the top reason for lagging ridership?

work from home -- with a side of income inequality:



Work from home is main reason slowing MTA ridership return: Lieber

By Kevin Duggan
Posted on August 17, 2022


Work from home is the biggest driver keeping mass transit ridership stuck below pre-pandemic levels, MTA Chairperson Janno Lieber said Wednesday.

Safety concerns are also to blame, said Lieber, but transit data show that New Yorkers from blue-collar areas have returned to the subways and buses in greater numbers, even though they live in neighborhoods with higher crime rates.

Residents in wealthier parts of town with lower crime rates — who are more likely to have a job with a remote option — have been slower to travel back to the office for work, according to the transit chief.


more:
https://www.amny.com/politics/work-f...ership-lieber/

a good news milestone:


Con Edison installs 100th curbside charging port for electric vehicles on Staten Island

By Emily Davenport
Posted on August 25, 2022



For those driving electric vehicles, Con Edison, in partnership with the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) and FLO, officially completed the installation of 100 Level 2 public electric vehicle charging ports across the city.

The installation of the charging ports comes as a part of Con Edison’s curbside charging pilot program, which is designed to increase the adoption of electric vehicles and help reduce the impact the transportation sector has on the environment. The 100th charging location recently opened for use on Staten Island.


more:
https://www.amny.com/transit/con-edi...staten-island/

good news for long islanders:



MTA Announces Opening of Second Section of LIRR Main Line Third Track

Long Island Rail Road
Updated August 30, 2022 5:00 p.m.


LIRR Main Line Expansion Project Is on Schedule and $100 Million Below Budget

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced the opening of the 2.5-mile second section of the Long Island Rail Road’s new Main Line third track between the Merillon Avenue and Mineola stations.

“Just two weeks after opening the first section of the Third Track, we’re celebrating the next step in the MTA’s historic, multi-billion dollar investment into the Long Island Rail Road,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. “Third Track, along with Grand Central Madison opening later this year, will allow the LIRR to increase its service by 40%, boosting Long Island’s economy for generations to come.”


more:
https://new.mta.info/press-release/m...ne-third-track

uuuggghhhh !!!! :slob:



Transit
Hudson rail tunnel project delayed until 2038, cost rises by $2 billion

By Kevin Duggan
Posted on September 1, 2022



The mega-project to build a new commuter rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River and rehabilitate century-old tubes ravaged by Superstorm Sandy will take three years longer and could cost $2 billion more than previously planned, officials from New York and New Jersey said.

The cost of the Hudson Tunnel Project ballooned to $16.1 billion from $14.1 billion and its completion date is set for 2038 instead of 2035, according a Wednesday evening release by the Gateway Development Commission.


more:
https://www.amny.com/transit/hudson-...038-2-billion/

https://www.amny.com/wp-content/uplo...-2048x1540.jpg
The old rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River.
Christopher Leaman/US DOT

I could have a kid today and they would be almost out of high school by the time this project completes.

The odds that Gateway/Penn South becomes an even more expensive ESA rise with every new development. I find it hard to find much value in the project anymore especially since nobody is saying what they'd even DO with the extra capacity. LIRR has majorly disappointed with their service plan after spending $11B which does not inspire a lot of confidence.

Come on now, the project is absolutely necessary based on the lifespan of the North River tunnels alone. Fact: they have to be closed and rehabilitated. Fact: you can't do that without replacement tunnels being open. When finished the 4 tracks will boost capacity, drastically improve scheduling and performance and build in redundancy to assure the avoidance of catastrophic delays caused by issues with the old tunnels. Plus Portal Bridge(s) and all the trunk capacity added between the Penn's.

I dont have a crystal ball but I'm not sure this announcement is that big of a deal. Its not beyond possible they make up for the lost time when construction is blitzing along. As for the reported peice increase, did anyone seriously think that wouldnt inch upwards? Inflation and regular contigencies on a civil project of this scale are unavoidable. Luckily scope creep is unlikely as the Gateway project is pretty well planned imo. I just hope the tbm doesnt get stuck underwater.

Do we think the north river tunnels are going to last until 2043 without major rehabilitations? I sincerely doubt it.

