by the New York Times into the failures of the New York City subway system, the MTA is trying to step up its game, announcing that Andy Byford will become the next president of New York City Transit, the MTA agency responsible for subways, buses, para-transit services, and the Staten Island Railway. (Talk about pressure.) Byford, however, has a good track record after five years of reducing delays, improving rider satisfaction, and modernizing the Toronto Transit Commission. The MTA's plan, according to the Times, is to change up leadership to "restore accountability and change a culture that for years has left the system lacking adequate funding or support." But they're already dealing with a high rate of turnover, as this will mark the agency’s fifth full-time leader in the past ten years.
He still faces massive challenges
Preservation unbound: Is a plan to re-build the original Penn Station a viable option?

Drawing of the original Penn Station, re-created. Credit: Jeff Stikeman for Rebuild Penn Station

November 20, 2017

Preservation unbound: Is a plan to re-build the original Penn Station a viable option?

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In August 6sqft reported that major work was underway in the $1.6 billion transformation of Penn Station's James A. Farley Building into a state-of-the-art, 225,000-square-foot “world-class 21st century transportation hub” called Moynihan Train Hall. That hasn't stopped the flow of suggestions for how to best make use of New Yorkers' un-favorite transport hub, which have included Practice for Architecture and Urbanism founder Vishaan Chakrabarti's proposal to repurpose, then move the old building to create a neighborhood gathering spot and a plan by Columbia University’s DeathLab  to turn the the station into a landscaped cemetery. Among those voices-with-a-vision is Rebuild Penn Station, a group of architects and preservationists whose intent is to recreate the original McKim, Mead and White-designed Penn Station, and a new ad campaign aims to get commuters on board (h/t Curbed).
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New York lawmakers have underinvested in the subway system for decades, report finds

Image © 6sqft

November 20, 2017

New York lawmakers have underinvested in the subway system for decades, report finds

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The crumbling of New York City’s subway system didn’t happen overnight. According to an investigation by the New York Times, the system’s current problems stem from nearly three decades of underinvestment by transit officials and elected politicians, who, despite its aging signals and equipment, have actually directed funding away from much-needed repairs. Now, New York’s subway has the worst on-time performance of any major rapid transit system in the world when looking at the data of the 20 biggest systems. Only 65 percent of weekday trains reach their destinations on time, the lowest rate since the transit crisis of the 1970s.
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MTA to introduce ‘customer service ambassadors’ to help riders navigate the subway

MTA customer service ambassadors, photo courtesy of MTA New York City Transit / Marc A. Hermann

November 15, 2017

MTA to introduce ‘customer service ambassadors’ to help riders navigate the subway

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The first phase of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s plan to modernize the subway focuses on improving communication between workers and riders. Last week, the MTA announced it would distribute about 230 iPhones to platform workers and train operators to pass along helpful information to straphangers about train problems and also provide alternative routes. Now, according to amNY, customer service ambassadors will roam subway stations to offer assistance, instead of staying in the booth. Over the next several weeks, ambassadors will be selected, trained and then placed at busy stations, especially those with a lot of tourists like Grand Central Terminal and Times Square.
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Amid decline in ridership, MTA boosts service on six train lines

The 7-train will be getting the biggest boost in service this spring, photo via Wikimedia

November 14, 2017

Amid decline in ridership, MTA boosts service on six train lines

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In an attempt to increase subway ridership, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority next spring will add trains to six lines: the 2, 3, 7, N, W, and Q trains. The boost in service comes after data released by the MTA revealed that riders are opting for alternative transportation, like Uber, Lyft or Citibike, instead of dealing with the often delayed and disrupted subways and buses. According to amNY, the additional trains, which will cost the MTA $5 million annually, will run on nights and weekends, times when the authority believes demand is not being effectively met.
Find out more
Second phase of Penn Station track work will not bring a winter of hell

Amtrak workers setting concrete on track 10 at Penn Station this summer, image via Amtrak

November 14, 2017

Second phase of Penn Station track work will not bring a winter of hell

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Amtrak announced on Monday its plan for the second phase of track renewal projects for Penn Station, set to begin this winter. Between January 5 and May 28 of next year, there will be continuous single-track closures, affecting Amtrak and commuter train operation at the Midtown transit hub. While similar to the infrastructure repairs that took place for eight weeks this past June, dubbed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo as the “summer of hell,” the impact will be less severe for commuters and most of the work will take place on the weekends.
More here
Brooklyn Queens Connector unveils first streetcar prototype

Photo courtesy of Friends of the BQX

November 13, 2017

Brooklyn Queens Connector unveils first streetcar prototype

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A group of public officials and advocates joined the Friends of the Brooklyn Queens Connector (BQX) today to unveil the inaugural prototype of the streetcar proposed to run between Astoria and Sunset Park. First backed by Mayor Bill de Blasio in February 2016, the BQX project, expected to cost $2.5 billion, would connect Brooklyn and Queens along the East River. Despite significant setbacks, including a bleak assessment about the finances and logistics of the project from Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen in April, BQX supporters are urging the de Blasio administration to make the project a priority during his second term.
See the streetcar
MTA’s new cardless fare system could benefit low-income New Yorkers

