Revolutionary Subway Signals vs. a 'Lil Snow

Byford: "I'm kind of kicking myself" [View this email in your browser]( The 7 Line Got Some State-of-the-Art Signals. Then a Little Snow Messed Things Up. Plus: Outreach workers speak out against the MTA's plan to have additional cops bother homeless people. There's now an app for dollar vans in Brooklyn and Queens. And there's a trend looming: giant backpacks on the subway. By [James Ramsay](mailto:james@wnyc.org?subject=We%20the%20Commuters) Brian/Flickr Communications-based train control, or CBTC, is supposed to be the answer to all our problems. This modern signaling system, which has long been installed on the L train, is largely why the L train is so fast, and operates with a mid-90-percent on-time rate. If we want meaningful service improvements, it's widely understood that our pre-World War II "steampunk" signals all need to be replaced with something like CBTC. And after an eight-year installation process, the 7 line finally got it [last fall](. The way this works: transponders installed between the tracks communicate with a receiver on the trains, which allows the mothership computer to know exactly where trains are, and thus move more trains along a given line, faster. Sounds fancy. But this is what it looks like: MTA On the left is a transponder. On the right is a transponder with a little plastic cover. And as we've seen recently, a transponder without a plastic cover can get all jammed up if snow or slush — two iconic features of New York City weather — land on them. Twice this month, this has happened on the 7 line, forcing trains to slow down to 25 mph from 45 mph because the computer could no longer see where exactly the trains were located. "I was extremely unhappy about that," New York City Transit President Andy Byford said yesterday. "This is a known phenomenon that they have known about and have been working on since March 2019. I’m kind of kicking myself that I wasn’t as much on top of Thales to check in where we were," he said, referring to the company that installed these signals. Byford also called the New York director of Thales yesterday for what he called a "dressing down." "They know that I’m on the warpath about this, they know that I'm furious about this," he said. Though the L train has CBTC signals on outdoor tracks, this issue hasn't occurred for its trains because the company that installed them — Siemens — placed them slightly higher off the ground, so they don't get covered in slush. The 7 line has 498 transponders, 110 of which are potentially at risk for snow/slush issues. Thales covered 30 of them in March, and the MTA said the other 80 would get covered in the next week and a half. This comes as the MTA prepares to spend $7 billion to install CBTC across the entire subway system. Byford has warned Thales that it may be ineligible to apply for contracts going forward. "They’re putting in jeopardy their prospects of future work at New York City Transit because I’m not going to go and buy a system if its prone to bad weather," he said. — [Reporting by Stephen Nessen]( An Update on Our Accessibility Series: Please Send Us Photos Your responses to our accessibility survey gave us an idea: We should make a visual checklist for the MTA. But, we need your help! Share a photo of something that makes your commute less than fully accessible by using #WeTheCommuters, or email it to wethecommuters@wnyc.org. Thank you! This Week's News From Gothamist and WNYC Scott Heins/Gothamist Current and former homeless outreach workers say the MTA is woefully misguided in having cops address homelessness when there's no permanent housing for the people sleeping on the trains. In [an anonymous op-ed in Gothamist]( several outreach workers say it's a misconception that homeless people on the subways don't know there are shelters. Without adding housing, they say, having cops — or outreach workers — confront homeless people won't solve anything. Though Mayor de Blasio says the 14th Street busway has "surpassed all expectations," he hasn't committed to replicating this elsewhere in the city. Advocates and City Councilmembers who want to decrease car use and improve bus service want similar busways in [corridors like 149th Street in the Bronx and Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn](. But the mayor has said he wants to see how 14th Street's 18-month pilot program affects "traffic flow" in the surrounding neighborhood. The 37,000 Transport Workers Union members that work for subways and buses will receive 2-to-3-percent raises each year through 2023, under the new contract reached with the MTA. While the president of the union called it "a solid contract," a private group of MTA workers have complained that the raises aren't enough to keep up with the cost of living, while independent budget experts are concerned that [the deal won't allow the MTA to save enough money]( in the face of needed service improvements. Now that Amazon, UPS and DHL will be using pedal-assist cargo e-bikes to deliver packages in Manhattan, advocates are calling for Gov. Cuomo to legalize all e-bikes, including the throttle-powered ones preferred by food delivery workers. There's no data suggesting throttle-powered e-bikes are any more dangerous. A spokesperson for Mayor de Blasio, [who has led a crackdown]( on these delivery workers, said he's now [urging the governor to legalize all e-bikes]( so the city can create its own rules "to ensure safe streets." A two-year-old boy was fatally struck