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| (Cartoon: Matt Davies/Newsday) |
And while the MTA struggles to communicate amongst its own agencies, coordination with other transit operators and governmental entities in the region has suffered considerably. There is almost no trace of coordination between the LIRR and local buses, which operate as a largely duplicative service, instead of feeding riders to higher-speed, higher-volume rail services, and there is no shortage of the MTA agencies butting heads with local municipalities.
Since "true unification" is not likely to happen in the current climate, it would likely be wise to devolve the MTA and have different entities manage current operations with a greater local focus. While a full merger of the LIRR and Metro-North, for example, might be the most ideal thing to do, I struggle to see how beneficial that would actually be. Coordination between the railroads and the local connecting transportation services is much more important than between each other. Relatively few people travel on both LIRR and Metro-North on any regular basis, and the potential for such trans-CBD commutes is low (and will be even after East Side Access). But there is a much greater potential for the LIRR and NICE Bus/SCT to complement or interchange passengers than between two different railroads.
And that is not to say that breaking up the MTA would mean the entities would become insolubly distinct with absolutely no similarity or coordination between them. Intergovernmental collaboration is at last becoming more common across the region and across the country. Building on the NYS Shared Services Initiative, former MTA siblings could collaborate with each other as well as local governments for the purchase and use of things like equipment or services. For example, LIRR and Metro-North could share specialized track equipment with each other more than they do now, and could share more common pieces of equipment, like dump trucks or other construction equipment with local public works departments. Services could also be shared...instead of the LIRR sending employees to empty trashcans or shovel snow at stations (where they likely waste tons of time driving between stations), for example, municipal sanitation or public works departments could collect the trash or shovel the snow while they are already in the area, cutting down on time wasted in transportation.
The state also offers a number of centralized services that many other agencies (not the MTA) have elected to join. The state runs a unified payroll through the Office of the State Comptroller, the NYS Office of Information Technology and Services offers centralized IT services for many common IT needs, the NYS Office of General Services manages building and office facilities, centralized statewide procurement services, shared administrative services, fleet leasing and management, and more.
Joint, inter-agency procurement of things like rail equipment have been common in the rail industry, especially for locomotives and passenger cars. The current Siemens Charger locomotive procurement, for example, is a joint effort between ten different entities (ACE, COASTER, MARC, IDOT, Caltrans, MDOT, MoDOT, WsDOT, Brightline/Virgin Trains, and Amtrak) at various levels of government. Through a history of joint fleet procurements, NJTransit's fleet has more in common with Exo rail in Montreal than the LIRR and Metro-North do with each other. An MTA divorce need not mean each railroad would beat their own path in future equipment procurements.
A dissolution of the MTA would also not preclude fare coordination or harmonization between agencies...elsewhere in the country and the world different operators have no issue working out arrangements to share common fare media and policies, and offer free or discounted transfers between agencies. In the NYC region now, NYC Transit Subways and Buses, NICE Bus in Nassau County, Bee Line Bus in Westchester and the Roosevelt Island Tramway in Manhattan all have a fare union allowing free transfers between the systems with the MetroCard—which is more than can be said for the MTA itself, which does not offer LIRR and Metro-North riders free or discounted transfers to the subway (the MTA is the only agency in the country that charges its rail riders full price for connecting transit services operated by the same agency).
The below sections outline a general division of responsibilities for a breakup of the MTA. In short, the mass transportation functions of the agency would be split into three separate entities for New York City, Long Island, and the Hudson Valley. The NYC functions would become absorbed into the NYC Department of Transportation, and the LI/HV functions into two new Regional Transportation Councils, which would be independent entities like school districts ultimately overseen at the state level. These three entities would also assume control of all other publicly-owned/operated mass transportation services within their respective regions, so that all mass transportation services are run by a single body in each region. The tables below provide summaries of which assets would be managed by which entity, but does not go into too great detail about governance. That is a topic for another day...
NYC Department of Transportation
| MTA facilities - direct control | Other facilities - direct control | Oversight only |
|---|---|---|
NYCT Subways
NYCT Buses, MABSTOA
Staten Island Railway OA
MTA Bus Company
Hudson Rail Link
Henry Hudson Bridge
GRH/Marine Parkway Bridge
Cross Bay Bridge
|
Staten Island Ferry
Citywide Ferry Service
|
...
