Effective Transit Alliance

@etany

ETA advocates for high-quality, accessible, and forward-looking transit through internationally-inspired, technically-oriented analysis in greater New York.

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Effective Transit Alliance@etany· 20d

Big news for regional transit: FRA’s Phase 1 report confirms that through-running can boost Penn Station’s capacity without expansion. ETA examined why this is a good first step—and why, with the operational changes of Phase 2, its true potential is even greater. www.etany.org/statements/f...

ETA Statement on the FRA’s Phase I Report, read at https://www.etany.org/statements/fra-phase1-statement

Effective Transit Alliance@etany· 29d

TOMORROW NIGHT, join us for a discussion on through-running and the future of Penn Station. ETA's Blair Lorenzo will join the RPA's Tom Wright & NYU's Polly Trottenberg to discuss how to build a better transit future for greater New York! Register here: bpbhs.com/ThroughRunning

Flyer for Through-Running Panel, all details at bpbhs.com/ThroughRunning

Effective Transit Alliance@etany· Jul 10

Next Tuesday, 7/14, join us for a discussion on through-running and the future of Penn Station. ETA's Blair Lorenzo will join the RPA's Tom Wright & NYU's Polly Trottenberg to discuss how to build a better transit future for greater New York! Register here: bpbhs.com/ThroughRunning

Effective Transit Alliance@etany· Jul 6

What's the future of Penn Station & commuter rail in greater NY? Join us next Tuesday, 7/14 @ 5:30PM for the Manhattan BP's forum on through-running, the international standard for regional rail! ETA's Blair Lorenzo will join Polly Trottenberg & Tom Wright to discuss our transit future.

Could “through-running" help un-clog Penn Station?
Penn Station is the busiest rail station in the Western Hemisphere, serving Amtrak, NJ TRANSIT, and the LIRR across 21 tracks.
With a master developer selected for the redesign of Penn Station, the idea of through-running is receiving increased attention, which would allow commuter travel through Penn Station, instead of having trains begin or end their trips there.
Could through-running increase capacity at Penn Station or improve service? What investments and operational changes would it require? What are the potential benefits, challenges, and tradeoffs for riders and the region?
Join B.P. Brad Hoylman-Sigal as he moderates a discussion with:
Blair Lorenzo (Executive Director of the Effective Transit Alliance)
Polly Trottenberg (Dean of NYU Wagner and former Deputy Secretary of Transportation)
. Tom Wright (President and CEO of the Regional Plan Association)
Opening remarks from Andy Byford (Special Advisor to Amtrak).
When: Tuesday, July 14, 2026, 5:30 pm
Where: FIT Fisch Presentation Hall (220 West 28th St.)
Register: bpbhs.com/ThroughRunning
SPONSORED BY:
Borough President
Brad
Hoylman-Sigal
Congressman
Jerry
Nadler
State Senators
Erik Bottcher
Liz Krueger
Assembly Member
Tony
Simone
Council Member
Carl
Wilson

Effective Transit Alliance@etany· Jun 26

If it's your first time, keep an eye out for Blair who will have a sign and business cards.

Effective Transit Alliance@etany· Jun 26

TONIGHT, come join ETA for TOD: Transit-Oriented Drinks June! Join us for drinks, transit discussion, and transit advocacy! TONIGHT Friday June 26, 2026 from 6-8pm at Vanderbilt Market 45th & Vanderbilt behind Grand Central. All are welcome!

TONIGHT Friday June 26, 2026
from 6-8pm
at Vanderbilt Market
45th & Vanderbilt behind Grand Central.

Effective Transit Alliance@etany· Jun 26

The @queenslink.org project would turn an abandoned rail line into a busy subway line. Unfortunately, the project is at risk due to a competing project which would block its path. The best plan for New York’s future is QueensLink. Read on our website: www.etany.org/statements/t...

