Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about MTA

Transit signal priority holds green lights and shortens red lights for buses. Image: NYC DOT

There’s No Excuse to Keep NYC Bus Riders Waiting for Smarter, Faster Traffic Signals

By Ben Fried | Jul 24, 2017 | 4 Comments

Giving buses priority at traffic signals has improved speeds by an average of 18 percent on the five MTA routes where the technology is live, according to a new DOT report [PDF]. "Transit signal priority" (TSP) could reverse a citywide decline in bus speeds that has caused riders to abandon bus service in droves -- but only if DOT and the MTA apply it at scale.

Gov. Cuomo. Photo: Governor’s Office/Flickr

Andrew Cuomo’s MTA Propaganda Should Scare the Bejeezus Out of You

By Ben Fried | Jul 21, 2017 | 32 Comments

NYC transit service is starting to earn comparisons to the bad old 1980s, and Governor Cuomo wants you to know one thing -- it's not his fault.

Disability rights advocates called on Cuomo, Lhota, and the MTA to accelerate efforts to add elevators and improve maintenance of existing ones. Photo: David Meyer

If You Can’t Take the Stairs, Only 23 Percent of Subway Stations Are Accessible — on a Good Day

By David Meyer | Jul 20, 2017 | 8 Comments

For mobility-impaired New Yorkers, riding the subway can be impossible. Only 110 of the system's 472 stations have stair-free access, and even at those stations, elevators don't serve every platform and are often out of commission, with little or no public notice.

The MTA's overhaul of the Staten Island express bus network, set to take effect in 2018, will increase service frequency on key routes, simplify routes so buses make fewer turns, and reduce the number of stops in both Manhattan and Staten Island. Image: MTA

How Transit Agencies Can Stop Worrying and Love Bus Network Redesigns

By David Meyer | Jul 14, 2017 | 10 Comments

By their nature, bus network redesigns create tradeoffs, so it's important that the improvements feel worth it for riders. And that, says Houston Metro board member Christof Spieler, requires having frank, in-depth conversations with transit riders, not just talking at them.

A 7 train platform became dangerously crowded this morning.

Transit Riders Need a Crusader in Albany. Is Jeff Dinowitz Up For It?

By Ben Fried | Jul 12, 2017 | 1 Comment

The cratering of NYC transit service has created an opening to solve thorny problems that have become deeply embedded in the MTA over many years. Transit riders need public servants who'll muster every available means to shed more light on the causes of NYC's transit crisis.

This is how Transport for London communicates the impact of bus delays on riders — in minutes, a metric everyone can grasp. Image: Mark O’Donovan/TfL

Five Ways the MTA Can Gain the Confidence of Transit Riders

By David Meyer | Jul 12, 2017 | 12 Comments

New MTA chair Joe Lhota is promising a public-facing dashboard that functions as a "report card" on the agency's performance. Here's what would make it a useful tool to improve accountability and build trust with riders.

Show More Stories