Tag Archives: MTA

MTA Approves NYC’s First-In-Nation Congestion Tolls

The New York Times reports: New tolls to drive into the busiest parts of Manhattan — including $15 for most passenger cars — were officially approved on Wednesday by an 11-1 vote of the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Nearly all the toll readers have been installed, and will automatically charge drivers for entering the designated congestion zone at …

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NYC Subway Tests Long-Awaited Platform Barriers

Gothamist reports: Commuters will notice something a little different the next time they’re at the 191st Street subway station in Manhattan. The Washington Heights stop now has platform barriers. It’s the first of four to get the new technology as part of a platform safety pilot program that could spread to the rest of the city. “It’s still in an …

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NYC Subway To Upgrade Train Locks After Joyrides

The City reports: The MTA plans to explore “biometric” technology to prevent break-ins to off-limits areas of subway trains, the head of New York City Transit told THE CITY — but in the meantime, will tweak existing locks. Richard Davey said security devices that recognize unique physical characteristics are among the potential long-term defenses being considered to keep vandals from …

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Joyriders Drive Empty NYC Subway Cars In Queens

Gothamist reports: A group of people took control of two subway cars stored at a train yard in Queens, driving them a “short distance” before fleeing on foot, the NYPD said Thursday. Police said the group entered the train operator compartments of two “lead cars” that control trains on Dec. 30 around 4:45 p.m. The trains were stored in a …

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24 Injured In NYC Subway Collision After Vandalism

The New York Daily News reports: Twenty-four people were hurt Thursday when a No. 1 train leaving the W. 96th St. and Broadway subway station jumped the track after a collision with another train, MTA and Fire Department officials said. About 300 people were aboard one of the trains, while the other had been stalled as subway workers repaired vandalism, …

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MTA Says NYC’s 6 Train Saw 140M Riders This Year

Gothamist reports: Using data from Jan. 1, 2023 through the end of November, the MTA announced some of its most popular stops and stations of the year. The MTA said the station with the most MetroCard swipes was Flushing-Main Street, which clocked 6.3 million people using the traditional payment system. Meanwhile, the Grand Central Terminal subway station had a record …

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Feds Approve Congestion Pricing For Manhattan Traffic

New York City’s ABC affiliate reports: The MTA received final approval to move forward with congestion pricing on Monday. The green light comes from the Federal Highway Administration, which issued a Finding of No Significant Impact from congestion pricing. “Congestion pricing will reduce traffic in our crowded downtown, improve air quality and provide critical resources to the MTA,” Gov. Kathy …

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NYC Subway Runs Indiana Jones Ads Over Intercoms

Gothamist reports: Subway stations across the city are advertising a new Indiana Jones movie through audible announcements over intercoms, prompting grievances from riders. Around every 10 minutes on Tuesday, a man’s voice loudly echoed across several station platforms proclaiming that “in 10 days, a legend will face his destiny,” as it promoted the upcoming film. Yet, chatter on Twitter showed …

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NYC’s Subway System To Test Platform Safety Barriers

Gothamist reports: The MTA will begin constructing protective doors at three subway station platforms “in the coming months,” agency spokesperson Aaron Donovan told Gothamist on Sunday. The protective barriers are part of a pilot program meant to stop riders from falling — or being pushed — onto the train tracks. The program, which was announced last year, comes in response …

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MTA Unveils Paris-Style Anti-Fare Evasion Turnstiles

Gothamist reports: The MTA is planning the first major redesign of subway turnstiles in modern history, a change officials said is key to cracking down on fare evasion on the city’s mass transit system. Prototypes of the new fare gate designs were on display at Grand Central Terminal on Wednesday. The equipment isn’t actually a turnstile that rotates as a …

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Twitter Restores Free API Access For Govt Accounts

Fortune reports: In an about-face, Twitter says it has restored free access to a key tool for verified government and “publicly owned” services so they can tweet weather, transit and other alerts after New York City’s transit agency said earlier this week it would no longer use the platform for its service advisories. Last month, the company announced a new …

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NYC Transit Steps Back From “Unreliable” Twitter

New York City’s ABC affiliate reports: The MTA is the latest organization to take a step back from Twitter. Although the MTA will still be active on Twitter, it will no longer provide service alerts and information through the platform. “The MTA has terminated posting service information to Twitter, effective immediately, as the reliability of the platform can no longer …

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NYC To End Manning Of Subway Booths Tomorrow

Gothamist reports: More than 2,000 station agents will be stepping out of their subway booths starting Thursday, ending a decadeslong feature of the city’s transit system that has become obsolete. The metal and glass enclosures will not be removed but workers can return there during breaks or whenever they see fit. Commuters will find free-roaming service agents outside their kiosks …

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MTA Seizes 20 Vehicles Owing $600,000 In Evaded Tolls

Via press release from the MTA:  The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced that its Bridge and Tunnel officers stopped and seized 20 vehicles belonging to persistent toll violators at the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge on Monday, March 20. The scofflaws accounted for nearly $600,000, in unpaid tolls and fees. These efforts go a long way towards securing toll revenue of which …

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NYC May Install “Pee Detectors” In Subway Elevators

New York City’s NBC affiliate reports: The MTA is sniffing around on testing pee-detection technology that alerts staff to clean wet and smelly messes in subway elevators. Richard Davey, president of New York City Transit, said Monday at a City Council transportation committee hearing that the agency is exploring urine sensors in station elevators that sometimes double as de facto …

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NYC Subway Agents To Patrol Platforms In New Policy

Gothamist reports: Subway station agents will leave booths to patrol platforms under a new policy announced by the MTA. The change goes into effect next year — and officials said the agents will be equipped with cell phones to notify MTA managers or the NYPD if they find problems in their stations. It’s a historic shift for the station workers, …

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New York City Seeks To Thwart Turnstile Jumpers

The New York Post reports: The MTA wants to redesign subway turnstiles and emergency exit gates — the “superhighway” for deadbeats — to crack down on fare evasion, CEO Janno Lieber said Monday. “The exit gate — which is nominally supposed to be for fire, exiting purposes, to comply with the fire code — has become the superhighway for fare …

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NYC To Add Cell Service Between Subway Stations

Gothamist reports: “Getting on the subway” may no longer be a valid excuse to stop responding to those work messages. The MTA announced on Tuesday a plan to provide cell service between stations and expand Wi-Fi to its above-ground stations and Staten Island Railway stations. To complete the decade-long project, the agency is again partnering with 5G wireless infrastructure company …

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NYC To Launch Crackdown On Subway Fare Evasion

Gothamist reports: This is what the MTA is currently facing: Weekday subway ridership stagnating at around 3 million people a day, a little more than half of what is was before the pandemic; the most felony assaults in the subway system between January to March since the NYPD began keeping records in 1997; and a $2 billion operating deficit when …

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Struggling NYC Subway To Test Fare-Capping Program

Gothamist reports: The MTA will launch a four-month long fare-capping pilot as it hopes to lure riders back after two years of pandemic-related losses, the authority announced Monday. Starting Feb. 28, from Monday to Sunday during each week of the pilot, any subway or bus rider who uses the OMNY contactless payment system and takes 12 trips within that week …

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