QueensLink is a proposal to open a new subway line connecting Rego Park, Forest Park, Howard Beach, and the Rockaways. Much like the Interborough Express, the project would reactivate an intact, mostly abandoned rail line to provide service to underserved neighborhoods. In the case of QueensLink, this is the former LIRR Rockaway Beach Branch, which was abandoned in 1955 except for its southern part, which was reactivated to bring the A train to the Rockaways in 1956. Put simply, QueensLink would turn currently abandoned tracks into a busy subway line serving tens of thousands of riders a day.
Unfortunately, the proposal is at risk due to a competing proposal called QueensWay. QueenWay seeks to convert the same right-of-way into a linear park with no transit service. QueensLink, in contrast, would include both transit and green space along the majority of the route, wherever there is room, including the same location as QueenLink. Regrettably, on June 30th the New York City Council is set to vote on an Adopted Budget which includes $50 million of city funding to construct the first phase of the QueensWay park, the Metro Hub, directly blocking QueensLink’s path.

(read the rest at etany.org)

According to estimates from The Transit Costs Project’s A Better Billion proposal, QueensLink would cost $2.8 billion in 2025 prices, and see ridership of 105,000 people every weekday. The high ridership is a combination of all of the following travel markets:
New service from currently unserved areas of Rego Park, Forest Park, and Woodhaven
Trips parallel to Woodhaven Boulevard, which corridor has 30,000 weekday bus riders
New trips between Manhattan and JFK, currently served by the slower A train
Leisure trips between Manhattan or Central Queens and the beaches in the Rockaways
Trips from the Rockaways, Howard Beach, and Ozone Park to Manhattan or Long Island City, currently served by the A via Lower Manhattan
Additional trips from the Queens Boulevard Line to Brooklyn, since the diversion of M trains from Forest Hills allows bringing back the G to the Queens Boulevard local tracks

(read the rest at etany.org)

In short, by building on an existing right-of-way, QueensLink can serve a huge number of riders for a comparatively affordable cost. If QueensWay is built, however, it will sever this part of the corridor, either meaning the park would have to be demolished in the future (a difficult proposition) or a long and expensive subway would need to be built under Woodhaven Boulevard.
The Rockaway Beach Branch is a unique opportunity for New York: a publicly owned right-of-way in a dense urban corridor with high property value. Corridors like that do not grow on trees, and any city would be foolish not to take advantage. The best plan for New York’s future is QueensLink.

(read the rest at etany.org)

Effective Transit Alliance@etany· May 29

TONIGHT, come join ETA for TOD: Transit-Oriented Drinks May! Join us for drinks, transit discussion, and transit advocacy! Tonight, Friday May 29, 2026 from 6-8pm at Vanderbilt Market 45th & Vanderbilt behind Grand Central. All are welcome!

Tonight, Friday May 29, 2026
from 6-8pm
at Vanderbilt Market
45th & Vanderbilt behind Grand Central.

Effective Transit Alliance@etany· May 28

But even a monthly pass at the old ratio of 46 rides would be far too expensive, especially in the age of remote work and the push for non-commute transit trips. European cities, in particular, have demonstrated how affordable monthly passes can drive ridership.

A graph of worldwide monthly pass ratios, showing the old MetroCard rate of 46, and the new rate of 50, tied for highest in the world.

Effective Transit Alliance@etany· May 21

Streetsblog talked to ETA about New York's short-sighted policy of stopping buses to inspect fares. A policy change can't come fast enough: cities around the country and the world keep passengers moving by inspecting fares while vehicles are in motion.

"There's a pretty clear preference for keeping vehicles moving during fare inspections, for obvious reasons," said Effective Transit Alliance Executive Director Blair Lorenzo. "Both speed and reliability are key factors that drive ridership, and random, unpredictable stops to inspect everyone on a bus obviously harms both."

Effective Transit Alliance@etany· May 19

NY riders face some of the highest transit pass costs globally, needing 50 rides a month under current fare capping just to break even. An affordable monthly pass would align the city with international standards and provide genuine financial relief for daily riders. www.etany.org/reports/mont...

A graph of worldwide pass ratios, with NY's old system under MetroCard in dark red and it's current weekly cap in bright red.

Both are far higher than the international average of 29, and especially higher than Europe, where ratios are much lower.

