Permanent Citizens Advisory Comittee to the MTA

Mr. Thomas Abdullah was the guest of the NYCTRC at its November 2009 meeting and outlined elements of the system for which he has responsibility.  He spoke about the 700 miles of track, 70 of which is above ground and 2/3 of which is composed of continuous welded rail.  He also alluded to the 18 bus depots that he must address.  Mr. Abdullah said that there are a number of green projects underway at NYC Transit, including the introduction of 1,000 hybrid buses into the 4,500 bus fleet, the conversion of 6,500 subway signals to more energy efficient lighting, the four solar installations throughout the system, and Transit’s efforts toward using green roof technology.

Mr. Abdullah said that he is responsible for noise mitigation and abatement efforts in the system.  In the subways, some tools that are used to reduce noise are continuous welded rail, resilient rail fasteners, rail lubrication, sound absorbing materials, ring dampened wheels, wheel truing, and composition brake shoes.  He said that noise is generally an indicator of maintenance issues, but on curves where noise is a recurring problem, rail lubrication is used to reduce noise.  Lubrication is effective when the equipment that provides it is maintained.  In stations, sound dampening materials may be used.

He said that Transit is striving to follow Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards in its facilities, but that these standards were created for office buildings and it has been a challenge to adapt these standards for the transit system.  The LEED standards provide a buffet of possibilities for designers to use.  Mr. Abdullah said that Transit is changing the way it does design, and that this was illustrated in the design charrette that the agency held for the Mother Clara Hale reconstruction project.  This new approach also resulted in the formation of a noise committee within NYC Transit, which Mr. Abdullah chairs. 

Mr. Abdullah’s presentation can be seen by clicking here.

During a recent trip along 34th Street PCAC staff members were able to experience the benefits of the CIS pilot system that NYC Transit implemented this fall.  The 30 buses assigned to the route (M16 and M34’s) are equipped with automated voice annunciation — audio and visual.  When the front doors open, the bus route and location are announced; an onboard one line screen displays the stops while the stops are broadcast through the bus speakers.  At select bus stop shelters there are displays with predicted arrival times.  This pilot will continue until February 2010 at which time it will be evaluated.

The Transit Riders Council will host the newly appointed president of NYCT, Thomas F. Prendergast, at its December 17th meeting.  Mr. Prendergast joins NYCT from Vancouver, where he was the CEO of the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority, known as TransLink. Prendergast, 57, brings more than 30 years of transportation experience to NYCT. He began his career at the Chicago Transit Authority and worked at the Federal Transit Administration before joining NYCT in 1982. He rose through the ranks, eventually running the subway system from 1990 to 1994. He then served as President of MTA Long Island Rail Road from 1994 to 2000. He joined TransLink in July 2008 after working in the private sector for eight years. During his time in the private sector, Prendergast worked in the engineering and construction management consultation sector and was directly involved in the delivery of transportation infrastructure and construction projects.

Prendergast holds a B.S. in Socio-Technological Systems Engineering from the University of Illinois and is a graduate of the Harvard Program for State and Local Government Executives.

In response to a request by PCAC/NYCTRC staff, Joe Smith, President of  NYCT Department of Buses, agreed to install much needed luggage racks on bus routes that serve LaGuardia and JFK Airports.  The large suitcases that travelers carry onto these buses block the aisles, making it impossible to move to the rear, and create unsafe crowding in the front of the bus. 

NYCT created a sample installation on an M60 bus and invited PCAC/NYCTRC staff to inspect and critique it.  All agreed that the rack’s location opposite the back door is well placed, allowing riders to easily exit with their bags.  And, despite the loss of a few seats, initial reactions by riders has been very positive.  Mr. Smith said that NYCT would monitor the program and if the feedback is encouraging, they will install the racks on more buses.

