Transit Talk

NYC Evening Rush Disrupted By FireA smoky fire on the Queensboro Bridge caused big problems for last night's rush hour. It took more than two hours to get into Manhattan from Queens via alternative routes. Local streets were gridlocked with the traffic that couldn't get into the city. It was a total mess.

And the local television channel (Fox Channel 5) is reporting that the FDNY had problems getting water on the fire because the water supply on the bridge was insufficient. The firefighters had to run additional lines and pump water in from Manhattan.

The bridge was completely reopened this morning after engineers evaluated the structure.

And what do we learn this morning? The MTA has a $1 billion surplus that someone at the MTA thinks should go to a temporary reduction in fares for the holiday season?! I don't mean to be Scrooge, but what the heck are they thinking?

The fare reduction will, alas, be temporary. The authority intends to reduce the base fare by half - to $1 - on weekends between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day and throughout the last week of December, using part of an unforeseen surplus that could reach $928 million by the end of the year.

The discounts need the approval of the authority's board, a step that is expected.

Gene Russianoff, an advocate for subway riders since 1981, who was briefed on the plan yesterday, reacted with astonishment. "It's unprecedented," said Mr. Russianoff, the lawyer for the Straphangers Campaign, part of the New York Public Interest Research Group. "I've never seen any holiday-related discounts for riders. I think it will encourage people to use transit during the holiday season at a time when gas prices are going through the roof. It's a smart way to reward customers."

The price break would reduce the surplus by about $50 million this year, and $50 million next year. That's $100 million that can and should go to infrastructure improvements, not a price break. The first and most important part of the MTA mission is maintaining the infrastructure. If you can't do that, then all the rest doesn't matter. If the bridges, tunnels, buses and subways are not in good shape, that must be corrected. Safety and security should come first and foremost before any give-backs. The give-backs are a shortsighted political trick and is fiscally irresponsible. Rewarding customers? Sorry, but the best reward would be to make sure that major infrastructure is in good shape so that there are fewer transit disruptions due to equipment failures, cleaner subway cars, and better security.

There are serious problems with the transportation infrastructure throughout the city, whether it is capacity issues or safety/emergency systems that are not up to modern design specifications. There are rail tunnels that are more than 100 years old that need to be upgraded for safety's sake.

The fire on the Queensboro Bridge should be a vivid reminder of the fragility of the infrastructure. It doesn't take a terrorist attack to shut down a major transportation artery for hours, if not days. A fire can do that, especially if the means to fight the fire is hampered by 100 year old infrastructure, as was apparently the case at the bridge fire.

Expect Freddy Ferrer to pounce on this issue to pick up a floundering campaign for Mayor. If he's smart, that is. You see, the MTA was supposed to rehabilitate renovate a bunch of train stations in the Bronx (his home borough) starting this year, but put it off because of supposed problems with the MTA budget. $100 million would go a long way to rehabilitating those Bronx stations on the list.

UPDATE:
The Gothamist is covering the fare assist.