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New York City gains direct control of the subway and bus systems wholly within New York City, to be administered as part of the NYC Department of Transportation. The Hudson Rail Link, which operates predominately in Riverdale and Spuyten Duyvil, could become absorbed into the NYCT Bus network. The NYC DOT also assumes direct control of the Henry Hudson Bridge and the MTA B&T minor crossings, to be administered along with the Queensboro/59th Street, Williamsburg, Manhattan, and Brooklyn Bridges, as well as the other Harlem River crossings, as they see fit.
Long Island Regional Transportation Council
| MTA facilities - direct control | Other facilities - direct control | Oversight only |
|---|---|---|
Long Island Rail Road
|
Nassau Inter-County Express
Long Beach Bus Suffolk County Transit Huntington Area Rapid Transit Fishers Island Ferry District (Elizabeth Field/Island Theatre) Republic Airport Long Island MacArthur Airport Bayport Aerodrome Brookhaven Airport Calverton Executive Airpark Francis Gabreski Airport Southampton Heliport East Hampton Airport Atlantic Beach Bridge |
Hampton Jitney
North Fork Express North Ferry South Ferry Fire Island Ferries (FI Water Taxi) Sayville Ferries Davis Park and Watch Hill Ferry Spadaro Airport Lufker Airport Mattiuck Airbase Montauk Airport |
The Long Island Rail Road is broken out from the MTA and is managed with a LI-focus. Along with the LIRR, the Long Island Regional Transportation Council also assumes direct operational control of local transit operating wholly within Nassau and Suffolk Counties, including NICE Bus, Long Beach Bus, Suffolk County Transit, and Huntington Area Rapid Transit. The four bus networks would be unified under a common operating framework and the individual agencies/departments dissolved. Local bus networks would be structured to feed into and complement the LIRR and other transportation facilities. The Fishers Island Ferry District (a standalone pubic entity which oversees the Fishers Island Ferry, Elizabeth Field, and the Island Theatre) would be dissolved and incorporated into the Regional Transportation Council. The Nassau County Bridge Authority (which operates the Atlantic Beach Bridge connecting Lawrence and Atlantic Beach in the very southeast corner of the county), would also be incorporated into the Regional Transportation Council and be dissolved.
The LI Regional Transportation Council could also assume control of the region’s public airports, allowing for the centralization of maintenance and administration of the airports in one body. Currently, the region’s public airports are managed by seven different entities (NYSDOT, Suffolk County, the Towns of Islip, Brookhaven, Riverhead, Southampton, and East Hampton), increasing overhead and resulting in inconsistent services and fee structures for general aviation traffic. Managing Long Island’s public airports at a regional level can ensure that the distribution and impact of air traffic across Long Island is tackled with a regional focus.
The LIRTC would also take on an oversight role with regard to all other transportation facilities that operate wholly within Nassau and Suffolk Counties and between Nassau and Suffolk Counties and New York City, promoting regional standardization of ticketing and fare policies, unified scheduling, etc. to the greatest extent possible. This would work similar to NJTransit’s integration with many private carrier buses in New Jersey, where operators maintain ownership and direct operational control of their services, but share ticketing facilities and certain standards with NJTransit, are integrated with the NJT bus route structure/network, and to most riders, are interchangeable with the publicly operated bus routes. In return, NJTransit provides certain levels of operating assistance including providing buses for use on these routes. A similar arrangement on Long Island could include regional/commuter buses as well as all privately operated ferry services that operate wholly within Suffolk County, which are already regulated by the county legislature. The legislature must approve all rate increases for ferry operators, for example, and approval of any future rate increase could be conditioned on adopting some or all regional standard policies. Suffolk County's new bike share system, as well as SoBi in Long Beach and any other bike share expansion in Nassau and Suffolk County could also be integrated into the transportation network through the LIRTC like it is in some other cities. Services that are primarily intercity or interstate in nature (like Greyhound, Adirondack Trailways, and the cross-Sound ferries with the exception of the Fishers Island Ferry) would remain separate and on their own.
