Rider Safety Suffers
'Transit' Railroaded By MTA's Funding

By GINGER ADAMS OTIS

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority's reluctance to invest in critical upgrades to the city's public transportation infrastructure has created conditions that jeopardize rider and worker safety, according to a report released Feb. 1 by City Comptroller William C. Thompson.

WILLIAM C. THOMPSON: Buses, subways neglected.

He urged the agency to budget an additional $673 million to New York City Transit for repair and upgrade work.

'Being Shortchanged'

City subways and buses account for 94 percent of MTA riders but get only 75.5 percent of the agency's $15-billion five-year capital budget, the report said.

"New Yorkers are being shortchanged," Mr. Thompson charged. "The MTA's efforts to bring the bus and subway system to a 'state of good repair' have progressed slowly, raising concerns about rider safety and security. Service still has not reached the levels of reliability, safety and comfort New Yorkers require and deserve."

The MTA issued a statement shortly after the report was released, saying it had just "learned of the existence of the Comptroller's report. We will certainly take a look at it."

The Comptroller made his recommendation after discovering that since 1982, the year the first MTA five-year Capital Plan was issued, large disparities have emerged between commuter railroads and NYC Transit when it comes to achieving and maintaining a "state of good repair."

Among the problems the Comptroller's Office noted were outmoded electrical equipment, faulty emergency signals, and dilapidated stations. The report was sent to Governor Spitzer and MTA Chairman Elliot Sander.

Historically Underfinanced

Mr. Thompson said he was "optimistic" the two leaders would address the inequities his investigation revealed.

He added that while the MTA claims to have substantial fiscal challenges looming in the near future, "it must recognize that NYC Transit has been historically underfinanced."

The Comptroller also emphasized in his report, as he has for the past five years, the need for greater financial transparency from the MTA and NYC Transit.

He discovered during his investigation that major NYC Transit physical assets, including bus depots, subway maintenance shops and signals that in 1992 were projected to reach a state of good repair by 2000, 2005 and 2012 will not achieve that status until 2010, 2019 and 2027, respectively.

Tunnel Fans Decaying

Essential passenger safety equipment, such as fan plants, which remove smoke from tunnels in the event of fire and other emergencies, will not be in a state of good repair until 2028, 21 years later than projected in 1992.

More than 40 percent of the B Division (lettered train routes) continues to operate with mostly original, 70-year-old signal system equipment and mid-20th century antiquated track switches, and older emergency fans do not meet current safety standards.

As of 2006, only 55 percent of tunnel lighting - another critical safety item - had achieved a state of good repair, and full compliance will not be reached until 2022. In many locations, there still is inefficient, 1930s-era incandescent tunnel lighting original to the system. Additionally, service reliability has been reduced by outmoded signal systems and track switches.

Chipping Away

The MTA reduced NYC Transit's share of the MTA Core Capital Program, which includes spending for state of good repair, normal replacement, and system improvement projects, from 77.5 percent in the 1992-1996 MTA Capital Plan to 75.5 percent in the 2000-2004 and 2005-2009 MTA Capital Plans. That reduction is worth $600 million over 10 years, Comptroller Thompson said.

In nearly every investment category, from rolling stock to track and structures, projected dates in the 1992-1996 Capital Plan for achieving state of good repair at the commuter railroads - Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and Metro-North Railroad - were largely met. This is due in part to the commuter railroads receiving a disproportionately large share of MTA Core Capital spending, according to the report.

Mr. Thompson analyzed MTA Capital Plans to determine the pace at which work was addressed and completed in the city versus outside the five boroughs. The report noted that by 1992, a decade after the first MTA Five-Year Capital Program was launched, the LIRR achieved a state of good repair in nearly every category.

Metro-North was not quite as successful as the LIRR, but still achieved that status in a number of investment categories well before NYC Transit. In contrast, by 1992, only three of 12 NYC Transit categories had been brought into a state of good repair.