Tag: transit

Free Transit

If you were to design the ultimate system, you would have mass transit be free and charge an enormous amount for cars.

+1!
2008-01-12:

A group called the Nurture Nature Foundation, founded by New York labor lawyer and negotiator Ted Kheel, will soon release a study showing how New York’s subways and buses could be free. The tradeoff? Making auto trips into central Manhattan more expensive–much more expensive.

now this would be real progress: $16 tax on cars entering the city
2020-03-20:

These agencies’ leaders envision fare-free transit achieving 2 urgent goals simultaneously. First and foremost, the move can help protect transit passengers and employees. Free transit can also offer another benefit: a financial cushion to riders struggling during the pandemic.

this would be a good time to stop the insane nonsense of only allowing access to the bus in the front door, and even worse, carrying a bunch of coins.

LIRR FOIA

We are suing the Long Island Rail Road because they have failed to comply with the Freedom Of Information Law, rejecting our request for their schedule data in a digital table format. 3 times we have asked for LIRR’s schedule information in this format, and 3 times they have denied our request. For such a simple and easy request their obstinance is confounding. So now my lawyers and I are taking them to court to MAKE them give it to us.

the problem with FOIA is that agencies can respond with crap like “here are our schedules in pdf, have fun”

Google Transit Graduates

Google Transit has just graduated from Google Labs! We’re excited to say it’s now a fully integrated feature in Google Maps. This means that when you look up directions for areas where we have transit coverage you’ll now have the option of seeing how to get there using public transportation.

now, let’s hope all the recalcitrant transit agencies see the light.

Begging Google

Hi. Boston here. You know, the city across the river from some of your offices. We were poking around the internet yesterday and found out that you’re planning to offer an online trip planning guide for New York City. We’d like to take some time to beg you to do the same for Boston, because we can’t handle the MBTA’s trip planner anymore.

UGC Subway Advisories

The Subway Status application, which was not developed by the MTA, is a user generated subway alert system. Now you can forget about those wet mornings when you don’t know if your train will get you to work. Theoretically all of the other users on Facebook who ride your Subway line will have already tipped you off to any service disruptions before you leave your house. Pretty cool, although it is only useful if a large number of people use it, so sign up!

using facebook to convey MTA status

MTA at fault

It is safe to assume that hearings will be held, studies will be conducted and recommendations will be made in the wake of the extensive transit disruptions in today’s morning commute. “3 years ago we had a rainstorm in September and the same thing happened, but nothing like today, so it’s obviously gotten worse than from just 3 years ago. And apparently, nothing was done to ameliorate or upgrade the system. The nerve of the MTA asking for a fare hike while this is going on.”

MTA = unionized assholes

Commuting after a Storm

“To get to Wall Street today, I took the Q from the 9th Avenue D-M stop in Brooklyn to Canal Street with the plan of taking the downtown M1 bus. In the end, I overtook 8 M1s walking from Canal to Wall Street, to the constant sound of car horns and yelling drivers. Mmm, dulcet.”

where is spitzer for the union busting when we need him?