http://web.mta.info/mta/news/hearings/2014FareTolls/notice_eng.html
I think the base fare should be raised to $2.75, but they should leave the pass at $112.00 since it's mainly New Yorkers that use the passes. As far as the suburban commuters fair, they will see increases on their passes regardless of what happens to the base, which I think is ridiculous.
As the season for cold and snowy weather approaches, MTA New York City Transit and MTA Bus Company are ready for winter operations. NYCT is leaning on lessons from the 2013-2014 winter that brought 14 significant storms and more than 50 inches of snow.
This year’s weather plan has been updated to include new snow-fighting equipment for the Department of Buses; new improved cold-weather and communications equipment; increased planning and collaboration with the Department of Sanitation; and more alerts and checks on service for quicker and more proactive operations planning.
“We never know what each winter will bring, so New York City Transit has to be prepared for anything,” said NYCT President Carmen Bianco. “This year we have invested in more equipment such as new all-season tires to make our bus fleet more safe and better prepared to handle snow and icy roads, and improved technology that tracks our buses and lets us tailor service route by route rather than make blanket service changes.”
Snow and ice-busting equipment is ready to keep hundreds of miles of outdoor subway track and third rail clear of snow and ice. The Department of Buses, meanwhile, is testing the effectiveness of all-season tires on the bus fleet.
“We have expanded the testing and evaluation of all-season tires on our buses,” said Darryl Irick, Senior Vice President of Buses for New York City Transit and President of the MTA Bus Company. “We are looking for the ability to maintain traction in slick and snowy conditions without installing and removing chains, which took a lot of time with the huge number of significant storms last season. We also closely monitor our bus service and adjust it according to the conditions around the city. Our goal is to keep our services running as long as it is safe for our customers and employees.”
The Department of Buses also is working closely with the Department of Sanitation on the maintenance and operation of snow removal equipment. Predetermined routes have been mapped for 28 pieces of snow-fighting equipment to quickly reach highly trafficked locations for buses such as terminals, lay-over spots and facilities.
Bus managers now have new technology that tracks service when it falls below minimum expected levels on any route, allowing them to make decisions more quickly. Department of Buses also prepares special “winter weather schedules” that can substitute for service curtailments on a route-by-route basis.
Winter preparation for NYCT subways has been influenced in the aftermath of a Christmas 2010 blizzard, which stranded trains on outdoor trains. It prompted the agency to rethink its approach to operating service during crippling storms and resulted in a shift away from the philosophy that NYCT would deliver service until it is no longer possible.
NYCT has nearly 220 miles of outdoor track that are vulnerable to snowy and icy conditions, such as snow drifts that can cause stalling when they reach certain heights. Routes at ground level and in open cuts are particularly vulnerable to heavy drifting snow and freezing wet weather that can leave a coating of ice on the third rail.
“There is a point beyond which it is no longer prudent to send trains onto the outdoor sections of the lines,” explained Joe Leader, Senior Vice President, Department of Subways. “During a storm of rapid snow and ice accumulations, we cannot ensure that we can clear the right-of-way quickly enough to prevent stalled trains and trapped customers. But by modifying our operations we can clear the roadbed effectively, allowing us to restore service much more quickly.”
In addition to deploying thousands of workers across the system when a major storm is forecast, Subways uses specialized equipment to move snowfall – some of it developed in-house – and technology such as snowplows, jet-powered snow blowers to clear the yards, snow throwers on mainline tracks, and modified deicers, which are retired subway cars that spray de-icing fluid on the third rail.
Forecasts of accumulating snow or sub-freezing temperatures require NYCT to store subway trains indoors. Idle trains that are stored in yards or along unused outdoor tracks are instead stored along underground express tracks. Use of these tracks for storage purposes requires early suspension of express service in some locations.
“New York’s mass transit system is vital to keeping the city going – and we’re doing everything necessary to make sure that the system runs as smoothly as possible through the cold winter months,” Governor Cuomo said. “By activating this winter operation plan, the MTA is doubling down on its preparations for inclement weather and taking important steps to help buses and trains avoid delays and keep commuters safe.”
