By Devin Gannon, Fri, November 16, 2018 Via Roman Kruglov on Flickr
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority in July said it would face a budget gap of $634 million in 2022. Turns out, it will actually be much worse than that. The transit authority on Thursday rolled out its proposed 2019 budget and four-year financial plan, which now projects the budget deficit to climb to a staggering $991 million in four years. With this major budget crisis brewing, the MTA announced two new options for fare and toll increases in 2019 and possible service cuts, all while service deteriorates and ridership drops (h/t WSJ).
More on the fare hike here
By Dana Schulz, Thu, November 15, 2018 Delancey Street via Wiki Commons
Mayor de Blasio has announced the opening of a new quarter-mile, two-way protected bike lane along Delancey Street on the Lower East Side. The stretch connects to the Williamsburg Bridge, the most traveled by cyclists of all the East River crossings, and is “expected to play a central role during the shutdown of L train service between Brooklyn and Manhattan” when it begins on April 27th. Currently, 7,300 cyclists cross the Bridge each day, and the Mayor expects the new bike lanes to double or even triple that number.
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By Alexandra Alexa, Thu, November 15, 2018 Photo via Flickr cc
Good news for outer borough commuters: Starting today, yellow taxi ride fares into Manhattan during the morning and evening rush hours will be 50 percent off for those using Waave. The permanent discount is available from 6am to 10am and from 5pm to 8pm daily. As 6sqft previously reported, Waave — an app approved by the Taxi & Limousine Commission — launched citywide in September with the aim of providing New Yorkers the convenient features of popular ride-hail apps, including an upfront fare, surge-free pricing and an estimated time of arrival.
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By Devin Gannon, Wed, November 14, 2018 Via Ged Carroll on Flickr
Reduced MetroCards are coming to New York City in January, but the discounts only apply to weekly and monthly passes. New details about the Fair Fares program, which was officially included in the city budget in June, were released on Tuesday during an MTA board meeting. According to meeting minutes, the MTA will not be providing single trip discounts when the program kicks off next year. Instead, low-income New Yorkers who are living at or below the federal poverty level, or a household income of $25,000 for a family of four, can buy half-off 7-day or 30-day passes. Find out more
By Devin Gannon, Wed, November 14, 2018 Via Wikimedia
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is set to purchase Grand Central Terminal for $35 million, a deal which will give the agency more control over development projects happening at the space. Expected to be approved by the MTA’s full board Thursday, the sale ends the 280-year lease that began in 1994 and gave the agency a one-time window to buy the station. Along with the famed terminal, the sale also includes miles of track on Metro-North’s Harlem and Hudson lines.
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By Michelle Cohen, Tue, November 13, 2018 Photo: Jeffrey Zeldman via Flickr.
According to a new report, New York City women are spending an extra $26 to $50 a month on transportation because of safety concerns. An online survey conducted by the Rudin Center for Transportation at NYU asked New Yorkers about harassment on public transportation, if safety concerns impact their transit choices and about their travel habits in general (h/t AMNY). According to the results, 75 percent of females who responded had experienced harassment or theft while using public transportation compared to 47 percent of male respondents; over half of female respondents were concerned about being harassed on public transit; 29 percent of the women (versus 8 percent of men) said they don’t take public transportation late at night because of “a perceived safety threat.”
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By Michelle Cohen, Thu, November 8, 2018 As Politico reports, supporters of what many consider the region’s most crucial infrastructure project are cautiously optimistic for the project’s future for the first time since President Trump nixed federal funding. The massive project involves fixing the existing tunnel and constructing a new tunnel under the Hudson River.
Are changes afoot?
By Dana Schulz, Mon, November 5, 2018 Photo via Citi Bike
Just over 61 percent of Americans voted in the 2016 presidential election, and according to a Harvard poll, 14 percent of those who didn’t turn out cited a lack of transportation as the reason. In response, public transportation agencies, car services, and bike/scooter shares in cities throughout the nation will offer free and discounted rides tomorrow for the midtern elections to those traveling to vote. Here in NYC, Citi Bike is offering free rides (as well as in Jersey City), Uber is giving $10 off in addition to adding a poll locater button in its app, and Lyft is giving half off rides, as well as code for free rides to underserved communities.
Get all the details
By Devin Gannon, Fri, November 2, 2018 The 1904 map via Martayan Lan Gallery
New Yorkers have used maps to navigate the city’s subway system since the first year the system opened 114 years ago. And one of only two known examples of the Interborough Rapid Transit’s first guide is for sale for $12,000, the New York Times reported. That 1904 transit guide, along with many more historic maps of New York, can be found at the Martayan Lan Gallery, which is kicking of its “New Amsterdam to Metropolis: Historic Maps of New York City 1548-1964” exhibit on Nov. 9.
More this way
By Lucie Levine, Thu, November 1, 2018 Photo by Phil Roeder / Flickr
This summer, Mayor de Blasio closed all of Central Park’s scenic drives to cars, finishing a process he began in 2015, when he banned vehicles north of 72nd Street. But not all Mayors have been so keen on keeping Central Park transit free. In fact, in 1920, Mayor John Hylan had plans to run a subway through Central Park.
Hylan, the 96th Mayor of New York City, in office from 1918-1925, had a one-track mind, and that track was for trains. He had spent his life in locomotives, first laying rails for the Brooklyn Union Elevated Railroad (later the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company, or BRT), then rising through the ranks to become a conductor. In that capacity, he was involved in a near-accident that almost flattened his supervisor, whereupon he was fired from the BRT. Nevertheless, Hylan made transit his political mission, implementing the city’s first Independent subway line and proposing that it run from 59th Street up through Central Park to 110th Street.
So, what happened?
