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Meeting Minutes Dec 1, 2011

PERMANENT CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO THE MTA

MINUTES OF DECEMBER 1, 2011

 

A meeting of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee (PCAC) to the MTA was convened at 12:00 noon on December 1, 2011, in the 5th floor Board Room, at MTA Headquarters, 347 Madison Avenue, New York City.  The following members were present:

Andrew Albert                           William K. Guild
James F. Blair                            Marisol Halpern
David Buchwald                         Matthew Kessler
Mark Epstein                             Trudy Mason
Randy Glucksman                     Steve Mayo
Stuart Goldstein                        Maureen Michaels
Ira Greenberg                            Larry Rubinstein
Christopher Greif                      Michael Sinansky
Burton Strauss, Jr.

The following members were absent:

Gerard Bringmann                   Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas
Sheila Carpenter                       Rhonda Herman
Richard Cataggio                      Sharon King Hoge
Francis T. Corcoran                 Thomas Jost
Owen Costello                           Edith Prentiss
Shirley Genn                             Toya Williford
Neal Zuckerman

In addition, the following persons were present:
William Henderson -PCAC Executive Director
Jan Wells -PCAC Associate Director
Ellyn Shannon -PCAC Transportation Planner
Karyl Berger -PCAC Research Associate
Jim Cameron -CT Rail Council
Matt Shotkin -Concerned citizen
Roger Herz -Concerned citizen
Ken Stewart -Concerned citizen
George Haikalis -Concerned citizen
Jim Raleigh -Concerned citizen
Joseph Clift -Concerned citizen
Approval of Agenda and Minutes
The agenda for the December 1, 2011 meeting was approved.  The minutes of the September 8, 2011 meeting were approved as amended.  Marisol Halpern was added to the attendees and Maureen Michaels’ comments on the Executive Committee were included in the amended minutes.

 

Chairs’ Reports
The PCAC, LIRRCC, MNRCC and NYCTRC Chairs’ Reports are attached to these minutes.

NYCTRC
Michael Sinansky commented on the survey work that NYCTRC members recently completed.  He said that he saw many hand-written notices related to service diversions in the stations.

With regard to the FASTRACK program, which involves a shutdown of some subway lines in the overnight period, the NYCTRC has asked that NYC Transit perform an analysis of impacts and cost savings and to make it public.  When NYC Transit Senior Vice President – Buses Darryl Irick met with the NYCTRC, the Council asked him to discuss his approach at the Department of Buses and MTA Bus.  In particular, the Council asked that the Department of Buses be more of an advocate for riders in ensuring that buses promptly return to service after major events.  When MTA Capital Construction President Michael Horodniceanu met with the Council, he presented an update of progress on the Second Avenue Subway, the 7 line extension and the Fulton Street Transit Center.

Randy Glucksman said that during street fairs bus service is often considerably disrupted.  Trudy Mason noted that other topics discussed by the NYCTRC since the last PCAC meeting included Select Bus Service (SBS) and Transit’s survey of riders.  Ira Greenberg commented that SBS had been implemented on 34th Street and he has noticed a number of police cars are parking on bus lanes that have been established.

MNRCC
David Buchwald commented on the introduction of quiet cars to Metro-North; he said that the program had been made permanent on West of Hudson lines and that a pilot quiet car program is underway on the East of Hudson lines.

Mr. Buchwald said that a major event for the Metro-North Council was the restoration of service on the Port Jervis Line, which was severely damaged by Tropical Storm Irene.  The line was returned to service just the Monday prior to the PCAC meeting, after a major effort by the Railroad, and it constitutes a major success for Metro-North.  At this point, the challenge for Metro-North is to rebuild Port Jervis Line ridership to pre-storm levels.  Bob Leiblong of Metro-North visited the Council to discuss the rebuilding of the line.

Mr. Buchwald also noted the MNRCC’s continuing work on Metro-North’s Pledge to Customers.  He said that the Council worked with Metro-North to finalize the content of the Pledge and had also consulted with Senator Schumer’s office.

Maureen Michaels asked whether the Metro-North Pledge is different from that developed by the LIRR.  Mr. Buchwald said that the differences are minor and that the MNRCC is working to get alternative service information into the hands of conductors, who can provide relevant information to passengers.

Jim Blair said that the damage to the Port Jervis line constituted major devastation and that the quick recovery of the line is a credit to Metro-North and its employees.

LIRRCC
Mark Epstein said that the LIRRCC had received a great deal of public notice as a result of an Op-Ed column that was published in Newsday.  He also highlighted the Meet the Commuter Council event that the LIRRCC held at Penn Station.  He said that work on the LIRR’s Pledge to Customers consumed much of the Council’s time, and that through this process the riders got a brochure with alternative service information, which the Council has been seeking for some time.

