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Everyone should listen to crooks on this. He has clearly factored into his very detailed analysis the cost of these new parking facilities (that must be insured and maintained), bus routes (these need insurance maintenance too, not to mention a driver and fuel), and compared them to what the MTA would save by closing down the odd station here and there. I'm curious as to what the actual savings would be?
Im no expert...but those stations are not free.
I really dont know what the final analysys is but Im pretty sure they havent looked either.
Its nice to be subsidized.
I wish they were a private company.
The market would drive efficiency or theyd fail.
NJT is a better run system for sure, esp in the bus dept.
NYC is the city that never sleeps though, but LIRR could do what Metro-North does and shut down from 1-4am.
This would be the worst thing ever. A lot of people from LI go out in the city on saturday nights and they would be coming home between these hours. Ridership is very high from 1a-4a believe it or not...even though it's filled with drunks and pizza-eating crazies. It's a money-making timeframe for the LIRR (also, too, b/c alot of those people buy individual tickets and don't have monthlies).
This would be the worst thing ever. A lot of people from LI go out in the city on saturday nights and they would be coming home between these hours. Ridership is very high from 1a-4a believe it or not...even though it's filled with drunks and pizza-eating crazies. It's a money-making timeframe for the LIRR (also, too, b/c alot of those people buy individual tickets and don't have monthlies).
I really dont know what the final analysys is but Im pretty sure they havent looked either.
Its nice to be subsidized.
I wish they were a private company.
The market would drive efficiency or theyd fail.
Crooks
they're not free, but any savings gained from closing a station is likely too small for them to even consider at this point. After all, many of these cuts are likely temporary. Not to mention that that it would be logistical and PR nightmare.
Massapequa/Massapequa Pk is not the reason service to points east of Babylon sucks....it's the decades old infrastructure (i.e. track), which is why the third track on the mainline is so important going forward.
they're not free, but any savings gained from closing a station is likely too small for them to even consider at this point. After all, many of these cuts are likely temporary. Not to mention that that it would be logistical and PR nightmare.
Massapequa/Massapequa Pk is not the reason service to points east of Babylon sucks....it's the decades old infrastructure (i.e. track), which is why the third track on the mainline is so important going forward.
Good point.
How much do you want to bet that its more about the PR than the purse?
Again its nice to be subsidized.
We agree on the 3rd track ...but redindant stops arent helping either.
Good point.
How much do you want to bet that its more about the PR than the purse?
Again its nice to be subsidized.
We agree on the 3rd track ...but redindant stops arent helping either.
Crooks
well the PR couldn't get much worse than it is right now. If closing a station was the best way to save money, I think they'd go that route in a heartbeat. After all, it wouldn't take much effort for them to close a station. All you need to do is put up some barricades on the steps and tell the conductor to not touch the brake at that stop. It would be SO easy that the fact they haen't done it tells me that it simply doesn't make any sense on their end.
Fewer stops may get you closer to your vision of express service to brookhaven, but it likely has little or no impact on the MTA's current budget woes.
IF you want to save money on the trains, get rid of the ticket collectors... These people just eat money...You can have one of two systems...
First - You use an honor system. But you randomly have a person check peoples passes... If they do not have a pass, you get a huge fine... Sure some people will get bye, but that should be compensated by the fines...
Second - This is probably the best... This is the system they use in Buenos Aires, Argentina... You buy a pass before boarding, get on the train, when you get off the train you must go through a turnstile at which point you slide your pass through like a metrocard... If you refused to buy a pass you will be stuck on the station platform... This would be very easy to monitor in places like Penn, Flatbush, Jamaica, but would require some renovations at other stations...Their could be one station attendant to make sure people are hoping turnstiles etc... Initial costs would be required to install turnstiles and fix the stations properly... But this would save significant amount of dollars for the MTA... The passes could be one time, weekly 10 trip, monthly, etc..
The other suggestions about closing stations would hardly save any money...
Cutting back the amount of trains would save money but inconvenience a lot of people...
The second solution would be the most practical.
yeah but then they will just have to drive further to the station when they are drunk if they don't live on the mainline. It's much safer for everyone if trains run on all lines from 1-4 as they are now. Safer b/c people aren't wandering around Penn Station for hours, and safer b/c they are on a train drunk and maybe getting in a cab home from the station to their homes rather than driving to further away stations (as cabs could get expensive having to do this).
well the PR couldn't get much worse than it is right now. If closing a station was the best way to save money, I think they'd go that route in a heartbeat. After all, it wouldn't take much effort for them to close a station. All you need to do is put up some barricades on the steps and tell the conductor to not touch the brake at that stop. It would be SO easy that the fact they haen't done it tells me that it simply doesn't make any sense on their end.
Fewer stops may get you closer to your vision of express service to brookhaven, but it likely has little or no impact on the MTA's current budget woes.
I sense your frustration and I can appreciate that.Fewer stops and lower overhead would indeed save money but I understand your concerns for real estate values in Nassau.Really what would Nassau be without its rail? I imagine the notion of fewer stops is very scary for some, but the net net is that the LIRR is failing to serve its populace and its bottom line.
Perhaps we have too much confidence it the machine?
Its ultimately here to feed itself, not serve us...we know that.
We should not underestimate the power of stupid in terms of the LIRR.
As for Brookhaven/Riverhead, the Third track is the only thing that confronts it at this time.It will happen because it will have to, not because anybody wants it or not. In fact the more I see whats happening near most stations the less I'd want one here. I dont know what the answer is but I can tell you what were doing is not working because driving is still more attractive for most.
I was driving home tonight and heard Bloomberg on the radio once again suggesting "congestion pricing" on toll bridges to keep NYC schoolkids riding the subways for free ... Over 400,000 receive free metrocards, another 167,000 get half fares. Read link below:
MTA Approves Doomsday Cuts (http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/local_news/nyc/091216-mta-cuts - broken link)
Oddly enough my new tax bill came today .. school tax went from $6100 to $6600 which of course includes school transportation for our district. Where is the subsidy for that, Mr. Bloomberg ?
Translation: NYC suburbs support NYC . Period.
Thirty years ago the Washington DC area metro instituted a graduated system where one pays more for longer subway trips .. what an innovative idea !!!
Something like this .. You go two subway stops, pay 75 cents ! Ride from Jamaica to the Bronx - five bucks ! What is keeping the city from transitioning to a system like that ???
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