New York City - Transit News - Page 249

mrnyc · #**4961** Posted **Oct 2, 2025, 5:59 PM**

^ that has been propsed forever. ain't no money for that, nor would anyone out on long island want it.

on a related note i did watch a video just yesterday about a couple crazy guys going from grand central to boston via transit across long island. it can be done, with plenty of difficulty, if you can stay up all night and have almost a whole 24hrs to spare lol. but what really caught my eye was the long island to block island ferry was twice the cost of the block island to point judith ferries. they are just rocking nyc city dwellers $$$ out there.

Busy Bee · #**4962** Posted **Oct 2, 2025, 6:34 PM**

A Sound tunnel crossing, with a 2-track rail element, is infinitely superior to a bridge concept in every conceivable way.

But yes, tens of billions of dollars and years if not decades of obstruction and lawsuits.

I do disagree though that a majority of Long Islanders would enthusiastically be against it though. We should essentially be talking about a passenger car-only "parkway" tunnel with rail though, not an interstate crossing with 300,000 daily vehicles including commercial traffic. This would be a truck-free tunnel, thus no huge increase in noisy truck traffic driving to the eastern end of LI to pay $50 to save maybe 50 minutes. ***

I've thought about this extensively over the years. The Sound tunnel would cross approximately between a point northeast of Port Jefferson and Stratford east of Bridgeport. It would carry with it NEC bypass HSR for NYC-Boston trains. It would be in addition to another dream of mine, a sound tunnel crossing to the west between Glen Cove and Rye forming an MTA Regional Rail arc route from Spring Valley-Nyack's-Tappan Zee Bridge-Tarrytown-White Plains-Port Chester/Rye-Long Island Sound-Glen Cove-Mineola-linked Hempstead's-Valley Stream-Far Rockaway.

***Long Island's freight needs should in theory be provided by as much rail as possible to remove truck traffic traversing NYC, and this will require vision and the Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel and a tunnel under Linden Blvd to a massive intermodal complex around JFK.

Busy Bee · #**4963** Posted **Oct 2, 2025, 7:03 PM**

Big changes coming for bus riders who still use coins
By Ramsey Khalifeh

The MTA doesn’t want your lousy nickels and dimes.

The transit agency plans to stop accepting coins on its buses at some point next year as it retires the MetroCard and moves over to the digital tap-to-pay OMNY system. It marks the end of an era: As long as there have been public buses in New York City, riders could pay to ride them with coins or tokens.

But as the city and the country head toward a cashless society, some of the copper-rich are being left behind.

Riders will be required to pay with their credit cards, smartphones or special OMNY cards that can be loaded with cash at a vending machine in a subway station or at about 2,700 retail stores that partner with the MTA.

But if a bus rider shows up to ride the bus with cold, hard American currency next year, they’ll be told their money is no good.

Rest of story on Gothamist

mrnyc · #**4964** Posted **Oct 2, 2025, 7:40 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

A Sound tunnel crossing, with a 2-track rail element, is infinitely superior to a bridge concept in every conceivable way.

But yes, tens of billions of dollars and years if not decades of obstruction and lawsuits.

I do disagree though that a majority of Long Islanders would enthusiastically be against it though. We should essentially be talking about a passenger car-only "parkway" tunnel with rail though, not an interstate crossing with 300,000 daily vehicles including commercial traffic. This would be a truck-free tunnel, thus no huge increase in noisy truck traffic driving to the eastern end of LI to pay $50 to save maybe 50 minutes. ***

I've thought about this extensively over the years. The Sound tunnel would cross approximately between a point northeast of Port Jefferson and Stratford east of Bridgeport. It would carry with it NEC bypass HSR for NYC-Boston trains. It would be in addition to another dream of mine, a sound tunnel crossing to the west between Glen Cove and Rye forming an MTA Regional Rail arc route from Spring Valley-Nyack's-Tappan Zee Bridge-Tarrytown-White Plains-Port Chester/Rye-Long Island Sound-Glen Cove-Mineola-linked Hempstead's-Valley Stream-Far Rockaway.

***Long Island's freight needs should in theory be provided by as much rail as possible to remove truck traffic traversing NYC, and this will require vision and the Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel and a tunnel under Linden Blvd to a massive intermodal complex around JFK.

well.

a tunnel is not a bridge.

but since you are going large here with cars, freight rail and traffic in your tunnel-saurus, yeah a tunnel probably wouldn't bother anyone out there as long as it went under immediately right at the lie.

one can dream.

Busy Bee · #**4965** Posted **Oct 2, 2025, 7:45 PM**

I have it running straight north from 495 just east of MacArthur Airport along the utility corridor to the tunnel head just west of Port Jeff.