Image via WNYC

November 13, 2017

MTA’s new cardless fare system could benefit low-income New Yorkers

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Not only would the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s new electronic fare payment system make commuting more efficient, it might also save money for low-income straphangers. According to amNY, advocates and experts say the new “contactless” technology could make the system more equitable through a policy called fare capping: riders pay per ride until the daily or weekly capping rates are reached, with every ride being free after that.
Find out how it works
Costly MTA improvements may mean unplanned fare hikes
November 9, 2017

Costly MTA improvements may mean unplanned fare hikes

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According to the annual financial outlook report by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, recent and much-needed improvements by the MTA may mean fare increases could come sooner than the ones that are already scheduled, Newsday reports. DiNapoli’s report pointed out that even if it gets the hoped-for additional government funding, recent improvement efforts that address subway performance could add up to $300 million annually, requiring an unscheduled fare and toll increase of about 4 percent. Currently, a 4 percent hike is planned for 2019, and another for 2021.
Find out more
Flying Ubers coming in 2023 after NASA partnership

A recently-released rendering of what Uber’s flying taxi, to begin testing in 2020, might look like. (Credit: Uber Technologies via AM New York).

November 9, 2017

Flying Ubers coming in 2023 after NASA partnership

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6sqft reported recently on testing of the CityAirbus self-piloted flying taxi by Airbus. There's already competition ahead, it seems: Uber reported Wednesday that the company is joining the U.S. National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) in the development of software for managing flying taxi routes–essentially "flying Ubers." In what represents the first formal services contract by NASA dealing with low-altitude airspace, Uber plans to begin testing proposed four-passenger, 200-miles-per-hour flying taxi services in Dallas/Fort Worth, with more testing planned for Los Angeles in 2020 in advance of the 2028 Olympics.
So when can I call one?
The history of the New York City MetroCard

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

November 8, 2017

The history of the New York City MetroCard

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No New Yorker's life is complete without a MetroCard slipped into their wallet. For $2.75, it'll get you from Brooklyn to the Bronx, and everywhere in between. But the lifespan of the MetroCard is perhaps shorter than you might think--the flimsy plastic card, complete with the Automated Fare Collection turnstiles, only became an everyday part of subway commuting in 1993. And in recent years, all signs point to the card becoming extinct. The testing phase of a mobile device scanning and payment system began this fall with plans to roll out a fully cardless system by 2020. And so in honor of the MetroCard's brief lifespan as an essential commuter tool, 6sqft is delving into its history, iconic design, and the frustrations that come when that swipe just doesn't go through.
READ MORE
MTA will give workers iPhones to brief riders about subway delays

E-train at the World Trade Center station, via Wikimedia

November 8, 2017

MTA will give workers iPhones to brief riders about subway delays

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In a pilot program aimed at improving communication with commuters, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority will give some of its workers iPhone 6s devices. The MTA will distribute about 230 phones to platform workers and train operators by the end of the week, as the Daily News learned. Text messages from the rail control center will be sent to the workers, detailing the cause and severity of delays. Workers will then pass on the information to riders, which will include available alternative routes.
More this way
MTA to install flood-proof doors at subway stations

Photo courtesy of the MTA on Flickr

October 30, 2017

MTA to install flood-proof doors at subway stations

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On Friday, the MTA unveiled custom doors designed to protect the city’s subway system from future floods. In October of 2012, Hurricane Sandy crippled Lower Manhattan, as well as most other parts of the city, with a 13-foot surge of water. Now, five years later, the MTA is installing custom-made, marine doors, equipped with inflatable gaskets to seal out water to be installed at the bottom of the subway’s stairwell (h/t WSJ). In addition to these doors, other stations will get metal hatch doors below street subway grates, fabric curtains to block flowing water and a system of interlocking stop logs at the entrance of some stations.
Find out more
MTA approves $574M MetroCard-replacing e-readers; new video and renderings

Cubic MTA payment system. Rendering courtesy of Cubic Corporation.

October 26, 2017

MTA approves $574M MetroCard-replacing e-readers; new video and renderings

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Cubic, the San Diego-based company who was awarded the job of creating the MTA's new cardless fare system, has just announced that the $539.5 million contract award (with additional options worth $33.9 million) has been approved by a vote of the MTA Board. As 6sqft previously reported, Cubic is the same company that developed the MetroCards that replaced subway tokens over 30 years ago. The new MTA system is modeled on the one that has been in use in London’s Underground and commuter railroads.
See the new fare payment system in action
Report breaks down how much time New Yorkers waste waiting for delayed subways

Photo courtesy of Roman Kruglov on Flickr

October 26, 2017

Report breaks down how much time New Yorkers waste waiting for delayed subways

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The Independent Budget Office released yet another incriminating report this week about New York City's subway system. Not only are the subway's growing delays costing the city up to $389 million each year, but the IBO also found that delays end up setting back New Yorkers nearly $1.23 million every day in lost work time, totaling about $307 million every year. And now, the budget office on Wednesday released a report that breaks down the length of time passengers wait on a station platform for every subway line, except shuttles. According to the report, the average number of passenger hours lost to delays systemwide during the work week between 7am and 10am this year grew by 45 percent from 2012, up from 24,000 hours to 35,000 hours.
Find out more
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