WMATA bord and NTSB follow up meeting

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dr-gridlock/2010/08/wmata_board_will_meet_with_nts.html

here is some information on a follow up meeting

Doble parking solution

Double parked cars are wreaking havoc impeding any decent traffic flow in the city.

Traffic would flow without any double parking.
Instant solution:

1. If car is occupied immediately ticket.
2. If car is unoccupied tow on the spot.

Free flowing traffic and city revenue!

NTSB findings on WMATA accident

Interesting that all of the oversight authorities for WMATA safety have no teeth to enforce safety. The recommendations seem to suggest multiple agencies get involved in oversight which seems redundant and wasteful. One solution which I believe has been implemented is the Chief Safety Officer reports directly to the GM. I would also offer when compensation at WMATA is tied to safety it can dramatically change the culture in a rapid manner.

The link below is a great animation of the accident,

http://ntsb.gov/events/2010/Washington-DC-Metro/AnimationDescription.htm

Greek Railroads- Lessons Learned?

Here is a fascinating look at Public Railways and the difficulties in sustaining them.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/21/business/global/21rail.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Greek%20railway&st=cse

Some excerpts below:

Some have argued that Hellenic Railways should shut down the majority of its routes, especially in the mountainous Peloponnese region where trains manned by drivers being paid as much as $130,000 a year frequently run empty.

He opposes privatization and says that if jobs and benefits are threatened, the union will strike.

Increased Ridership through Uniformed Presence

As the MTA in NY struggles with their budget and is more and more slashing services and raising fares, the one thing not being given enough attention is increasing ridership. It seems to be a vicious cycle of service reductions and fare increases which could lead to less ridership and therefore less revenue requiring yet another round of cuts and fare increases.


Here is an unoriginal idea whose time has come- increase ridership especially in the most underused time periods. The hours after 10 pm to 6am are usually quiet with the fewest riders especially in the outer boroughs. In the "city that never sleeps" it seems unlikely that the demand should fall off so dramatically.



One of the recurring themes is the safety of the subway at those hours and we continue to see news reports of untoward events and crimes occurring on the trains and in and around the stations. When something happens and the statement as conventional wisdom that the victim "Should not have been on the train at that hour" rings very hollowly to me. The purchase of a ticket is an expectation that one should have a safe ride. I have a friend that gave his niece a credit card just to take a car service home after night classes to avoid riding the subway late at night.The authorities whether they be city, state or MTA like to point out a diminishing crime rate which only makes them feel better but does nothing for the guy or girl that has just been mugged.



We all know you cannot stop everything and that life is not risk free. But we should do what we can to minimize the risks.



One of the ballyhooed solutions these days is the installation of cameras everywhere. Although they may be a deterrent to some and they are great for conclusive evidence that something happened, they cannot come to a victim's aid in their moment of need. The track record so far is not good for having them installed and/or working. The other solution we hear a lot about is plainclothes officers being used to reduce crime. They do in fact catch some criminals but how do we know how effective they are and what their success ratio is?



My solution is a large uniformed presence on trains and in the stations especially during the off hours. The 1st thing everyone asks is where is the money going to come from?-more on that in a bit.



A uniformed police presence in the cars and in the station is extremely comforting to any late night riders. If there were 2 officers in each station to spell each other and back each other up and at least 1 officer riding each train,(1 each car may be to big a dream) it would be interesting to find out how quickly ridership increased. Riders may actually be much less resentful of the fare increases if they knew there was a uniformed presence to get them home. The officers in the station could also fill in where no station clerk exists and (heresy) even help assure station cleanliness. Recent news reports say rats are in the stations because trash is not removed and stored for some time- what if it got out hourly? Another service might be for 1 of the officers to escort someone to their destination within a reasonable distance from the station if requested because they had safety concerns with someone on the train getting off at the same stop. I am conveniently leaving union rules out of this and just trying to go with some common sense.



OK- some like the idea- in fact anyone I suggest this to do like it but how do we get the money to pay for it? Here are a few ideas:

1. Use this assignment as training for academy policemen or auxiliary police paired up with experienced officers.


2. Homeland security is funding cameras -divert that to uniformed services.


3. Use the MTA police that are in cars now and get rid of the cars- it makes no sense that they drive to a train station when a problem has been reported- if there is a bus problem- let the city, county or state respond.


4. Assess in 1 year and if ridership has gone up due to the uniformed presence, then use the additional ticket revenue to fund the program.

Next post- traffic solution for NYC