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What resources/budgets do NYT need to fix the subway system? Is it because the public transport is always underfunded and/or because the bureaucracy is very ine

What resources/budgets do NYT need to fix the subway system? Is it because the public transport is always underfunded and/or because the bureaucracy is very ineffective in the U.S.? Is there any decent coverage on the issues, like City Lab's? Have any politicians pledged to solve the problems?

istorical 7y ago
It's definitely not an issue of budget. It's a bureaucracy problem.
- nolok 7y ago
  Any more details? If the French RATP can do it, I can’t accept “bureaucracy” as the complete explanations
  - thatfrenchguy 7y ago
    Despite the ever-complaining complaints of (perfectionist) French people, somehow bureaucracy-burdened RATP and SNCF manage to be dozens of percentage more on time than any transit agency in the US.
  - addicted 7y ago
    The political issue is the NYC subway is used by NYCers, but the organization that runs the NYC subway (MTA) is run by the state government. And in state politics setting money aside for city transit is not popular, despite the city being the engine of the state economy. Further, NYC being nearly the only city in the entire US where a car free existence is possible, non NYC residents often can’t fathom why non car improvements are valuable.
treebog 7y ago
> Have any politicians pledged to solve the problems? Much the opposite, unfortunately. The governor, Andrew Cuomo, is in charge of the MTA. He 1. Falsely claims that he is not in charge of the MTA and denies any responsibility for its problems. 2. Wastes resources on frivolous projects he thinks will look good when he runs for president. For example, he championed a project to put WiFi on buses. This was pointless for most New Yorkers because you could already just use LTE. 3. sometimes, similarly, forces the MTA into idiotic schemes. See the debacle when Cuomo decided he’d like to be the L train hero https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2019/02/13/cuomos-new-l-train-shutdown-plan-is-as-bad-as-we-expected/ https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2019/02/13/cuomos-new-l-train-sh... 4. In April, Cuomo reportedly felt that MTA chief (and true subway hero) Andy Byford was getting too much credit for improving the subway and allegedly came close to firing Byford. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/19/nyregion/cuomo-andy-byford-mta.amp.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/19/nyregion/cuomo-andy-byfor... Ultimately, the MTA is a mess because of misplaced accountability. The governor needs to appeal to upstate voters to get elected, and only NYC people care about the subway. Ideally, the mayor of NYC should control the MTA and be accountable for its performance. In practice, many New Yorkers falsely believe the mayor is in charge(!), thanks in large part to Cuomo’s misinformation campaign in #1 above.
- zxcvbn4038 7y ago
  They made a huge deal over WiFi in the subway, great idea, some places cell service doesn’t work. It’s ok if your in a station and can’t get a cell signal, but every time you get to a new station you get pulled into a new captive portal and have to log in. By the time you do that you should be going on to the next station. By the time you get back on your return commute your login has expired and you get pulled into the captive portal again. Granted that doing it right is a much bigger technological problem, but a solved problem I’m sure - more or less the same challenge as wiring a stadium with a hundred thousand fans in it for WiFi.
- segfaultbuserr 7y ago
  Thanks. What an unbelievable situation!

istorical 7y ago

It's definitely not an issue of budget. It's a bureaucracy problem.

nolok 7y ago
Any more details? If the French RATP can do it, I can’t accept “bureaucracy” as the complete explanations
- thatfrenchguy 7y ago
  Despite the ever-complaining complaints of (perfectionist) French people, somehow bureaucracy-burdened RATP and SNCF manage to be dozens of percentage more on time than any transit agency in the US.
- addicted 7y ago
  The political issue is the NYC subway is used by NYCers, but the organization that runs the NYC subway (MTA) is run by the state government. And in state politics setting money aside for city transit is not popular, despite the city being the engine of the state economy. Further, NYC being nearly the only city in the entire US where a car free existence is possible, non NYC residents often can’t fathom why non car improvements are valuable.

treebog 7y ago

> Have any politicians pledged to solve the problems? Much the opposite, unfortunately. The governor, Andrew Cuomo, is in charge of the MTA. He 1. Falsely claims that he is not in charge of the MTA and denies any responsibility for its problems. 2. Wastes resources on frivolous projects he thinks will look good when he runs for president. For example, he championed a project to put WiFi on buses. This was pointless for most New Yorkers because you could already just use LTE. 3. sometimes, similarly, forces the MTA into idiotic schemes. See the debacle when Cuomo decided he’d like to be the L train hero https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2019/02/13/cuomos-new-l-train-shutdown-plan-is-as-bad-as-we-expected/ https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2019/02/13/cuomos-new-l-train-sh... 4. In April, Cuomo reportedly felt that MTA chief (and true subway hero) Andy Byford was getting too much credit for improving the subway and allegedly came close to firing Byford. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/19/nyregion/cuomo-andy-byford-mta.amp.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/19/nyregion/cuomo-andy-byfor... Ultimately, the MTA is a mess because of misplaced accountability. The governor needs to appeal to upstate voters to get elected, and only NYC people care about the subway. Ideally, the mayor of NYC should control the MTA and be accountable for its performance. In practice, many New Yorkers falsely believe the mayor is in charge(!), thanks in large part to Cuomo’s misinformation campaign in #1 above.

zxcvbn4038 7y ago
They made a huge deal over WiFi in the subway, great idea, some places cell service doesn’t work. It’s ok if your in a station and can’t get a cell signal, but every time you get to a new station you get pulled into a new captive portal and have to log in. By the time you do that you should be going on to the next station. By the time you get back on your return commute your login has expired and you get pulled into the captive portal again. Granted that doing it right is a much bigger technological problem, but a solved problem I’m sure - more or less the same challenge as wiring a stadium with a hundred thousand fans in it for WiFi.
segfaultbuserr 7y ago
Thanks. What an unbelievable situation!