Another issue for the LIRRCC was the LIRR’s ticket validity and refund policies.  Mr. Epstein noted that the Council made a proposal to MTA Board members to modify these policies and in turn received some Board member support for this position.

Mr. Epstein said that communication is still a problem on the LIRR and that the Council intends to sit down with Rail Road management when they implement expanded communication capabilities.  He publicly thanked and acknowledged the hard work of the LIRRCC members.

Christopher Greif stated that he would like to have events that would get NYCTRC members out in the system to interact with riders.

Jim Blair noted that any changes to ticket validity and refund policy would probably apply to both the LIRR and Metro-North.

PCAC
Ira Greenberg said that MTA Board Member Mitch Pally has a proposal to restore some of the 2010 service cuts.  He said that the PCAC strongly supports service restoration and will send a letter to that effect with other transit advocates signing onto it.  He said that if any of the PCAC members have relationships with voting MTA Board members, they should speak with them about supporting Mr. Pally’s proposal.

Mr. Albert said that we are at a time where the Payroll Mobility Tax is under fire and that in this climate the restoration of service is a good political move. Ms. Mason commented that if the Governor is not in favor of the proposal, it will not happen.  Mr. Blair said that the service restoration proposal is small in comparison to the overall MTA budget and that he doesn’t believe that the Governor must pass on $20 million item.

Ms. Michaels asked that whenever a press release is issued or letter is signed onto, members receive a copy.

Old Business
The Council discussed the bylaw amendment concerning Executive Committee representation that had been introduced at the September 2011 PCAC meeting.  A copy of the amendment is on file in the PCAC office.  Stuart Goldstein commented that he finds the proposal confusing.  Mr. Buchwald said that there may be merit in requiring that the designation of a representative to the Executive Committee to be in writing.  Ms. Mason observed that the proposal appears to provide for an open ended designation of a Chair’s representative.  Bill Guild said that the amendment is written to give appropriate leeway to individual Councils and that each Council must amend its own bylaws to establish a process for its Chair to designate a representative to the PCAC Executive Committee.

The bylaw amendment was approved by a vote of nine members in favor, no members opposed, and four members (Trudy Mason, Stuart Goldstein, Christopher Greif, and Andrew Albert) abstaining.

Matthew Kessler requested that in the future the members receive the proposed annual PCAC budget in advance of the meeting.  Mr. Henderson said that the practice of distributing the proposals at the December PCAC meetings was established because of personnel information that was included when the PCAC administered its own payroll.  He said that future budgets will be provided to the members in advance of the meeting at which they are considered.

The budget was approved with all members voting in the affirmative, with the exception of Mr. Kessler, who abstained.

Introduction of Nicole Gelinas, Searle Freedom Trust  Fellow at the Manhattan Institute and frequent NY Post Columnist, to discuss her perspective on the MTA and priorities for the new Chairman upon his confirmation

Ira Greenberg introduced Ms. Gelinas.  Ms. Gelinas began her presentation by discussing the shutdown of the system in advance of Hurricane Irene.  She noted that the storm did hit the city until Sunday, but that on Saturday transit service in Manhattan was shut down, because MTA was shut down system wide.  Ms. Gelinas said that this illustrates the new reality at the MTA, where management of the functions of the operating agencies is increasingly centralized.  She said that the Governor is ultimately responsible for the system and only Governor Cuomo can save the downstate economy by saving the MTA Capital Program, taking charge of labor negotiations, and pursuing the steps that are necessary to ensure the health of the entire system.

Ms. Gelinas said that the MTA is a major contributor to the region’s quality of life.   She said that we are competing with other places that have substantial advantages over the New York City region in areas other than transportation.  As a result, we need a fully funded current Capital Program as well as a larger Capital Program in the future to maintain the advantages that New York holds.

The reality is that the MTA Capital Program cannot be adequately funded unless underlying assumptions remain favorable.  Labor agreements are a major assumption in the MTA budget and must be kept affordable.  She said that the MTA cannot effectively make the case for restraint in labor costs itself, so Governor Cuomo must do so by standing up for a for reasonable labor agreement.  The MTA Chair won’t do anything in this area unless the Governor wants him to do so.

Ms. Gelinas said that fare hikes are contained in the out years of the MTA financial plan, but these are not set in stone.  She noted that the next fare hike would occur around election time, which makes it less predictable, and that raising more money through fare hikes is not assured.

The MTA plans to borrow 56 percent of its capital spending, but having the ability to do this assumes that it generate $200 million of new recurring savings per year.  Ms. Gelinas questioned where these savings come from and concluded that the only reasonable answer is that the savings must come from labor costs.  Because savings are recurring they have a cumulative impact, with the result that the MTA’s 2015 deficit is much greater if the recurring savings are not realized.