During any types of emergency, including weather, the MTA posts information on service disruptions or changes and urges customers to monitor mta.info.
Notrains between Kings Highway and Brighton Beach
trains provide alternate service
Weekdays, Mon to Fri, Nov 24 - 28 (except Nov 27)*
Service operates between Bedford Pk Blvd/145 St and Kings Hwy.
• Transfer betweenand
trains at Kings Hwy.
Note: Noservice between Brighton Beach and Stillwell Av during this time.
*Holiday Schedule Reminder: Noservice on Thanksgiving Day.
Notrains between Avenue X and Stillwell Av
Free shuttle buses provide alternate service
All times, beginning 11 PM Fri, Nov 21 until 5 AM Mon, Dec 1
service operates between 179 St, Queens and Avenue X, Brooklyn.
Free shuttle buses run between Avenue X and Stillwell Av, stopping at Neptune Av and West 8 St.
• Transfer between buses and trains at Avenue X or Stillwell Av.
For direct service between Stillwell Av and Manhattan/Downtown Brooklyn, take theor
trains instead.
Station ...... Shuttle Bus Stop
Avenue X ...... Shell Rd at Avenue X
Neptune Av ...... Shell Rd at W 6 St (toward Stillwell Av) and W 6 St at Station Entrance (toward Avenue X)
West 8 St ...... Surf Av at W 8 St
Stillwell Av ...... Surf Av at Stillwell Av
Note: Noservice between Brighton Beach and Stillwell Av during this time.
Notrains between Brighton Beach and Stillwell Av
Free shuttle buses provide alternate service
All times, beginning 11 PM Fri, Nov 21 until 5 AM Mon, Dec 1
service operates between 57 St-7 Av/Ditmars Blvd and Brighton Beach.
Free shuttle buses run between Brighton Beach and Stillwell Av, stopping at Ocean Pkwy and West 8 St.
• Transfer between buses and trains at Brighton Beach or Stillwell Av.
For direct service between Stillwell Av and Manhattan/Downtown Brooklyn, take theor
trains instead.
Station ...... Shuttle Bus Stop
Brighton Beach ...... Brighton Beach Av at Coney Island Av
Ocean Pkwy ...... W Brighton Av at Ocean Pkwy
West 8 St ...... Surf Av at W 8 St
Stillwell Av ...... Surf Av at Stillwell Av
Note: Noservice between Avenue X and Stillwell Av during this time.
Must be a major track replacement and switch work on both levels?
I've been noticing that on quite a few routes that are usually 100% artic, I've been seeing quite a few 40 footers. M79 is one of them that really needs artics all of the time. Last night while I was on the BxM4 up and down the Concourse I saw 40 footers, which is not the first time I've seen this either, but it seems to be becoming more common. I thought the 
bought more artics, so what's the story? Is maintenance becoming worse or what?
Directly from Winston Mitchell in an e-mail to me earlier today:
"Hi To All:
This is Winston Mitchell, News Director of Transit Transit News Magazine. I am so thankful to have worked with so many great volunteers and college interns over the years. They are the ones who made the award winning show and never asked for anything in return.
The show is not ending because of funding or low viewership, I really don’t know what is behind it. But that matters in the end is all the lives we have touched and careers I have started. Over 100 students now work in the broadcasting and media business because they got their start with us.
The show has over 50 national and international awards ranging from Emmys to 11 Telly’s, reached some 22 million homes in the NY tri-state area and cost zero dollars to air.
Again thank you all for watching the program and I wish you all well. You can post your thoughts at: transittransitnews@nyct.com."
For those of you who are not familiar with this TV show, check out http://web.mta.info/nyct/trantran/. For those who want to see previous episodes, just go to Youtube.com and type in the search box "Transit Transit News Magazine." I would personally recommend the December 2012 episode, where the TV show took viewers behind-the-scenes as a result of the damage from Hurricane Sandy.
Two women and a child were taken to the hospital after being struck by a NICE bus while attempting to cross a street Wednesday morning in Great Neck, Nassau County police said.
One of the women, identified only as a 64-year-old, suffered minor injuries, police said.
