If you thought your commute was a little slow this morning, maybe it wasn't because of a theoretical union slowdown but because, well, mass transit service in New York City is on the decline? Last week Transportation Alternatives asked riders if their commute has gotten better or worse since 2009 and the results were not pretty.
According to riders (who were asked to text their answers) 61 percent say that things have gotten worse in the past three years while 26 percent say things have stayed the same and 13 percent say their commutes have actually gotten better (maybe they moved closer to more subway lines?).
TA is taking the news as proof that the state needs to stop taking money promised to the MTA's coffers. As Paul Steely White, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives, puts it, "After years of declining transit funding from Albany and the resulting service cuts, our commutes have gotten worse." Since 2009 the city has seen the state take $260 million from dedicated transit funding and watched as the MTA cut two subway lines, 36 bus routes and 570 bus stops. All while asking riders to pay more each ride.
But who knows? Maybe TA was just asking the wrong people and things have actually improved. How has your commute been over the last three years?