Ms. Gelinas said that the driving factors in increasing labor costs are overtime and pension costs.  Changes to pensions are matters for legislative action, but there is room for changes in MTA expenditures for employee health care.  She proposed that the MTA investigate arrangements where any savings in health care costs would be shared with the workers and that similar arrangements be sought to reduce overtime costs, which are difficult to manage because of work rules.  Ms. Gelinas commented that labor may say that they didn’t cause the downturn in MTA subsidies and that they were caused by Wall Street, but it must be recognized that Wall Street excesses helped the MTA in prior years and paid for its increases in costs.  Even if the State increases taxes on the financial industry and millionaires, it is unlikely that the proceeds will go to MTA.

Ms. Gelinas said that she agrees that workers deserve fair pay, but that there is room for changes to benefits that will save the MTA money.  The reason that costs must be reduced is that the MTA has to generate money for its Capital Program internally, as it is unlikely that gaps will be filled by additional money from State or federal sources.  She said that changes in benefits are not uniformly negative for workers, as they could protect jobs.  She said that because the MTA had no latitude to change the benefits that it provides to reduce operational costs, the Authority instead had to cut the number of station booth clerks, which was not good for workers, the MTA system, or the public.

She said that there is also room to reduce overtime spending, much of which is related to track work.  Ms. Gelinas proposed that the City could dedicate certain Avenues and major cross streets to bus traffic on weekends, and this would create a viable alternative to subways and the ability to shut down entire lines and more efficiently perform work in the subways.

Ms. Mason noted that Ms. Gelinas works for the Manhattan Institute, which has a political orientation that is strongly right of center.  She questioned whether there was an attempt to have another speaker with a different perspective join Ms. Gelinas.

Mr. Blair thanked Ms. Gelinas for her insights and asked how she believes that the press can work most effectively in this environment.  He said that idea of East River Bridge tolls has come up several times at the PCAC because the MTA system is large and there is need for additional external funding despite the possibility of efficiencies.  Mr. Blair questioned why the press is not more active in reporting needs for additional revenue and the option of tolling to generate it.

Ms. Gelinas responded that that there is strong opposition to plans for increased funding through tolling in Brooklyn, among other places, and that options involving tolling are probably not in the press now because no one is currently actively pushing them.  She noted that there is a limit to the level of tolls that can be imposed before revenue begins to decline and said that the Port Authority has seen considerable decreases on its crossings’ traffic volumes after implementing its last toll increases.

Jan Wells asked whether Ms. Gelinas believes that federal aid will cushion the MTA Capital Program.  Ms. Gelinas responded that there is $3.8 billion in federal aid in the last three years of the current Capital Program, but the true amount of federal funding available could be lower, increasing the funding gap.

Ms. Mason said that there is always a difference between operating and capital funding and that the operating budget does not impact capital budget.  She asked what Ms. Gelinas proposes that the MTA should do for its workers, and what she thinks the impact of a strike by MTA workers would be.

Ms. Gelinas responded that the capital spending that is financed through bonds must be paid for by the operating budget and that this is the connection between the two.  She said that the question about labor negotiations is not about taking a pro- or anti-labor stance, but about choices in resource allocation.  For example, the MTA could raise wages and this action may not improve the effectiveness of the workforce, but raising wages will take away resources from other priorities like capital improvements.  She said that the MTA should work on health care issues now before it costs $2.5 billion per year and the system begins to fall apart as a result of competition for resources.

Mr. Blair said that he wanted to point out that PCAC has historically taken a hands off posture in labor negotiations and that this body generally does not put itself into this sort of argument.  Ms. Mason said that she wanted to clarify that she was speaking for herself and not in her capacity as a member of the NYCTRC and PCAC.

Ken Stewart asked what kind of recommendations Ms. Gelinas has for the PCAC.  Ms. Gelinas said that her purpose in coming to the meeting was to impart information and not to necessarily involve the PCAC in issues surrounding labor negotiations.  She said that she would recommend giving as much attention to issues surrounding capital improvements as is given to fares every two years.

Mr. Albert asked Ms. Gelinas’ recommendations on the issue of establishing a lockbox to protect MTA funding.  She replied that the loss of funds counted upon by the MTA to the State continues to be a major risk.  She recommended that advocates keep the focus on the Governor and said that the present system is the worst of both worlds.  The Governor has control over the MTA, but is not seen by the public as being responsible for its performance.

