Hey, there! Log in / Register
What's New York got that we don't? A transit system emerging from its quagmires
By adamg on Wed, 11/29/2023 - 9:35am
Gabrielle Gurley, who used to be a reporter here, compares the current state of the MBTA and the MTA. One of her conclusions: New York's system has a lot more support in its state legislature than ours.
Topics:
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
Agree with the linked article
In NYC, almost everyone uses the subway from time to time. It's not considered to be only for people who can't afford a car/uber or crunchy environmentalists. Even in the world of WFH, a lot of professional people still take the train to get into the city. When people are scared for their safety in the system, it's big news.
"An advanced city is not one
"An advanced city is not one where even the poor use cars, but rather one where even the rich use public transport." Great quote from Gil Peñalosa, former mayor of Bogotá
Wrong brother?
I think you mean Enrique Peñalosa...
crunchy environmentalists
Do you really think that the crunchy environmentalists take the T?
Of course not...they're busy driving their Priuses around Cambridge to their hot yoga classes.
Oh, please
You gotta keep up - Prii are so passe these days (and I say that as a long-time Prius owner).
And we know how you keep up with all the trends, Adam
.
Nah, we're riding our bikes
.
A lot of that isn't just
A lot of that isn't just because of people's perceptions. A lot more people in NYC live within a 5 minute walk of a subway system than in Boston. And the subway lines converge on the biggest employment destinations.
Here, many people have to take an infrequent bus to get to the subway. And while downtown is well served, anywhere else with thousands of jobs such as Longwood or Kendall requires going in and back out. These two things make transit a poor competitor for driving time-wise. Then there's the mess known as the Green Line, which is a good way to spend 45 minutes to go a mile and a half.
Someone I know was complaining that sometimes when he gets to the subway platform in NYC, the sign says the train is 5 or 6 minutes away. Having a wait that small in Boston is like winning the lottery.
For people outside subway distance, everyone loves to complain about the NYC commuter railroads, but a good day on the T commuter rail is a total horror show compared to NYC, and things go wrong a lot. I can't believe anyone subjects themselves to it daily. It's only because driving at rush hour is that much worse.
There's so much wrong there
First, whole sections of Queens and the Bronx are not close to the subway and are as dependent on the bus/subway combo as a lot of Bostonians are.
Second, the commuter rail part of the T is working great. That's why the T was making rides basically free from the commuter rail stations next to subway stations for most of the past year.
Buses in NYC much more useful than here
Buses in NYC run much more frequently than here. Taking a bus to a subway isn't a major ordeal.
That's not what I've heard
When reading about the Penn Station Access project, commuter after commuter have commented about how onerous the commute from the east side of the Bronx is.
Meanwhile, the bus routes that are closest to my house come so frequent that people don't even think about the schedule. Easier to get a bus from Roslindale Square to Forest Hills than to get the Orange Line in town from Forest Hills.
City of NY is roughly half the population
Of NY state. Albany is controlled by NYC politicians and special interests. There's your answer.
What can the legislature do
What can the legislature do but keep doing the same things, pver and over, and expect different results? There is 0 accountability, Its part of the culture here.
NYC has more clout in NYS
Because it represents over 40% of the state's population. Boston is a bit over 10% of Mass., and even if you include the close-in suburbs with subway/light rail access, you maybe can get to 20% of the state's population -- but then you also have to get the leaders of all those cities and towns to speak with one voice.
If anything, Massachusetts is somewhat more generous with funding to the MBTA than NYS is with the MTA. The vast majority of the MTA's subsidy comes from bridge/tunnel tolls and taxes that are levied regionally in the MTA's service area, as well as contributions from NYC and surrounding communities. The T gets a dedicated piece of the statewide sales tax; there aren't additional taxes or tolls in Metro Boston which fund the T.
The NYS general fund contribution to the MTA is typically very modest in comparison to the total MTA budget.
People love to tell T stories
Unfortunately, most of them are horror stories about scary passengers, long delays, smoked filled trains, collapsing ceilings and horrible odors.