The other woman, 34, and the child, a 2-year-old boy, had no apparent injuries but also were taken to a local hospital.
For more info: http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/three-taken-to-hospital-after-hit-by-nice-bus-in-great-neck-cops-say-1.9634108
MTA's R-251 vacuum train order goes to NEU International Railways of France
Starting next spring, the Cranberry Street Tunnel, which is used by A and C trains between Brooklyn and Manhattan, will be closed for 40 non-consecutive weekends. This subway system is going to be so awesome once it's finished.
In Bushwick, Brooklyn taken on November 17
Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman and CEO Thomas F. Prendergast, New York City Transit officials, union representatives, and community and elected officials celebrated the re-opening of the Mother Clara Hale Bus Depot with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Harlem on Thursday, November 20. The depot opens for limited service on Sunday, November 23.
The new depot will house 120 buses serving the M1, M7, M35, and SBS M15 routes when the facility fully opens on January 4, 2015. It consists of three floors, a mezzanine and has the capacity for 150 buses. That will allow NYC Transit to accommodate any growth in the future. Starting Sunday, three routes will operate out of the depot: M9, SBS M60, and M98, with more joining them in January.
NYC Transit worked with Harlem-based advocacy group WEACT and local officials involve the community in the depot’s design, which emphasized environmental mitigations. The final result includes LEED certification; a green roof that uses plants to cool the facility, absorbs CO2 from the air, and reduces storm-water runoff; thermal insulation to save energy and reduce emissions; a solar wall that serves as a passive heating device; rainwater collection for water treatment to wash buses; cost-effective and energy efficient Heat Recovery Units on the roof for a heat exchanger and; a high efficiency white roof that will prevent heat gain in warmer weather, but will not reflect light onto nearby buildings or cause glare.
“It’s one of the most environmentally friendly facilities we’ve ever built, with state-of-the-art bus maintenance equipment that will go a long way toward enhancing service while minimizing our footprint on the surrounding community,” Chairman Prendergast said.
The Mother Clara Hale Depot was built in 1890 as a trolley barn and was modified in 1939 to become the 146 St Bus Depot. It was rehabilitated in 1990 and renamed to honor Mother Clara McBride Hale in 1993. In January 2009, NYC Transit began demolition to rebuild the depot for modern bus operations. Testing and commissioning activities started in March 2014, with final completion in November 2014 of the $262 million project.
President Carmen Bianco commended the design, saying it “includes enough space onsite for employee parking and has an off-street queuing area for returning buses, which eliminates the need to wait on the street outside the depot. Inside the depot, a system of interior traffic lanes and ramps allows all buses to enter and exit via Lenox Av to improve traffic flow.”
“This is a project several years in the making,” said Darryl Irick, Senior Vice President of Buses for MTA New York City Transit and President of the MTA Bus Company. “And with the community’s involvement and input from the start, we have been able to deliver a modern, sustainable depot that will serve Manhattan residents for years to come.”
NYC Transit made every effort to use Harlem-based firms and local personnel for the new depot. The MTA worked with elected officials, trade unions, and private vendors to model programs that resulted in local training and hiring.
MTA Arts & Design and NYC Transit also incorporated artwork into the depot’s design. The façade is embellished by the first art project coordinated by MTA Arts & Design for a bus depot. “Mother Hale’s Garden,” by artist Shinique Smith, encompasses large-scale mosaic artwork installed on the east facade of the depot facing Lenox Avenue, and laminated glass artwork in windows on the north and south sides of the building. The combined square footage is approximately 6,672 square feet. Smith collected clothing, fabric and other items from the community surrounding The Hale House and the site of the Mother Clara Hale Bus Depot to incorporate in her artwork. Ms. Smith also worked with first-grade students at PS242 to draw flowers and incorporated the children’s drawings into her glass artwork for the north and south windows of the depot.
To see photos of the event, click here.
line between 121 Street and Broadway Junction because that section of the Jamaica Line is being damaged and needs a more modern look.
trains between Kings Highway and Brighton Beach
trains provide alternate service
trains between Avenue X and Stillwell Av
or 
trains instead.
line Cranberry Tunnel for next 40 WEEKENDS in Spring 2015