Ms. Shannon asked whether Ms. Gelinas has thoughts on the LIRR and possible modifications to its work rules.  Ms. Gelinas said that rules addressing things like payments or staffing requirements for a switch from electric to diesel equipment or vice versa are a way to push up overtime.  She said that with regard to the LIRR disability scandal, the actions of some are particularly problematic as they have the effect of hurting people who legitimately need disability payments.  The response should be to enforce the law.

Larry Rubinstein asked whether the LIRR Retirement funds were under State control.  Ms. Gelinas said that the retirement system that is at issue in the disability scandal is federal, but the easy availability of federal Railroad Retirement has an impact on State pension funds, as it encourages people at the LIRR to retire earlier.

Mr. Blair asked Ms. Gelinas’ opinion of press coverage of MTA issues and attacks that are made on the MTA.  Ms. Gelinas replied that the press tends to report issues that are hot at the time, but the real issue is ensuring that the media focus on MTA management, which the Governor controls.

Matt Shotkin asked what factors determine the number of station booth clerks in the system.  Ms. Gelinas answered that this is determined by available funding.

Mr. Epstein remarked that there is a difference in the relationships between riders and operating personnel on the commuter railroads and on NYC Transit.  Because riders often take the same train every day, train crews are in the cars, and the rides tend to be longer, there is more of a personal connection between crew members and commuters on the railroads.

Joseph Clift asked Ms. Gelinas’ opinion of the RRIF loan that the MTA is seeking to fund the completion of the East Side Access project.  Ms. Gelinas stated that she was not sure that the loan will come through and that in any case this still constitutes borrowing and has associated with it many of the issues associated with bonded indebtedness.

Adjournment

Respectfully submitted,
William Henderson
Executive Director

 

Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA
Chair’s Report-Ira R. Greenberg
December 1, 2011

 

In mid-October Jay Walder left the Chairmanship of the MTA and the Governor named Joseph J. Lhota to replace him.  While he must be confirmed by the State Senate to become Chairman, on November 14 Mr. Lhota joined the MTA as Executive Director, a post that does not require Senate confirmation.  In his first days on the job, he has been measured in his public statements and conciliatory toward organized labor.

Mr. Lhota’s coming to the MTA brought with it a number of other changes.  Governor Cuomo had already announced the appointment of Nuria Fernandez as the Chief Operating Officer. Charlie Monheim, who previously held the Chief Operating Officer title, is staying with MTA Headquarters as Director of Strategic Initiatives, focusing on guiding the MTA’s technology projects, reducing operating expenses and overseeing labor relations. Former LIRR and MTA General Counsel Catherine Rinaldi has been appointed Chief of Staff.  The Managing Director position was eliminated and Diana Jones Ritter left the MTA.

In October, Jan Wells attended the Rail~Volution conference in Washington, DC where she made a presentation on the use of social media to bring more members of the community into land use discussions around transit.

On November 10, we sent a letters to the members of the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees urging them to promptly report to the floors of their respective houses legislation extending the parity between pre-tax transit benefits and similar benefits available to pay for parking.  If no action is taken, the cap for pre-tax transit and vanpool benefits will revert from the current $230 per month to $125 per month on January 1, 2012.  This could affect not only commuter rail riders, but a number of NYC Transit users who use express buses or more than one transit system.  All of the Commuter Council Chairs and I signed this letter.

On Friday, November 18th, Jan attended the Vision Long Island Smart Growth Summit in Melville.  She heard panels on regional planning, the new Complete Streets legislation and trends in housing.  Featured speakers were U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano and the President of the Congress of New Urbanism, John Norquist.  Over 1,000 people attended this annual event.

On November 18, Bill Henderson attended the Transportation 2030 conference sponsored by Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer that was held at John Jay College.  At the conference keynote speaker and former Port Authority Executive Director Chris Ward came out forcefully in favor of tolling the East River bridges.

On Monday, November 21st, Bill, Jan and Ellyn met with Paul Fleuranges, Senior Director of Corporate and Internal Communications, and Peter Harris, MTA Director of Market Research, to discuss more fully the results of the Customer Satisfaction surveys that MTA conducted on buses, subway, Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road.  They discussed the strengths and limitations of the Customer Satisfaction Surveys and new directions that the MTA is exploring in its market research program.  The funding available for market research is tight, and there is great interest at the MTA in finding less expensive ways of doing targeted projects, but they want to proceed cautiously at this point.

NYC Transit has been busy introducing new technology into the system since our last meeting, although this technology is being made available in the major terminals of the commuter railroads as well.  Transit unveiled On the Go!, a 47-inch touch screen device that allows subway users to retrieve information about their trip, use the MTA’s Trip Planner Plus app, view real-time service and elevator and escalator status information, and see neighborhood maps.  The device can also be used to locate shopping and dining venues and major attractions and displays NY1 headlines and the current time and weather.  The screen is split in two, with one half dedicated to advertising, which is expected to cover installation expenses and generate additional revenue.  The first On the Go device was installed at the Bowling Green station, but as part of an initial pilot program devices are being installed at Penn Station, Grand Central Terminal, Atlantic Avenue, and Jackson Heights/Roosevelt Avenue.  A brochure about the On the Go system is in your packet today.

