Planning Ahead: The Next 40 Years

1. Planning Ahead:The Next 40 Years

2. The First 40 Years • 1968: MTA is created • Central focus for policy and planning • Responsible for all transit services throughout the New YorkMetropolitan area. • New state funding for transit • New cross-subsidy -- highway to transit -- through TBTA “At last the residents of New York City and the thousands who commute here daily can have faster, more conveniently priced, integrated service” – Mayor John Lindsay (1967) NY Times (3/9/67)

3. The First 40 Years • 1968: “A Program for Action” • First attempt at a systems-approach to transit • New subway lines and cars • Enhancements to existing raillines and rolling stock • New buses • Station improvements

4. The First 40 Years • 1970’s - Early 1980’s • Bad times interrupted great plans • Poor financial practices resulted in deferred maintenance and insufficient reinvestment • Reallocation of capital maintenance funds to cover operating expenses • Expansion programs trimmed to only 63rd St tunnel and Archer Ave extension

5. The First 40 Years • 1982 – Present: Core system improvements anchor new initiatives • Success with State of Good Repair efforts • NYCT • Gained control of system quality of life • Fleet completely modernized - 6,400+ new/rebuilt subway cars - 5,000+ new buses • 700 miles of subway track replaced (300+ on railroads) • 200 stations reconstructed • New signals, pumps, fans, etc. • 1,200+ new rail cars and coaches, entire fleet air conditioned • Railroads • Penn Station, Grand Central Station rehabilitated • Fleet replaced • Extensive modernization of track, signals, shops • Allowed integration of information and fares between MTA systems • Allowed “re-start” of capacity expansion and new routes projects

6. The First 40 Years • MTA Today • NYC Population: 8.2 Million…an historicrebound in growth • MTA ridership reaches 1950’s levels • Travel patterns more complex • Hub bound • Reverse commuting • Intra-regional • Variable work hours • Widely-recognized linkage betweenMTA investment, system ridership and economic prosperity

7. The Next 40 Years • New challenges emerge from today’s trends • A region-wide consensus for growth • NYC population will grow to over 9 million • Population will continue to grow in the outer reaches of the MTA service area, driven by the search for affordable housing and the rise of non-NYC CBD’s (White Plains, Stamford) • The economy will demand more flexible transit service • Non-traditional travel patterns will continue and intensify • Travel to non-Manhattan CBD destinations will grow, including reverse peak travel from NYC to suburbs • Intra-suburban travel will grow • More non-peak trips • Less Monday to Friday travel – 24 hour economy • A “Glimpse of Greatness”

8. The Next 40 Years • We must finish what we have started and lay the groundwork to accommodate future needs • Secure State of Good Repair and replacement resources • An “enduring discipline” is essential • Complete the current expansion projects • LIRR East Side Access • LIRR Main Line Third track • Full-length Second Avenue Subway • 7 Line West Side Expansion

9. The Next 40 Years • To achieve this vision, MTA must • Invest based on meeting specific needs • Use the existing system as much as practicable • Eliminate overcrowding and long travel times • Eliminate barriers to access to the regional transit network • Exercise planning and investment discipline that transcends administrations and economic cycles

10. The Next 40 Years Conceptual Examples ofPotential Strategies

11. Eliminate Overcrowding and Long Travel Times • Potential Strategy: Relieve Queens Blvd Corridor / Expand service to outer Queens • Examples • Short Term: Implementation of CBTC to increase throughput • Long Term: Address capacity constraints and subway access limitations using potential “reliever routes” via LIRR ROW’s

12. Eliminate Overcrowding and Long Travel Times • Potential Strategy: Relieve 7th Ave-Broadway line on Upper West Side • Examples • Restructure service to maximize throughput (e.g. send all 7th Ave trains to Flatbush and all Lexington Avenue trains to Utica/New Lots) • Rebuild Nostrand Junction and Flatbush Terminal to eliminate flat junction switching • Accelerate implementation of CBTC to provide capacity for more service R142 car - CBTC control screen

13. Eliminate Overcrowding and Long Travel Times • Potential Strategy: Maximize use of commuter rail capacity within NYC • Examples • Maximize service at commuter rail stations in The Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn where capacity exists • Introduce additional stations on rail lines through under-served markets • Co-op City / Parkchester / Hunts Point on Hell Gate Line (Penn Access) • Implement Park+Ride services from stations near city line, such as Belmont Racetrack

14. Eliminate Barriers to Access to the Regional Transit Network • Potential Strategy: Create a region-wide “information web” to obtain service information about any mode, any time, anywhere • Examples • Provide real time rail/bus/subway information and status to user cell phones, PDA’s, etc. • “Instant Messaging” delivery of track/train info at commuter rail terminals • Expand real-time transit information in stations and bus stops

15. Eliminate Barriers to Access to the Regional Transit Network • Potential Strategy: Introduce options to enable customers to obtain fare media anywhere, anytime for any transit mode • Examples • Implement a regional smart card • Expand fare payment methods: fare cards, cell phones, keychain tags • “Pre-paid” fare collection on BRT routes to maximize boarding flow of customers (allows use of all doors) • Expand ways to purchase fares: joint placement of credit card TVM’s in supermarkets, drug stores, etc.

16. Eliminate Barriers to Access to the Regional Transit Network • Potential Strategy: Implement Long Island regional transit improvements to better match service with demand • Examples • Substitute short consist/high frequency “scoot” DMU train services in branches and east-end corridors • Oyster Bay Branch (Mineola-Oyster Bay) • Montauk Branch (Speonk-Montauk) • Ronkonkoma Branch (Riverhead-Greenport) • Extend electrified zone into eastern Suffolk County • Ronkonkoma Branch to Riverhead • Montauk Branch to Speonk

17. Eliminate Barriers to Access to the Regional Transit Network • Potential Strategy: Implement Mid-Hudson regional transit improvements • Example • New “TZB Corridor” branch to Hudson Line • Link from Port Jervis Line to Stewart Airport

18. Eliminate Barriers to Access to the Regional Transit Network • Strategy: Advance Regional Rail Connectivity • Example • Build regional rail network based upon early Meadowlands pilot • Complete MNR rail links to Penn Station

19. MTA at a Crossroads • Initiatives have worked • Core system renewal has progressed • MetroCard benefits now abound • Customer focus • but… • Greater demand in sight • Core systems upgrades unfinished • Pressure for network expansion • Tapped-out revenue sources

20. The Region that Rail Built Rail lines heavily influenced the New York metropolitan area’s development patterns. In the coming 40 years, rail could again have such an impact as historically high energy costs and a focus on environmental sustainability become the major formulative forces in the NY region.