On September 24, Robert Cumella, NYCT Deputy Chief, Capital Planning and Budget presented to the New York City Transit Riders Council on Transit’s new Asset Condition Plan which determines if a NYCT asset[1] is in a State of Good Repair” (SGR).  New York City Transit deserves credit for having done substantial work to redefine the qualifications for an asset being placed in the SGR category.  State of good repair is currently an active part of the national discussion among transit agencies.  In April, the FTA issued its Rail Modernization report to Congress that assessed the level of capital investment required to attain and maintain a SGR for the Nation’s seven largest rail transit operators.  The report found that there is an estimated SGR backlog of roughly $50 billion (2008 dollars) for the seven agencies.  In July, WMATA and the FTA co-hosted the first State of Good Repair Round Table, with representatives from 30 US transit agencies, of which NYC Transit participated.  The highway industry is ahead of transit when it comes to implementing asset management plans a definite disadvantage for transit when it comes to making the case for federal funding. 

 It is for these reasons that the Transit Riders Council was so pleased to learn about the work that NYC Transit has done over the last two years to bring the term SGR more in line with the actual full condition of the asset and to create an active database that brings in report information as it becomes available.  In the case of stations SGR is now more in line with the experience of the rider.  Mr. Camella described to us how they went about doing this and what it means.  

Previously, NYCT considered assets to be in a state of good repair regardless of their current actual condition.  If an asset was determined to be in a state of good repair in 1982 (the start of the very first capital program) or modernized since that year, it was placed on and remained on the “State of Good Repair” list.  This was adequate in the early years of the Capital Programs but became increasingly inaccurate as time progressed.  In 2007 however, NYC Transit President Howard Roberts promptly identified the problem upon his appointment at Transit and articulated his concern to our New York City Transit Riders Council.  President Roberts also spoke about his desire to change the standard in time for the 2010-2014 Capital Program.  Congratulations President Roberts and thank you!! 

The new approach now evaluates assets based on three attributes: 

• Asset condition on a 1-4 scale
• Asset age vs. useful life
• Asset performance vs. some identifiable standard it must meet.

 

The stations asset category was particularly problematic where previously one area of the station may have had capital work performed at the station, other elements may still have been in tremendous disrepair, yet under the old method the station was deemed to be in a state of good repair.  To correct this problem, Mr. Cumella said that stations are now broken into their many components such as stairs, platforms, platform edges, ceilings etc.  This finer grain provides a much better picture of where investments need to be made, and can be made sooner rather than waiting until the year when the entire station would finally be renovated. 

The change at NYCT is now influencing the other operating agencies.  The Board Approved Capital Plan now describes the MTA’s mission regarding SGR as having a: “desire to more accurately describe the condition of the asset base and that future asset inventory updates will evaluate the repair needs of the components in establishing the asset’s overall state of good repair.” 

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 [1] New York City Transit puts assets into several categories: Rolling Stock, Power, Tracks, Signaling System, elevators/escalators, buses, structures, communications, bus shops & depots, tunnel lighting, power, high priority ventilation, subway shops, pumps and deep wells. 

 

 

Several members of the NYCTRC got out in the field last week and toured some stations needing repair.   First stop was Smith-9th Streets station (1933) via the F line.  Here, the Culver Viaduct above the station is getting needed stabilizing over the next four years.  The Viaduct is 90′ high and spans the Gowanus Canal.

 

 

The work on the Viaduct includes wrapping the columns as shown at left.  This work is part of a group of projects that also modernizes an interlocking, rehabilitates the Smith-9th Streets Station and rehabilitates an employee facility.

 

 

 

Council members were shown a badly deteriorated column by a local resident that had not been addressed (at left).  The NYCTRC alerted Transit’s Capital Program management to this troubling condition and will be following up about actions taken.

 

 

 

 

 The next stops were the New Utrecht Avenue and 20th Avenue stations on the Sea Beach Line (N).  In the 2008-2013 Capital Plan nine Sea Beach stations were slated for rehabilitation.  However, due to budget constraints and difficult access issues these station projects have been deferred.  They are now in the 2010-2014 capital plan.

Click here to see more pictures.