Last month we received another sobering assessment of the MTA’s finances from the State Comptroller’s Office.  Areas of concern raised in the Office’s report on their financial outlook for the MTA include the size of the debt burden proposed for the MTA, the possibility of major operating budget gaps in 2013 and 2014, and the MTA’s reliance on funding from economically sensitive taxes.  A copy of the report is in your packets today.

For those of you who are Facebook users, the PCAC now has a Facebook page.  At this point, the information there is also posted on the PCAC website, but the Facebook page allows for more interaction from our readers.  Just search for “PCAC” in Facebook to check out the page.

You may be interested in checking out the New York Transit Museum’s latest exhibit: ElectriCity: Powering New York’s Subways and Rails.  The exhibit was designed by the Liberty Science Center and opened October 29th at the Museum’s main location in Downtown Brooklyn and will run through Friday, December 30.  The goal of the exhibit is to illustrate how electricity powers the subway system and has something for everyone, from historic power control equipment, photographs through the years, and architectural and engineering drawings to hands-on activities that will interest even young children.

 

Metro-North Railroad Commuter Council
PCAC Meeting
Chair’s Report–David Buchwald
December 1, 2011

On October 11, the Tappan Zee Bridge was announced by the Obama Adminstration as a project to be given expedited federal review and approval.  The good news is that this could allow work on a new bridge to begin as early as the spring of 2013.  The bad news for transit users and drivers, who will inevitably continue to face traffic jams until transportation alternatives are offered, is that the form of the project that will move forward in this process will not include a bus or rail transit option, at least in its initial form.

The stated advantage to not including transit is reduction of costs from a range of $9 to $16 billion to $5.2 billion.  The project would proceed in a fashion to allow transit to be added in the future, but the question is whether adding rail and/or bus rapid transit capacity by grafting it onto an initially all-automobile bridge would be an economically viable option.  The MTA and Metro-North are evaluating their options and have not yet shared with us their conclusions as to the impact of this change on Metro-North.  It seems clear, however, that for drivers this resolution will lead to higher tolls for the Tappan Zee Bridge.

A ban on smoking on outdoor platforms and outdoor ticketing and boarding areas of terminals and stations went into effect on Metro-North on November 13.  This change was mandated by a new law passed by the State Legislature and signed by the Governor this summer.  The ban applies to the Long Island Rail Road as well.  NYC Transit was not covered under the law, as smoking was already prohibited in their subway and rail stations even if they are not enclosed.

Following urging over many years from the MNRCC, Metro-North introduced quiet cars on the Harlem and Hudson lines in October and made quiet cars a permanent feature on the west of Hudson lines.  The quiet cars are part of a pilot program on East of Hudson lines that will involve 31 trains in the morning and evening rush hours.  A “Q” on the timetable will indicate the trains with quiet cars, and the quiet car will always be the northernmost passenger car in the train, or in other words, the first car out of Grand Central on outbound trips and the last car into the Terminal on inbound trips.  As was the case with the West of Hudson lines, Metro-North will evaluate passenger reaction to the quiet car pilot before arriving at a decision on making the quiet car program a permanent feature.

On Wednesday, September 21st, MNRCC Putnam County member Neal Zuckerman hosted a “listening” meeting for MNR riders in the Village of Garrison.  Similar to a meeting held in Cold Spring in March, riders were invited to come and air their issues, concerns and suggestions.  The meeting in Garrison was held at the Garrison Art Center, adjacent to the station, from 6:30-8:00 pm.  Although turnout was light, several points were raised, including elevator maintenance, overcrowding on trains since the service cuts and the desire to work more closely with MNR on developing Getaway packages.  Neal has promised to hold a listening session at the other full-time MNR stations in Putnam County – Southeast, Patterson and Brewster.  Bill and Jan also attended the meeting and Jan sent comments on to Metro-North staff.

Restoration of Port Jervis Line service occurred this past Monday, with the first revenue trains since Hurricane Irene serving the full length of the line.   On Monday, service returned to the full pre-storm schedule of 26 daily trains and 14 weekend trains.  There will, however, be periodic off-peak and weekend train outages with substitute busing to allow work such as stabilizing the river bank along the right-of-way, building retaining walls and other flood mitigations to be done.  This work is scheduled to be complete in June 2012.