I'd like some entity to deign an explanation or two about how the new capacity will be used exactly. How much more Amtrak service and to where, how much more NJT service and to where. What rolling stock are you buying to facilitate that and where is the $ coming from. In light of LIRR spending an absolute fortune for basically no new service these are not unreasonable questions.

If there was some precedent for this in the NY area in similar projects I might entertain the possibility. The opposite is very much true unfortunately.

This thing is now expensive way way beyond any comparable project on the planet and I have not heard a good explanation as to why which doesn't lead me to believe taxpayers are being taken for a massive ride by all involved.

I'm not surprised by the cost (unfortunately), I'm surprised by the timeline. This is a critical project for the NEC, and presents opportunities to turn NYC's commuter rail network into a proper regional rail on par with RER. There's no reason we should have to wait 16 years for its completion

The freakin Channel Tunnel between England and France took less than 10 years to build...WTF

I wonder how much money would be saved if they would do a 12-18 month project in 12-18 months instead of 15 years?

What is this project? Just a single commuter rail tunnel?

There should be a tunnel for commuter rail, one for Amtrak and one for NYC Subway.

Sheesh :runaway: You want us to momma bird the facts to you instead of reading the thread?

When the Gateway tunnel is completed and the original North River tunnel rehabilitated they will essentially, at least as current and future capacity is concerned, will have essentially have a commuter and Amtrak tunnel though i dont think either will be relegated to a certain tunnel, this flexibility is actually a huge variable in capacity itself. As for a rapid transit/rapid regional tunnel of some sort, i think most here would be in agreement that it would have been wise to bore another two tubes as part of this massive civil project for some future service, but as there is no concrete concept for such a thing and would be so far off the page to even be considered scope creep, obviously such a provision was not pushed for, planned for or engineered for. Which of course is a shame since futureproofing it now would have been immensely wise and economically prudent, but like many things its omission is indicative of the lack of vision that the entire regions transport agencies suffers from.

in better news, at least for us staten islanders, tourists, minor league baseball and outlet mall shopping fans. :tup:



Third new Staten Island Ferry, the Dorothy Day, departs Florida for 14-day journey to New York

Updated: Sep. 02, 2022, 2:05 p.m.|Published: Sep. 02, 2022, 1:41 p.m.


STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Anchors Aweigh! The third and final new Staten Island Ferry boat is now on its way to New York City after undergoing a successful U.S. Coast Guard inspection.

The Dorothy Day is “passenger ready,” and departed the Eastern Shipbuilding Group’s Port St. Joe Shipyard in Panama City, Florida, on Friday after being inspected and certified, the group announced.

The Dorothy Day, a double-ended 4,500-passenger ferry, is named for the renowned social activist and journalist who spent decades aiding the hungry and needy on the borough’s South Shore.



more:
https://www.silive.com/news/2022/09/...-new-york.html

still, the people want it to go forward asap:


Despite the soaring costs, regional transit advocates and politicians still call Gateway one of the most important transit projects in the country.

“Swallowing our lumps now will lead to a project completion without major cost or time overruns,” said Felicia Park-Rogers, director of regional infrastructure projects at Tri-State Transportation Campaign. “This project remains vital to our regional and national economies and transportation networks.”

https://gothamist.com/news/hudson-ri...-further-delay

I think the idea that this project will come in on time and on budget, absurd as both figures are now, is remote to say the least. I probably won't be alive to say I told you so though.

I think the President needs to intervene with the Gateway Project to help drive its costs down and speed it up.

oh please. of course that silly sentiment is wrong, so no need, but the point that it needs to be done asap stands — and everybody wants it done — after all its literally life and death, economically and physically if it collapses after the next storm:

“This project remains vital to our regional and national economies and transportation networks.”

jeepers this could have been bad:



53-foot truck stuck under track of uptown subway line

By Kevin Duggan
Posted on September 1, 2022


The heavy hauler’s trailer got caught on the underside of the above-ground tracks at 10th Avenue and W. 207th Street in Inwood, according to a witness, which carries subway trains on the No. 1 line.

The big rig had a 53-foot-long trailer, which is not legal to drive on most New York City streets, but the onlooker said such large truck operators routinely break that law.



more:
https://www.amny.com/transit/53-foot...-subway-track/

and then you wonder why it doesnt happen more often.

the whole idea of allowing any gigantic highway semis into the city is just the stupidest thing in the first place.