Nov 18, 2008 11:59 pm US/Eastern
SARDINES IN A CAN! Cuts Will Cause Major Crowding
Sources: MTA To Change Guidelines That Will Result In Far More Crowding On Trains, Buses
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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The MTA is expected to make deep service cuts due to its budget crisis.
WJZ
New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority is expected to unveil its list of bus and subway cuts on Thursday, in addition to a new round of fare hikes on the way. It's expected to be a dramatic plan that will have all commuters feeling the crunch.
The cuts may include hundreds of layoffs including station agents at subway stops. And the MTA will drop at least a handful of bus and subway routes. For riders who still have the line they need, they will see longer waits for trains at midday and early morning hours.
And when you do get a train – it's much more likely to be jam-packed with passengers. The MTA is changing its guidelines to allow for more crowding on trains.
It's supposed to be a "Doomsday" plan – a list of massive fare hikes and service cuts the agency hopes it never has to implement. But experts tell CBS 2 that the agency is in such bad shape that Doomsday may have actually arrived.
"They're massive cuts. There will be poorer service, more crowds, bigger waits for trains for hundreds of thousands of riders. I take them very seriously," said Gene Russianoff of NYPIRG's Straphangers Campaign.
Subway and bus riders will feel the pain, but so will everyone and anyone who uses the MTA, including tens of thousands who use Metro North and the Long Island Rail Road.
"I'm sure that when their budget comes out on Thursday there will be bad news for riders on the Long Island Rail Road and Metro North," said Russianoff.
In fact, sources tell CBS 2 that one cut envisioned for the LIRR is to close 20 more ticket booths. That means 94 of the rail road's 124 stations will no longer have actual people selling tickets.
Riders are not happy.
"I wouldn't like that. I'd like to have the manned ticket office," said Lisa Gillespie of Old Westbury. "Sometimes you have questions and you have the more personal touch."
The bus and subway cuts could give new meaning to the term "like sardines in a can." Two lines will be eliminated, and three more have serious service cuts.
The "W" line to Astoria is one that will cease to exist. Riders will have to crowd onto the "N" line which runs along the same tracks.
"They would be cutting service in half to a growing community. How can you justify that? It's impossible," said City Councilman Peter Vallone (D-Queens).
The "Z" line will also be zapped. There will be no more express stops on the "J" line and service on the "G" and "M" lines will be slashed in half. That, in addition to more overcrowded trains on off-peak hours and 1,500 jobs vaporized.
"These cuts are Draconian. They are miserable. They will make it harder for people to get to and from work," said City Councilman John Liu, Chairman of the council's transportation committee. "Overall, it is a bad, bad situation."
The only hope to avoid some of the cuts is for a state panel to convince the Legislature to approve new sources of money, like tolls on the East River bridges and a payroll tax paid by employers. Those recommendations are due early next month.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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