In a related development, Metro-North opened a new 96-space parking lot October 31 at Beacon Station. The lot was planned in response to Hurricane Irene damage to the Port Jervis Line and was built on property already owned by Metro-North in little more than a month.  With the restoration of Port Jervis Line service, it will continue to provide needed parking for Hudson Line riders.

We continue to encourage Metro-North to make a meaningful pledge to its customers.  Several of our members shared their thoughts with me about the pledge, and I am now routinely providing feedback to Metro-North based on these comments and my observations.  The Railroad is working to incorporate our response into the document. I have also been in touch with Senator Schumer and his office, as he too is working to ensure that the pledge provides for the needs of passengers on disabled trains.  Metro-North is also working with the Connecticut Department of Transportation, which is in turn consulting with the Connecticut Rail Commuter Council to address their concerns so that Metro-North can arrive at a common draft that is acceptable to the commuter councils in each state.

Metro-North was honored by an international panel of transportation and design experts when it received the Jury Prize for Overall Design Excellence for 2011 from The Watford Group and The Center for Industrial Design in Transportation.  The prize was presented as a part of the tri-annual Brunel Awards ceremony held in Washington, D.C.  Metro-North also won first prize in the Brunel Awards’ “Freight and Railway Support Buildings” category for its Croton-Harmon Locomotive and Coach Shops.

The Brunel Award competition is open to public and private railway organizations and “recognizes and promotes the best in railway architecture, engineering, landscape and environmental design, product design, locomotive and car design, graphic arts, and corporate branding among the world’s railways.”   Railways that enter a project in each of the competition’s five categories are eligible for the Jury Prize, and Metro-North was the first U.S. railroad to win this award in its 26-year history. Forty-three railways from fifteen countries on three continents entered 150 projects in this year’s international competition.

We did not have a guest at our November meeting.  At our October meeting, we welcomed Robert Lieblong, Metro-North’s Senior Vice President – Operations, who discussed with us the process of and progress on the rebuilding of the Port Jervis line following Hurricane Irene.

 

Long Island Rail Road Commuter Council
PCAC Meeting
Chair’s Report—Mark Epstein
December 1, 2011

 

On November 17 the Council had an Op-Ed piece published in Newsday.  In it we recounted some of the problems that riders have faced over the past year, noted the slow pace of improvements that could give the riders some relief, and called on the MTA and LIRR to give riders the treatment they pay for and deserve by restoring some of the 2010 service cuts and putting resources into critical track, signal, and central control improvements.  PCAC members received a copy of the piece in the last press clippings file that was emailed to you.  Newsday followed the Op-Ed with an editorial on November 22 calling on the LIRR and MTA to restore some of the service that had been cut.

The LIRRCC hosted a Meet the Council event at Penn Station on November 15.  We spent three hours in the main LIRR concourse meeting our fellow commuters and discussing the issues that they face in their daily commutes.  Riders raised a broad range of topics with us, including the condition of stations and trains, parking issues, communication, train crews, and schedules.  An issue that sparked a great deal of rider interest was the change in the LIRR’s ticket validity and refund policies.  We had a number of riders who told us that they were left with worthless tickets, forced to buy new tickets including an on-board surcharge, or forced to pay a service charge to receive a refund for a ticket that they had purchased but not used.

Another effort that we’re making to get our name out to the riders is our development of an informational poster about the Council that will be placed in each LIRR station.  The Rail Road has agreed to display the poster, and we’re finalizing its design.  We are aiming to start getting them out into stations by January 1.

Also in November, Karyl Berger, Sheila Carpenter, Matt Kessler, and Edith Prentiss, a member of the NYC Transit Riders Council, met at the LIRR’s Ronkonkoma station with LIRR staff and staff from the Nassau and Suffolk County Executive offices to discuss accessibility issues at the station.

In late October the LIRR was once again in the news with the arrest of six former employees and a former union president, among a total of eleven individuals, in connection with disability pension fraud that may have cost the federal Railroad Retirement system $1 billion.  While we understand that the LIRR has no control over the pension fund in question and has cooperated in the investigation of fraud and reform of the system in place, they must be active in the solution to this problem.  We called on the LIRR to do all it can to further investigations of other questionable claims and ensure that disability benefits go only to those rightfully entitled to them.

On Monday October 10, Senator Charles Schumer called on the LIRR to provide to its customers a bill of rights that it would be expected to uphold and asked the Rail Road to work with the LIRRCC to develop this document.  We had extensive discussions and contacts with both the Senator’s office and the Rail Road over the next several weeks, and on October 24 the LIRR released a draft of a pledge to its riders.  We provided a number of comments and suggestions in the development of the pledge, many of which the LIRR accepted and incorporated in their draft, and we are ready to work with the LIRR as the pledge becomes a part of the commuters’ experience and continues to evolve.

