New York Subway Service Lags as Ridership Grows

Increasing ridership, coupled with decreasing service, means a very crowded subway system in New York City.

1 minute read

March 29, 2016, 7:00 AM PDT

"The Metropolitan Transportation Authority hasn’t been able to run enough trains to keep up with a growing number of riders," according to an article by Andrew Tangel.

The subway carried 1.76 billion riders last year, a 12% increase since 2009, when the last recession ended, according to the MTA. At the same time, Federal Transit Administration data show subway trains ran 345.4 million miles in passenger service last year, down 2% from 2009.

Tangel quotes Peter Cafiero, chief of operations planning for the MTA’s New York City Transit division, for the story, to describe a subway system that is completely constrained by technology and infrastructure limitations. Tangel notes that switching to an advanced signal system (i.e., communications-based train control) "will likely take decades and cost billions of dollars," though it would also "allow the MTA to safely run more trains an hour."

FULL STORY: New York’s Subway System Can’t Keep Pace With Growing Number of Riders

Monday, March 28, 2016 in The Wall Street Journal

Infrastructure Technology Transportation New York New York City New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority MTA Communications-Based Train Control Transit Service Transit Ridership View More

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