The scope of the Regional Transportation Councils could also be expanded to included public parking facilities within Nassau and Suffolk Counties. This would allow for the management and improvement of parking facilities at a regional level, instead of by dozens of individual municipalities. This could allow for the implementation of a regional parking permit system to manage demand at parking facilities while promoting access and flexibility, as well the development of strategies for the optimal utilization of parking land use resources.
Hudson Valley Regional Transportation Council
| MTA facilities - direct control | Other facilities - direct control | Oversight only |
|---|---|---|
Metro-North Railroad
Haverstraw-Ossining Ferry Newburgh-Beacon Ferry |
Bee-Line Bus
Putnam Area Rapid Transit Dutchess County Public Transit Lower Transit Hudson Link Transport of Rockland Westchester County Airport Dutchess County Airport Orange County Airport Warwick Municipal Airport |
Rockland Coaches
Leprechaun Lines Short Line Bus Sky Acres Airport Randall Airport Stormville Airport Airhaven Airport Sky Park Airport |
Similar to the structure of the LIRTC, the Hudson Valley Regional Transportation Council would assume control of Metro-North Railroad, its managed connecting services (with the exception of the Hudson Rail Link), as well as the newly reborn Lower Hudson Transit Link (currently shepherded by NYSDOT), and the West of Hudson lines, which would continue to be operated by NJTransit on behalf of MNR. Like the LIRTC, all publicly operated transit services would be consolidated into one large network with a common operational structure (this includes Bee-Line Bus, PART, Dutchess County Public Transit, and Transport of Rockland). The buses would be coordinated with and structured to feed into Metro-North, the Lower Hudson Transit Link, and other higher-volume transportation facilities.
The Hudson Valley Regional Transportation Council could likewise assume control of the region’s municipal airports, including Westchester County, Dutchess County, and Orange County airports, plus Warwick Municipal Airport managed by the Town of Warwick.
The HVRTC could also assume an oversight only role for private carrier buses, similar to the framework in place in New Jersey, for local/commuter lines that operate within the Hudson Valley counties and between the Hudson Valley counties and New York City, including the Rockland Coaches lines, Leprechaun Lines, and Short Line Bus lines.
NYS Thruway Authority
| MTA facilities - direct control | Other facilities - direct control | Oversight only |
|---|---|---|
Thorgs Neck Bridge
Bronx-Whitestone Bridge RFK/Triboro Bridge Queens-Midtown Tunnel HLC/Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel Verrazano Narrows Bridge |
Road network expansion - see below
Sound Crossing Development Corp. |
...
|
With the exception of the Atlantic Beach Bridge, which is too small and standalone to fit in well with anything else, the Regional Transportation Councils do not control major bridge or road facilities (done in part to prevent leaning on bridge tolls to prop up other modes of transit). The Henry Hudson Bridge, Marine Parkway Bridge, and Cross Bay Bridge would be absorbed by the NYC Department of Transportation and managed with the remainder of the East River and Harlem River crossings within New York City.
The other major TBTA crossings (the Thorgs Neck Bridge, Bronx-Whitestone Bridge, Triboro Bridge, Queens-Midtown Tunnel, Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, and the Verrazano Narrows Bridge) should be considered regional assets, as part of the Interstate Highway System, so should not be managed at the local level. The best fit for these crossings would be incorporating them as part of an expansion of the Thruway system. The NYS Thruway Authority currently operates the thruway mainline between the Westchester-New York City border and the New York-Pennsylvania Border 496 miles away. Also included are additional spur segments, including the Berkshire Connector, the Garden State Parkway Connector, the New England Thruway, the Niagara Thruway, and the Cross-Westchester Expressway. The Tappan Zee Bridge, the Castleton-on-Hudson Bridge, and the North and South Grand Island Bridges are also part of the Thruway system.
As part of this larger expansion of the Thruway Authority’s assets, the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission (which manages the Rainbow Bridge, Whirlpool Bridge, and Lewiston Bridge) and the Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority (which manages the Peace Bridge) would also be dissolved and incorporated into the larger Thruway system.