One of the issues that we raised in the course of discussions on the pledge was the need for alternative travel information for riders affected by LIRR service disruptions.  Of course, our Council has been calling on the Rail Road to provide this information for a number of years, as one of many recommendations that we have made to improve customer communication.  In the wake of the lightning strike and signal failure, Senator Schumer’s calls for accountability, and the development of their pledge to riders, the LIRR produced a brochure outlining alternative public transportation that can be used when LIRR service is disrupted.  This is a major step forward, but we want to make sure that this information is as good as it can be and is placed in the hands of riders when it is needed.  We have expressed our conviction that this brochure must be kept on board trains and in stations so that it can be handed out in case of major service problems.  We have also asked that this information be distributed in electronic form so that riders can place it on a smartphone or other portable electronic device and will have it available when needed.

Also in October, I met with Barry Kluger, the MTA Inspector General, to discuss areas of concern to the Council.  I briefed him on issues that the Council has been working on and offered the Council’s assistance to his office in identifying and investigating issues related to the LIRR.

Another issue that the Council has been dealing with is the LIRR’s ticket validity and refund policies.  There was renewed controversy on this front after the lightning storm that disabled the LIRR system on September 29 when a number of customers who had purchased tickets for travel in the evening were unable to use them.  These riders were then left with a ticket that was valid only until mid-October at the latest, and those who returned the unused tickets for refund were charged a $10 processing fee.

Ultimately the LIRR made the decision to waive the refund processing fee for those affected by the lightning storm, but we discussed the issue at our November meeting and concluded that the policy is dysfunctional and changes need to be made.  As a result, we sent letters to each of the MTA Board members, with copies to Executive Director Lhota and the commuter railroad Presidents, calling for a policy change to make individual and ten-trip tickets non-refundable once purchased, but to have them retain their original value until used.  Newsday printed a story about our call for this change, and we received public support for our position from MTA Board Member Mitch Pally.

The service outage that I referenced occurred when lightning knocked out primary and backup switching equipment controlling access to Jamaica Station. There are a number of questions remaining to be answered concerning the failure of the new signal and control systems that the LIRR installed just last year, and we have noted in the press the need for a full investigation of the situation.  Communication with riders was once again a major concern.  We heard many reports of a lack of information or direction from the Rail Road and failures by on board crews to make necessary announcements.  Communication is not the only issue at the LIRR, but it poses a problem in nearly every major breakdown on the Rail Road and we demand progress on this front.

We have also been talking in the Council about issues concerning parking at the Bellmore station over the last several months.  I spoke to Town of Hempstead Council Member Gary Hudes about the issues that the LIRRCC has raised, and he said that he is willing to work with us and investigate any problems that we bring to his attention.  We’ve provided Council Member Hudes a list of issues at the station, parking among them, and we’re awaiting his responses.

The Council has also been working to eliminate right of way encroachments along the Port Washington Branch.  Despite the LIRR’s assurances that it is working with local government to resolve the situation, we have not seen the progress on this issue that is needed, especially in light of the potential hazards that these incursions represent to riders.  We will be continuing our efforts until the encroachments are removed.

We also are still working on an issue that we have been pressing for some time, expanding the open hours of stations.  In 2010, after Sheila Carpenter raised the issue of riders impacted by closed waiting rooms, we asked for a pilot program to extend waiting room closing times at three stations where many passengers make connections to other services.  We’re continuing to discuss with the LIRR plans to meaningfully expand the open hours of station waiting rooms to provide riders with shelter from the weather.

I’ve been speaking with political and business leaders on Long Island as a part of our outreach efforts.  I’m pleased to announce that the Long Island Regional Economic Council’s infrastructure/ transportation work group, on which I serve, reported out the LIRR’s Ronkonkoma to Farmingdale second track as a project that should be recommended for funding by the Council.  Newsday has cited the importance of the Regional Economic Council in editorials and reported on its submission of a proposal for funding to the Governor.

There has been a great deal of support, at the Regional Economic Council and elsewhere, for the Ronkonkoma Hub Development Project.  This transit-oriented development project is a partnership between the Towns of Brookhaven and Islip to redevelop about fifty acres surrounding the Long Island Rail Road station and bordering MacArthur Airport.  The project is moving forward.  Four developers submitted responses to the Town of Brookhaven’s requests for proposals.  The Long Island Economic Development Council submitted this project to the Governor as a candidate to receive a portion of $200 million in State funding that is being made available.  The Town Board is expected to choose a developer at its December 13 meeting, and at about the same time Governor Cuomo will announce which of the regional development projects under consideration for state funding have will receive it.