TowerDude · #**4966** Posted **Oct 3, 2025, 9:37 AM**

It should be illegal for any entity to refuse legal tender of any kind. Cash or Coin.

mrnyc · #**4967** Posted **Oct 4, 2025, 5:39 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by TowerDude

It should be illegal for any entity to refuse legal tender of any kind. Cash or Coin.

its supposed to be illegal in nyc (since late 2020), but …

mrnyc · #**4968** Posted **Oct 6, 2025, 12:50 PM**

yep —

‘Retaliation, plain and simple’: Espaillat and Harlem leaders blast Trump’s freeze on Second Avenue Subway funding

By Adam Daly
Posted on October 2, 2025

US Rep. Adriano Espaillat stood with Harlem leaders Thursday to denounce the Trump administration’s decision to withhold nearly $18 billion in federal funding for New York City transit projects, warning the freeze will cost jobs and stall long-promised subway access for East Harlem.

more:
https://www.amny.com/politics/espaillat-harlem-second-avenue-subway-trump/

mrnyc · #**4969** Posted **Oct 8, 2025, 6:22 PM**

some good news —

Park Avenue Viaduct reaches key milestone in reconstruction work for Metro-North

By Barbara Russo-Lennon
Posted on October 6, 2025

The MTA marked a key milestone in its Park Avenue Viaduct repair and replacement project for Metro-North on Monday.

MTA officials announced at an Oct. 6 press conference the last of the project’s Phase 1 bridge installations since the work began in 2023. The $590 million Phase 1, scheduled for completion next year, is the first of two phases to reconstruct or replace portions of the 132-year-old viaduct in East Harlem that carries Metro-North commuter trains.

“For the last 100 years, it’s been falling apart,” MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said. “This is a story about what we’re dealing with in the MTA capital program. In this viaduct, there are structural elements that were put there, maybe by Cornelius Vanderbilt himself, back in the 1890s.”

more:
https://www.amny.com/nyc-transit/park-avenue-viaduct-metro-north-10062025/

On Monday, October 6, 2025, the MTA announced completion of bridge replacement work on Phase 1 of the Park Avenue Viaduct Replacement Project. Through 128 bridge installations, the project replaced 8,240 track feet of the aging 132-year-old structure, without disrupting Metro-North service.
Photo by MTA/Trent Reeves

mrnyc · #**4970** Posted **Oct 9, 2025, 1:02 PM**

yay more dolla vans —
they should paint them up like they do in other countries —

NYC commuter vans, an overlooked transit option, get a boost from stabilization program

By Barbara Russo-Lennon
Posted on October 6, 2025

NYC’s struggling commuter van industry is getting a much-needed financial boost to help offset high insurance costs and invest in safety and technology upgrades.

Empire State Development (ESD), a New York economic development organization, announced on Monday that it provided more than $2 million through its Commuter Van Stabilization Program (CVSP), launched in September 2024, to help drivers in the often-overlooked commuter van industry in NYC.

Commuter vans provide pre-arranged transportation to passengers in the city. Licensed by the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC), they are authorized to operate within specific geographic areas, usually in neighborhoods underserved by public transportation.

more:
https://www.amny.com/nyc-transit/nyc-commuter-vans-an-overlooked-transit-option/

Licensed NYC commuter vans help New Yorkers move around the city, but the industry is experiencing challenges — including a significant decline in available vehicles over the previous decade, NYC Council members said on Monday.
Steve Solomonson/Brooklyn Paper archive

mrnyc · #**4971** Posted **Oct 12, 2025, 11:22 AM**

re the new 34st busway — i was wondering about this —
per amny ask mta —

Q: I’ve seen alerts about major construction for the 34 St busway coming within the next few weeks. Do you know when it will open, and will there be any disruptions to express bus service in the meantime? Minerva E., Midtown South

A: The New York City Department of Transportation is in charge of street management – including busway projects — and they’ve assured us there will be relatively little construction involved, mostly signage changes with some pavement markings. Buses will continue to operate around this work as they always do during other bus lane and bus priority projects. Recent reports say the 34 St busway will be completed by the end of the year. –Sarah Wyss, Acting Chief of Operations Planning, New York City Transit

more info —

BUSWAYS

34th St. Busway Will Be Done by End of Year, DOT Says

The DOT says work on the car-limiting busway will begin soon, and will reportedly wrap up by the end of 2025. It will be modeled after the 14th Street busway.

JACK AHERN | 02 OCT 2025

The 34th Street busway will reportedly be coming to Manhattan by the end of the year, DOT officials have told elected officials, transforming the crosstown street into a largely car-free zone.

