Following a major New York Times investigation that outlined how, exactly, New York's subway system got so bad, Joe Lhota, the chairman of the MTA, has begun to emphasize how the city's public transit is tied to its financial future and the well-being of the entire surrounding region.
Lhota told the Times, post investigation, that “his challenge was not only to tackle the long list of problems, but to instill wholesale change in how the agency manages the subway.” He said his goal was to serve as “an advocate,” particularly in pressuring public officials to provide resources for short- and long-term investments.
But it's clearly an uphill battle. The Times outlined how the current state of the subway is the result of decades of bad decisions by both Republican and Democratic politicians, including Governors George Pataki and Andrew Cuomo and mayors from Giuliani to De Blasio.
It also broke down how the system has been steadily starved of money, despite the city's financial growth. The result? Floundering maintenance, from track work to signal repairs, and the worst on-time performance of any major rapid transit system in the world.
It seems as if the Times' deep-dive investigation was a revelation to even Lhota. In an interview with the paper of record yesterday, he acknowledged how bad things have gotten, tying the health of the subway system to the region as a whole.
At the same time, riders are being encouraged to advocate for better service. This Monday, transit advocates Riders Alliance handed out postcards to commuters that encourage riders to send their thoughts to the governor via social media.
The investigation placed a lot of blame on Governor Cuomo, which the governor's office has pushed back against. A spokeswoman for the governor told the Times that "we fully recognize that the subway system is in unacceptable disrepair and is functioning with flawed performance." She pointed to the state's investment of $8.4 billion in capital money alongside declaring a state of emergency.
At least one person is confident that the MTA can actually turn things around. "Unlike the naysayers, I believe the subway system can be fixed and put back on track," Lhota told the Times. "Our survival as a city depends on a reliable mass transit system. We know what has caused the problems. Now let’s fix it."
Loading comments...