The major NYC crossings and the accompanying toll revenue would go to the NYS Thruway Authority. In return, the additional infusion of toll money would be offset with a further expansion of the Thruway Authority to even out the ‘balance sheet’. The Thruway Authority would takeover maintenance and operation of the road segments listed below, usually instead of NYS DOT. The additional segments would be those that connect to/complement the existing Thruway system and TBTA crossings.
- I-87 (Major William Francis Deegan Expressway) within Bronx county
- I-95 (Henry Bruckner/Cross Bronx Expressway) within Bronx county
- I-278 (Henry Bruckner/Brooklyn-Queens/Gowanus/Staten Island Expressway) within Bronx, Queens, Kings, and Richmond counties
- I-495 (Long Island Expressway) within Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk counties
- I-84 within Orange, Dutchess, and Putnam counties, including the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge
- I-684 within Westchester and Putnam counties, as well as within Fairfield County, CT on behalf of the Connecticut Department of Transportation, and NY-984J in Westchester county
- I-190 (Niagara Expressway) within Niagara county
- I-290 (Youngmann Memorial Highway) within Erie county
- I-990 (Lockport Expressway) within Erie county
- NY-135 (Seaford Oyster Bay Expressway) within Nassau county
- I-678 (Whitestone/Van Wyck Expressway) within Bronx and Queens counties
- I-295 (Clearview/Cross Bronx Expressway) within Bronx and Queens counties
- I-86/NY-17 (Southern Tier Expressway) within Orange, Sullivan, Delaware, Broome, Tioga, Chemung, Steuben, Allegany, Cattaraugus, and Chautauqua counties, as well as within Bradford County, PA
- I-490 (Eastern/Western Expressway) within Genesee, Monroe, and Ontario counties
- I-390 within Monroe county, north of the Thruway mainline only
- I-590 within Monroe county
- I-90 within Rensselaer and Albany counties, between the Berkshire connector and Thruway mainline
With the exception of the tolled bridges being transferred and the potential implementation of a “High Occupancy Toll” (HOT) system on the Long Island Expressway, Staten Island/Gowanus Expressways, and the Babylon-Northport Expressway extension, none of the other transferred facilities would become tolled facilities, rather the Thruway Authority would only take on the expense of operating/maintaining these roadways to even out the infusion of toll money from the TBTA crossings. The Thruway Authority would be required to maintain some extent of parity between the existing system and the expanded system, such that tolls from the New York City crossings would not unduly subsidize the mainline, or vice versa.
Remnants of MTA/regional clearinghouses
While a dissolved MTA would effectively cease to provide transportation services, it would not completely cease to exist. Instead, it would become a holding company or bank of sorts. All of the legislatively-authorized dedicated taxes and subsidies to the MTA would continue to flow through the MTA. The MTA would collect the funding from the appropriate parties then immediately disburse it to the reorganized transportation units depending on some set formula. In the opposite direction, the MTA would also be left to retire its significant outstanding debt. As a result, debt service payments from all of the reorganized transportation units would have to flow back to the MTA.Just because we are fragmenting the region's transportation network into more manageable bits doesn't mean they should be completely distinct units. Entities should be expected to coordinate and cooperate among each other on major projects, procurements big and small, etc., along the lines of the NYS Shared Services Initiative. Overhead services (like payroll, IT, etc.) should be consolidated as much as possible at the state level, to get added value with the combined buying power of all state agencies. When it comes to regional transportation planning and coordination, the NY Metropolitan Transportation Council, the NYC area's federally-mandated MPO, could take on a more active role.
Special attention should be paid to the preservation of a region-wide fare payment system. To this end, one entity should be charged as a regional fare payment clearinghouse to settle and distribute fare and toll revenue between the various agencies. This responsibility can remain with the MTA, or it can be accomplished through an expansion of the E-ZPass NY Customer Service Center, the entity which coordinates E-ZPass transactions, contributions, and disbursements not only amongst all of New York's tolling entities, but also tolling agencies in other states. The E-ZPass NY CSC would just extend what they currently do for vehicle tolls to transit fares. You would have a single travel balance that can be used or replenished with any transportation agency, and the exact arrangement of funds is settled on the back end.