by a 2 train at the Fulton Street station during the evening rush hour on Wednesday. A police source told the Daily News that "it appears the little boy’s foot slid off the platform and that he was pulled between it and a moving train." First responders with the FDNY [found the boy under the train]( and rushed him to a nearby hospital, where he later died. A three-year-old boy was killed by a driver while crossing the street with his mom on Monday. A 59-year-old in a blue Ford F-250 was traveling eastbound on East 116th Street when he made a left turn and struck the stroller and child. The driver, who remained at the scene, [has been charged]( with aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, failure to yield to a pedestrian, and failure to exercise due care. If you're trying to get around Midtown, Murray Hill, Kips Bay, Flatiron, Gramercy Park, and/or the East Village on Saturday and want to avoid SantaCon...good luck. After a Fireball Whisky-sponsored SantaCon yacht party was cancelled, thousands more people are likely to be partying on land. If you're curious, [we have a map of participating bars and venues](. What Else We're Reading The MTA is set to get 18 free subway cars from Canadian manufacturer Bombardier...because a 300-car order was late to arrive. Some of these new cars, which are going on the A/C and J/Z lines, have had faulty doors and broken heating systems, while other cars have yet to arrive at all. City Comptroller Scott Stringer said that because of these issues, the MTA has had to spend $35 million on keeping old cars in service. ([The Wall Street Journal]( There's now an app for so-called dollar vans. While many of these vans operate illegally in parts of Brooklyn and Queens where access to public transit is scant and/or unreliable, van drivers who are properly registered to shuttle passengers can now find riders — and collect their $2 fares — via an app called Dollaride. ([The New York Times]( Select Bus Service has slowed down slightly compared to last year. Mayor de Blasio vowed to increase bus speeds by 25 percent by the end of 2020, but five key SBS lines (which are different from regular buses) have seen minor drops in overall speeds. Advocates are calling for more on-board enforcement cameras (like the ones used on 14th Street) to automatically ticket drivers blocking bus lanes. ([Streetsblog]( New Jersey buses are also bad, according to those who ride them. The Tri-State Transportation Campaign, an independent advocacy group, surveyed NJ Transit bus riders, 60 percent of whom said their buses run late at least three times a week. NJ Transit’s own recent survey found that bus riders gave the agency a 5.4 out of 10 when it comes to "reliability." ([NJTV News]( One Thing Shumita Noticed on a Recent Trip to Hong Kong During a family trip to Hong Kong, my colleague Shumita Basu (and some other Basus) gave the local public transit system a go. And she showed me this photo of a hallway: Could you imagine if Penn Station's hallways had this kind of layout and signage? You'd be able to walk from one end to the other without anyone bumping into you and spilling your Krispy Kremes everywhere. Inspiring! Wait til People Start Whacking Each Other With These Backpacks on the Subway Kristen V. Bateman/[Instagram]( Remember when Oscar de la Renta made one cerulean gown, and then, before you knew it, everyone was wearing [lumpy cerulean sweaters]( The same thing is going to happen with this big backpack, which [debuted at a Moschino fashion show]( at the Transit Museum on Monday night. By the laws of fashion, it's only a matter of time before we all have one. Weekend Service Changes: Night of December 13th – Early Morning on December 16th This is a partial list of major service disruptions scheduled for the weekend. For a complete list of the MTA's Weekender updates, [check here](. Through Sunday morning, train service between 96 St and 148 St in Manhattan will replaced by trains and free shuttle buses. train service between Jay St-MetroTech and Utica Av in Brooklyn will be replaced by free shuttle buses. train service between Canal St, Manhattan and Euclid Av, Brooklyn will be replaced by the train and free shuttle buses. On Saturday and Sunday, train service between Brighton Beach and Stillwell Av will be replaced by free shuttle buses. Manhattan-bound trains will skip 53 St, 45 St, 25 St, Prospect Av, 4 Av-9 St and Union St in Brooklyn. [Check here]( for complete details about the Long Island Rail Road. For NJ Transit, [check here]( for the latest service advisories. Upcoming Meetings and Events Monday, December 16th Joint Metro-North & LIRR Committee Meeting — 8:30 a.m. NYC Transit / MTA Bus Committee Meeting — 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, December 18th MTA Board Meeting — 10:00 a.m. Registration for two-minute public speaking slots opens 15 minutes before the start time for official MTA committee meetings. To speak before an MTA board meeting, you must register 30 minutes early. All meetings are held in the MTA's Board Room at 2 Broadway, on the 20th Floor. James Ramsay recommends carrying a WNYC tote bag on the subway. It's timeless, and won't hit anyone. (Photo by Amy Pearl) Support WNYC + Gothamist Make a donation to support local, independent journalism. Your contributions are our largest source of funding and pays for essential transportation coverage and more. [Donate]( Copyright © 2019 New York Public Radio, All rights reserved. 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