Tag Archives: mass transit

The New York Post reports: The MTA and its largest union want bus riders to shield their mouths and noses to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, which has ravaged the agency’s workforce and led to severe service reductions and dangerous crowding. Bus riders should “cover their noses and mouths with bandanas or scarfs… if they do not have masks,” …

Curbed San Francisco reports: Beginning Monday, March 30, all Muni metro and light-rail routes will be replaced by buses during the COVID-19 shelter-in-place order. This means that all light-rail trains, which service underground and above ground routes, will cease operating until further notice. Passengers can take bus substitutions for the J, KT, L, M, and N lines using the same …

The DCist reports: The DC Metro will run reduced service next week to slow the spread of coronavirus, officials said Friday. The move makes DC the first city in the country to reduce its service in response to the outbreak. Starting Monday, its weekday trains will run every 12 minutes and buses will operate on a Saturday schedule, the Washington …

NBC New York reports: The MTA is stepping up its cleaning efforts in order to ensure that the novel coronavirus does not get spread on NYC’s public transportation. Transit workers will disinfect subway turnstiles, station handrails, MetroCard and ticket vending machines daily and other frequently used parts of the system, according to a statement from Transport Workers Union President Tony …

The New York Times reports: An entire fleet of New York City’s newest subway cars was abruptly pulled out of service on Wednesday after two recent episodes raised concerns that doors could open while trains were moving, according to people involved in the transit system who were told about the defects. The MTA , which runs the subway, did not …

Pennsylvania’s SETPA mass transit system has begun a pilot program in which commuters must watch a video ad before loading their fare card at train station kiosks. Philadelphia Magazine weighs in: On the one hand, SEPTA’s facing a potentially catastrophic risk to its budget, on account of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, one of its biggest funders, being billions of dollars in …

The New York Post reports: The MTA’s new fare payment system will be called OMNY – short for One Metro New York – and agency employees will test the new contactless cards out starting next week, according to a memo sent to workers. The pilot program being offered to MTA workers is the first major step toward the agency’s move …

Sacramento’s CBS affiliate reports: California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday he’s abandoning a plan to build a high-speed rail line between Los Angeles and San Francisco, a project with an estimated cost that has ballooned to $77 billion. “Let’s be real,” Newsom said in his first State of the State address. “The current project, as planned, would cost too much …

The New York Post reports: A fast-moving storm will dump an inch of snow an hour on the city starting at 6 p.m. Saturday and possibly into Sunday and then an arctic blast will turn the Big Apple into a treacherous tundra, Accuweather meteorologist Tom Kines warned late Thursday. “Everything white or slushy will become a glacier,” Kines said. Arctic …

The Associated Press reports: Deep in the bedrock 15 stories below the famous Grand Central Terminal, a cavernous construction site is slowly, and expensively, taking shape as a commuter rail hub that will accommodate more than 150,000 passengers a day. East Side Access has been dogged by massive cost overruns and delays since construction began nearly a dozen years ago. …

CNN reports: London Mayor Sadiq Khan said Friday that junk food advertising will be banned on the city’s entire public transportation network from February, as part of a plan to tackle childhood obesity. Restrictions will come into force February 25 and will cover all advertising for foods and non-alcoholic drinks high in fat, salt and sugar. This will include products …

The New York Post reports: Mayor de Blasio is trying to jump-start his stalled streetcar with a new route and study. The city announced Thursday a route and environmental review for the Brooklyn-Queens Connector streetcar, a trolley known as the BQX that would run along the boroughs’ waterfront. The new BQX plan has been chopped down to an 11-mile route, …

Gothamist reports: Today’s severe thunderstorm happened right during the evening commute. The high winds downed trees, causing delays along the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 lines and prompted the MTA to suspend Metro-North service on the Hudson, Harlem, and New Haven lines. In fact, the MTA even temporarily closed down entrances to Grand Central terminal to prevent overcrowding. …

The New York Post reports: The number of “supercommuters” in the country is on the rise — and more than 600,000 live in metropolitan New York. Unlike typical commuters, who take about 26 minutes to get to work, according to the Census Bureau, supercommuters spend 90 minutes or more each way on their daily trek. Between 2005 and 2016, the …

NBC News reports: An Amtrak train traveling from New York to Miami collided with a CSX freight train in South Carolina early Sunday morning, causing the lead engine and some passenger cars to derail. The local sheriff’s office confirmed there were at least two people killed and 70 injured among the 139 passengers and 8 crew. The National Transportation Safety …

The Associated Press reports: Benny Layne, on whose property the truck landed, said the crossing arms had been known to malfunction, sometimes coming down even though no train was approaching. Sometimes, he said, they stayed down for hours. He said motorists would get out of their cars to help guide other motorists around the malfunctioning arms so they could cross …

These incidents are becoming more regular. The Associated Press reports: A train has derailed in a tunnel in downtown Washington but officials say there are no injuries. The city’s Metro rail system said in a tweet that the derailment happened around 6:40 a.m. Monday. At just after 8:15 a.m. Metro tweeted that all passengers on the train had been evacuated …

Crain’s New York reports: President Donald Trump dropped his own New Year’s ball—in the form of a wrecking ball—with a late Friday afternoon announcement that effectively wipes out plans for perhaps the nation’s most crucial infrastructure project. The president officially scrapped his predecessor’s proposal to have the federal government underwrite half the cost of a multi-billion-dollar Amtrak tunnel connecting New …

The Associated Press reports: Monday’s deadly Amtrak train derailment appears to have been caused by an object on the railway, according to a government official briefed on the crash. A preliminary investigation suggests maintenance problems are unlikely to blame because the incident took place on brand-new tracks, the official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. At least six …

The Sun reports: A doomsday preacher caused panic on a rush-hour train service yesterday by ranting about the end of the world. Commuters forced open doors and jumped off when the man began quoting from the Bible about sin. Some worried passengers forced open doors and walked close to “live” electric tracks to reach the platform at Wimbledon station in …