As first reported by the Daily News, work on the project—which was proposed in May, before being paused and un-paused by the Adams administration over the course of the summer—will reportedly begin by the second week of October. It will be tied to a rezoning package called the Midtown South Mixed-Use Plan, which is oriented around creating 10,000 new homes across 42 Manhattan blocks.

The busway itself will be in effect from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week.

more:
https://www.ourtownny.com/news/34th-st-busway-will-be-done-by-end-of-year-dot-says-CE5143325

mrnyc · #**4972** Posted **Oct 12, 2025, 12:27 PM**

wow indeed —

The times are a-change-ing: Coins will no longer be accepted as fare payment on NYC buses

By Barbara Russo-Lennon
Posted on October 6, 2025

First, the token, then the MetroCard, and now loose change. It is the end of another era for NYC buses.

NYC Transit will bid farewell to another form of fare collection as the MTA announced the discontinuation of coin payments on city buses in 2026. The move marks another significant shift in fare collection for the agency, which continues its push for a streamlined and modern system.

MTA officials announced on Sept. 30 that in 2026, coins, including nickels, dimes and quarters, will no longer be accepted on NYC buses. The agency has not yet announced a date for this to take effect. However, the MTA will continue to accept coins at card vending machines in subway stations and the 2,700 local businesses that sell OMNY cards.

more:
https://www.amny.com/nyc-transit/coins-ban-fare-payment-nyc-buses/

mrnyc · #**4973** Posted **Oct 13, 2025, 11:15 AM**

ibx stop by stop articles —

IBX Stop by Stop: East New York could be in for real estate boom when light rail line arrives at Atlantic Avenue

https://www.amny.com/nyc-transit/ibx-stop-by-stop-east-new-york/

^ Previous IBX Stop by Stop stories links are included:

Exploring the future light rail line’s northern hub of Jackson Heights, a melting pot of flavors and traditions

Maspeth has small-town charm in America’s most crowded city

The proposed light rail rolls through Middle Village near a ‘crown jewel’ of Queens parks

NYC’s proposed light rail to roll under hallowed ground in Middle Village

Light rail would bring New Yorkers into trendy Glendale and Ridgewood

A ride through Bushwick, an oasis of art, quirky bars, community spaces and a hipster vibe

mrnyc · #**4974** Posted **Oct 16, 2025, 9:25 AM**

what … da … looneytunes … hell?

Trump Says $16 Billion Hudson River Tunnel Project Is ‘Terminated’

It was not immediately clear what the president meant and whether the project, known as Gateway, had already been stripped of federal funding.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/nyreg...aiIKCZ_CEE31jhokINQbVtyU6bxsRAuJIg%3D%3D

Busy Bee · #**4975** Posted **Oct 16, 2025, 11:27 AM**

Mad man

chris08876 · #**4976** Posted **Oct 16, 2025, 4:35 PM**

President Trump says $16B Gateway Rail Tunnel Project 'terminated'

• Video Link

38 Geary · #**4977** Posted **Oct 16, 2025, 4:41 PM**

Sheesh if a little tunnel across the Hudson costs $16 billion I don't even wanna know how much a second Transbay Tube would cost under the San Francisco Bay.

Crawford · #**4978** Posted **Oct 16, 2025, 4:44 PM**

He has zero legal standing to "terminate" already allocated Congressional funding (that was fully funded and disbursed before he was even in office), so more dumb bloviating. Maybe he can terminate WW2 funding next?

Even the MTA isn't reacting to his verbal diarrhea. Just embarrassing. Make it stop.

Busy Bee · #**4979** Posted **Oct 16, 2025, 5:16 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by homebucket

Sheesh if a little tunnel across the Hudson costs $16 billion I don't even wanna know how much a second Transbay Tube would cost under the San Francisco Bay.

Just to clarify, the $16b Gateway Program entails the new Portal Bridge(s), a shit ton of NJ row improvents including rebuilt flyovers, new tracks, power systems and more in addition to the tunnel, which also includes approach structures on the Manhattan side and rehabilition of the original North River tubes once the whole thing is finished - though obviously the new tunnel does represent to most expensive element of the project.

Busy Bee · #**4980** Posted **Oct 16, 2025, 5:18 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crawford

He has zero legal standing to "terminate" already allocated Congressional funding (that was fully funded and disbursed before he was even in office), so more dumb bloviating. Maybe he can terminate WW2 funding next?

Even the MTA isn't reacting to his verbal diarrhea. Just embarrassing. Make it stop.

This godawful regime are the disturbers of our harmony. And it's all self-inflicted. Thanks America, in all your infinite wisdom.