The list of bus and subway cuts the Metropolitan Transportation Authority will unveil at its monthly board meeting Thursday is extensive and potentially bruising, sources said. Riders can expect longer waits, more-crowded rides and having to make additional transfers to get to their destinations if the draconian moves are put into effect.
"Oh, this is not good," said Gladeys Loaiza, a housekeeper from Queens who rides the W train. "When I get on in the morning, I can't sit now. What's it going to be like when the W train is gone?"
According to sources, the cuts include:
- Elimination of at least a handful of bus and subway routes, including the W and Z subway train lines.
- Fewer transit workers in the subways because 600 or so station agent positions will be axed and about 350 administrative posts.
- Longer gaps between scheduled trains at midday and between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m.
- Expanded subway loading guidelines to allow for more crowding of trains.
- Eliminating bus service during late nights and weekends on dozens of routes that have low ridership.
"It's a nightmare on weekends if trying to go to Queens as it is," groaned Zack Frank, 26, an actor from Queens. "The MTA should worry about strengthening what it's got, not cutting it." Brooklyn graphic designer John Demeo, 39, agreed. "You can't get on the trains to begin with," said Demeo. "They're just overcrowded. They should work on service first before they raise the fare."
MTA spokesman Jeremy Soffin refused to comment on specifics of the budget.
Two subway lines - the G and M - would essentially be halved, with trains making far fewer stops. MTA CEO Elliot Sander has said the authority will have to raise fares and impose drastic service cuts if Gov. Paterson and the Legislature don't adopt a bailout plan. The projected 2009 operating budget has widened from about $900 million to $1.2 billion because of the weak economy and dramatically declining tax revenues, Sander said.
Sources said the budget plan will include layoffs in addition to jobs that can be vacated through attrition. "We began internal belt tightening long before the financial crisis, and the budget released Thursday will start with more administrative cuts," Soffin said.
This is what the MTA - according to the New York Daily News - is planning to do to service in their budget:
YOU BETTER HOLD ON!
The MTA's doomsday budget to be unveiled at a board meeting Thursday will include these NYC Transit cuts:
Positions: More than 1,500 axed - including approximately 350 administrators and managers; approximately 700 station agents and bus drivers combined.
Subways
- W and Z lines shut down completely.
- No more express J-train service, makes all local stops.
- G line nearly halved with the northern terminal being Court Square, Long Island City, Queens, at all times. No more service from Court Square to Forest Hills.
- M line halved, making stops only between Metropolitan Ave., Queens, and Broad St., Manhattan.
- B line trains arrive every 10 minutes weekends, up from 8 minutes.
Overnight: Scheduled gaps between all trains running between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. increased to 30 minutes from 20 minutes.
Midday: Schedules changed - less frequent trains from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. - system wide so that trains carry more passengers: 125% of the seating capacity, up from current guideline of 100%.
Buses: A few dozen bus routes eliminated overnight and weekends, including X27 and X28 weekends. Bus routes targeted for less frequent service generally are those with lower ridership numbers or where subway trains are an option. A few routes running weekdays axed.
