On her way to attend a congestion-pricing rally at West 14th Street and Ninth Avenue, Gov. Kathy Hochul rode the M14D bus with regular passengers and media representatives. ( Photo: Ralph Spielman) Trump’s DOT Head Rips Hochul Handling of Subways, Calls System a ‘Shithole’ A day after Gov. Kathy Hochul said she didn’t have to go to war with the federal government over the congestion-pricing question,... News 24 Mar 2025 | 01:20
The MetroCard killer is this latest OMNY Card machine. It works with all different OMNY cards, including Senior and Student cards, similar to a bank ATM, and is faster than the soon-to-be-scrapped MetroCard machines. Alternatively, riders can “tap” with their own credit cards at turnstiles. ( Photo: Ralph Spielman) Bye-Bye to Metrocards The blue-and-yellow MetroCard, which has reigned supreme for bus and subway fares for over three decades, will be gone by... News 22 Mar 2025 | 01:16
NYC Transit president Demetrius Crichlow, donning an orange safety vest at the Mother Hale Bus Depot, helped out on National Transit Employee Appreciation Day March 18, by changing a bus’s broken mirror, under the guidance of a Hale Bus Depot mechanic. ( Photo: Ralph Spielman) Wild Week for Mass Transit It was a whip saw week for NYC Transit, rosy optimism at mid-week and gathering storm clouds–all within one 24-hour period.... News 20 Mar 2025 | 12:01
Across Twelfth Avenue from the Intrepid Museum, a parking lot for museum employees and buses will be transformed into a mixed-use commercial/residential tower that will include affordable housing. ( Photo: Ralph Spielman) From Gas Tanks to Tower: Hochul Plans Housing, Intrepid Parking for 12th Avenue Parcel One of the largest undeveloped parcels of vacant land on the far West Side of Midtown Manhattan, at 621 W. 45th St., is being... News 08 Mar 2025 | 09:58
Gov. Kathy Hochul and MTA Chair Janno Lieber, point to long-term benefits of congestion pricing at the MTA board meeting. Hochul said she would fight President Trump’s efforts to end the controversial toll. ( Photo: Marc A. Hermann / MTA) Congestion Pricing Still on Track–But Who Knows for How Long? Despite an order from the Trump administration to turn off the congestion-pricing tolls on March 21, Gov. Kathy Hochul told... News 28 Feb 2025 | 04:50
A visibly angered Gov. Kathy Hochul addresses the demand by the Trump Administration to cease the New York Congestion Pricing program. ( Photo: Office of NYS Governor) Hochul Fires Back after “King” Trump Pushes to End Congestion Pricing It is all out war over congestion pricing after President Donald Trump’s Department of Transportation issued an edict to... News 23 Feb 2025 | 06:56
Congestion pricing tolls after one month showed commute times way down, but traffic in-zone not moving much faster than it was a year earlier. ( Photo: Ralph Spielman) Congestion Pricing at 1 Month: Faster Commutes but Slower Ambulance Response Times The controversial congestion pricing toll after its first four weeks has succeeded in reducing commute times into the city... News 13 Feb 2025 | 06:16
Riders on a recent SBS M60 bus in Manhattan have the option of getting a ride ticket at stops or using their OMNY cards or phones to pay. The MTA estimates that 40 percent of bus riders don’t pay. ( Photo: Ralph Spielman) MTA Fare Evasion Down Thanks to Crackdown but Losses Still Staggering While the numbers for bus and subway fare-beating are down somewhat, one out of 10 subway riders is not paying their legal... News 03 Feb 2025 | 02:37
Owner Bruce Caulfield stands at the front of his brand new Penn Cellars wine and spirits store in Penn Station Long Island Rail Road Concourse which opened on December 23, 2024. ( Photo: Ralph Spielman) Restaurant Delayed at GCM, but Beer/Wine Will Soon Flow at Mini Tracks; Wine Cellar Opens in Penn As the Grand Central Madison terminal and concourse observes its second anniversary of opening on January 25, its retail... News 13 Jan 2025 | 04:15
The MTA wants to buy 435 more of the subway cars known as the R211s. Pictured here is the inaugural ride of the first R211A subway to enter customer service, from 207 St on the A line on Friday, Mar 10, 2023, taken at 145th Street in Manhattan. As of 2027, there were be 1610 Kawasaki-built R211s, including the open-gangway cars, the single unit R211A as pictured here. ( Photo: Marc A. Hermann / MTA) Cameras Will be in 435 New Subway Cars that MTA Wants to Buy for $1.27B–But Only If New Budget Gets OK The good news: at its last board meeting of 2024, the MTA tentatively approved a $1.27 billion contract to purchase 435 new... News 03 Jan 2025 | 01:35
MTA Chair & CEO Janno Lieber (right) and MTA Construction & Development President Jamie Torres-Springer (at podium) are jointed by NYCT President Demetrius Crichlow, and MTA Chief Accessibility Officer Quemuel Arroyo to announce that the 14 St Station on the F/L/M/1/2/3 lines is fully ADA accessible on Thursday, Dec 19, 2024. ( Photo: Marc A. Hermann/MTA) MTA Holiday Presents: Completes Nearly $500M in Renovations at E. 68th St. and W. 14th St. Subway Stations While Subway riding Holiday shoppers, visitors and other travelers were riding through Manhattan in recent days, the Metropolitan... News 26 Dec 2024 | 06:51
Vintage ads, such as the Coca Cola ad to the rear of the car, adorn the 1930s era subway cars which are providing today’s passengers a chance to travel back in time. The vintage cars run on Sundays only. ( Photo: Ralph Spielman) Time Travel Treat for DT and UES Sunday Subway Riders; Metro North Gets into Spirit too Nostalgia trains are riding again, every Sunday on the New York City subway lines and now Metro North is getting into the... News 04 Dec 2024 | 05:37
John Tauranac has spent a long academic and literary career in Manhattan; known for his chairmanship of an MTA Map Committee that produced the subway map in current use, he has created a 2024 enhanced poster size version, easier to read and filled with more detail than currently available. ( Photo: Ralph Spielman) Man who Oversaw Subway Map Redesign 50 Years Ago is Pushing a New Version The subway map that John Tuaranac oversaw more than 50 years ago and which is still in use today is referred to as the Tuaranac... News 01 Nov 2024 | 02:42
MTA Chair & CEO Janno Lieber, Chief Customer Officer Shanifah Rieara, Metro-North President Catherine Rinaldi, and NYCT President Demetrius Crichlow host a local media roundtable for Manhattan, Bronx, and Hudson Valley outlets at the West Farms Depot on Friday, Oct 25, 2024. ( Marc A. Hermann / Metropolitan Transportation Auth) Transit Bigwigs Address State of the Train & Bus Systems On Friday October 25, the poobahs of New York City and state public transportation held a 90-minute a roundtable event with... News 28 Oct 2024 | 05:01
The Nostalgia Train looped around the Old City Hall Station, much as the inaugural subway did in its first run on October 27 1904. The station is no longer used by regular passenger-carrying subway trains, one of many “ghost stations” that the four-train nostaglia train visited last weekend. ( Photo: Ralph Spielman) “Ghost Stations” on Itinerary As Nostalgia Train Hauls Subway Passengers Back in Time Five hundred lucky New Yorkers took a trip back in time last weekend on a special four-train nostalgia ride that included... News 28 Oct 2024 | 12:46
Karen’s Quirky Style Honors Photographer Helen Levitt