A troubling trend that we’re seeing is the increase in crime at LIRR facilities and trains.  While the overall level is not high, the total number of major felonies in the system for the year through September was up 38 percent over 2010. There is no final consensus on the cause for this spike, but we’re continuing to press for increased security measures, including cameras, to ensure that riders are kept safe.
New York City Transit Riders Council
PCAC Meeting
Chair’s Report-Andrew Albert
December 1, 2011

In September, I was part of a panel involving the Move NY campaign, which has been established to promote the use of congestion pricing in New York City.  There were a number of exciting ideas shared with those attending, which included several of our State Legislators.

In October, NYC Transit rolled out a new webpage, The Weekender, which will be the default MTA homepage from Friday afternoon to early Monday morning.  The webpage features a guide to service diversions based on an updated version of the Vignelli subway map that was used by NYC Transit in the 1970’s.  In its digital format, the map is interactive and searchable by line, borough, and station and indicates stations at which there are diversions by making them blink.  Clicking on the blinking dot indicating the affected station yields a description of the service diversion affecting that station.

Over the last two months our members have conducted a survey of service diversion notices in the NYC subway system.  With the holiday season and reductions in scheduled service changes upon us, we have wrapped up our data collection and are now analyzing the results of our surveys.  We will be issuing a report on our findings and making recommendations for improvements in the use of printed notices to inform riders of scheduled service changes.

Our Public Service Scholar from Hunter College, Shanni Liang, is now working in the office 20 hours per week.  She pilot tested the preliminary service diversion survey form for the NYCTRC at eight stations on the N line in southwest Brooklyn.  She wrote a brief report on her findings which included pictures; and she made several suggestions for improvement of the form.  These stations were chosen because they are in predominately Asian communities which are her focus during her service at PCAC.

NYC Transit is proposing to radically change the way that lines are taken out of service for maintenance and capital work.  Instead of working between trains or taking tracks out of service for repairs on weekends, Transit will shut portions of subway lines overnight on consecutive nights to allow workers to perform tasks without periodically stopping to allow trains to pass through the work site. For capital work, Transit will shut down track segments on a continuous basis, rather than performing work in a piecemeal fashion over a longer period of time.  As was announced at the MTA Board Transit Committee meeting, the Lexington Line will be the initial site for the pilot test of this new system, which Transit believes will allow them to perform capital and repair work faster, less expensively, and with less inconvenience to riders.  Our Council will be monitoring the results of the pilot.

On November 13, 34th Street Select Bus Service was inaugurated.  As you may have heard, this service replaces both the local M34 bus as well as the M16 bus that had previously served the 34th Street corridor.  This differs from the Bronx and Manhattan SBS corridors, where traditional local bus service continues to be available.  Like the previous Bronx and Manhattan Select Bus Service corridors Select Bus Service brought with it increased spacing between stops and off-board fare collection.  As a part of this change, buses traveling the former M16 route have been designated as “M34A.”

NYC Transit is advancing other plans for bus service changes and held public meetings earlier this fall on Select Bus Service in Brooklyn and bus improvements on Staten Island.  Bill Henderson and Chris Greif attended the Staten Island meeting on September 15 and Karyl Berger and Chris Greif attended the Brooklyn meeting on September 20.  Select Bus Service is scheduled to replace B44 limited service in November 2012, and the Staten Island improvements, which grew out of the SBS effort but are not a full implementation of the program, are expected to be put into service in 2012 or 2013.

NYC Transit and NYCDOT have just issued a one-year progress report on the M15 SBS service.  NYCTRC members have been emailed a PDF copy, and the report is also available on the NYCDOT website that can be accessed through www.nyc.gov.  If any other PCAC members would like us to send them the PDF or a link to the report, please let staff know. The report is full of facts and figures and is a good reference on the specifics of the project.

On November 16 Bill Henderson attended a meeting for Brooklyn Councilman Brad Lander’s Participatory Budget Process.  You may have read about this process in which four New York City Council Members will allow residents of their districts to directly decide to spend a total of $6 million in discretionary funding.  Bill served as a resource to the committee working to narrow potential transit projects to be selected for funding.  Unfortunately, many of the projects initially proposed, such as elevators, cost more than the available funding, illustrating the financial constraints that make capital improvements in the NYC Transit system so difficult.

At our September meeting, Darryl Irick, NYC Transit Senior Vice President – Buses, discussed the operation of the New York City bus system.

In October, Dr. Michael Horodniceanu, President — MTA Capital Construction Company, briefed the Council on the status of the Fulton Street Transit Center, Second Avenue subway, and 7 Line Extension projects.

In November, James Sears, Senior Director, and Mark Mednick, Director, NYC Transit Corporate Communications, demonstrated with Council members the customer interview techniques that NYC Transit is using in its market research on new communications technology.