[ad_1]
The New York City metro has recently posted its best monthly performance in years, public transit officials said Monday.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority Metro Chief Andy Byford said he was not declaring victory, as officials presented September data showing thousands of fewer trains than usual. "The work is not over," Byford told MTA board members at a meeting at the agency's headquarters in Lower Manhattan.
That same morning, tens of thousands of subway commuters were delayed by a series of problems, ranging from mechanical problems and signaling to sick passengers, to a person on the tracks, to a computerized train tracking system problem. .
Many delayed users said on Monday that they had not seen any improvement in metro service. "I really do not think there will ever be any," said Curtis Zurian, who travels by train B to Manhattan from Coney Island to Brooklyn. Paulette Henry, who takes the No. 2 train to Manhattan from the Bronx, said she left more than two hours to get to work "just to be at the hour and every day it's always a problem."
Others, like Sarah McCabe, who commutes between Philadelphia and the Midtown Manhattan metro, said they have noticed an improvement. "It has improved, it is certain," she said.
Byford, who arrived at the MTA in January, recently announced plans to reduce the number of late trains by 10,000 by the end of this year.
The transit company based its target on the average number of trains running late in the first six months of this year. It achieved this goal in September, with an average of less than 2,570 trains a day and less than 1,700 trains a day late.
In September, the number of major incidents affecting 50 or more trains was the lowest since the MTA began tracking this measure last year. In September, there were 45 such incidents, compared to an average of 70 over 12 months.
Byford warned that subway performance could fluctuate over the next few months. The important factor is that the trend is for continuous improvement, he said.
He attributed the subway's performance improvement to a $ 800 million subway stabilization plan, launched last year, as well as a recently launched effort to tighten operations.
This newer campaign is based on the idea that reducing the time needed for each leg of a train's journey improves punctuality. This involves ensuring that trains leave the terminals at the time and trying to reduce the time that passengers get out and board trains.
Sally Librera, who runs the New York City Transit metro service, said changes to train schedules have also helped the agency improve punctuality. She said improved performance indicators could be observed at the system level, with users spending less time waiting on platforms and on trains. "Together, these statistics collectively reinforce the progress made on the reliability of the system," she said.
Carl Weisbrod, MTA Board member, appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio, congratulated the staff. "These improvements are not marginal, but significant," he said.
Another board member, Charles Moerdler, appointed by the governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, pointed out that despite the improvements, the performances on time remain mediocre. In the last 12 months of September, only 65% of weekday trains reached their destinations on time, up 1.4% from the same period last year. "The city can not afford to continue this way," said Moerdler.
– Kiana Cornish contributed to this article.
Write to Paul Berger at [email protected]
Source link