Effective Transit Alliance@etany· May 18

The LIRR has some of the highest operating costs of US commuter rails, and the current strike centers on one key reason: work rules dating back to the steam era. Modernizing these agreements is critical to expanding service & ensuring fiscal stability. ETA's analysis: www.etany.org/statements/l...

ETA statement on the LIRR and work rules. Read a text version at https://www.etany.org/statements/lirr-work-rules-vestiges-of-the-steam-era

Effective Transit Alliance@etany· May 15

A fire in the East River tunnels has shut down almost all LIRR service into and out of Penn Station. While disasters like this are thankfully rare, they highlight the value of an emergency operations plan—especially for a railroad with as many terminals as the LIRR. www.etany.org/statements/m...

Penn Station Fires and the
Value of an Emergency Plan
May 15, 2026
On Thursday, May 14, a midday fire knocked out two of the four East River tunnels that the
Long Island Rail Road uses to access Penn Station. Because one additional tunnel was closed
for a long-term overhaul, this left only a single track for all trains between Penn Station and
Long Island during May 15th’s AM rush. This has caused massive disruptions: at first, the LIRR
suspended most service west of Jamaica. Since then, the railroad has begun to divert some
trains to Grand Central Madison (GCM) and Atlantic Terminal as it very slowly resumes
operations to Penn Station.
Before going further, it is important to note that this is not an ordinary week for the LIRR. The
railroad is preparing for a possible strike beginning at Midnight, which should it not be called off
at the last minute would prevent any trains leaving terminals as of that time. This further
complicates the situation by requiring the agency to modify schedules and make other
preparations to ensure that trains are in locations that permit for a rapid resumption of service if
the potential strike ends. For more info on the strike, the LIRR has set up an information page
with final trains, and alternative service. ETA encourages straphangers to keep an eye on LIRR
social media and alerts for the latest strike information.
Fires and other severe disruptions are thankfully rare, and ETA is happy that no one has been
injured. At the same time, thanks to its redundancy, the LIRR can and should develop
emergency service plans that can be implemented on short notice for major disruptions like
this1.
This is not unprecedented. Trains on NJ Transit’s Morris & Essex, Montclair-Boonton, and
Gladstone Lines that normally run into Penn Station via MidtownDIRECT are being diverted to
Hoboken Terminal under an emergency operations plan. From there, riders can take PATH... read the rest on etany.org

diesel branch trains to Hunterspoint Ave, and has not to the station past Hunterspoint Ave, Long
Island City, which can not take full length trains. Significant numbers of trains in the
reverse-peak direction were cancelled, or truncated at Jamaica.
By sending trains to its other terminals, the LIRR could offer the following connections:
To Atlantic Terminal:
● 2/3/4/5/B/D/N/Q/R at Atlantic Terminal
● A/C at Nostrand Ave
● L at East New York
To Hunterspoint Ave and Long Island City:
● E/F/M/R at Forest Hills
● 7 at Woodside
● 7/G at Hunterspoint Ave
● 7 at Long Island City
To Grand Central Madison:
● 4/5/6/7/Times Square Shuttle At Grand Central Station
● Metro-North Railroad at Grand Central Terminal
This emergency operation would offer Long Island riders transfers to every subway line except
the 1, the Franklin Avenue shuttle, and the Rockaway Park Shuttle.
The $11 billion Grand Central Madison was a questionable piece of transportation planning, as it
split service into Manhattan two termini2. The one clear advantage of this set up, however, is
that it provides redundancy in case of disasters like this. Grand Central Madison was designed
to easily handle 24 tph (trains per hour), but even in these emergency conditions, the LIRR was
not running a full complement of trains to its only active Manhattan terminal. Indeed, for today’s
PM rush, the railroad was only showing 10 tph from 4-5 pm, 15 tph from 5-6 pm, and 12 tph
from 6-7 pm, on to TrainTime as of mid-afternoon on May 15th3. It then placed a number of
diversions on the status page on mta.info with notes that other trains going to Penn Station are
cancelled.
Of course, a major railroad like the LIRR cannot completely change its schedule and operations
on a moment’s notice: schedules are written assuming that trains and crew will be in certain
places at certain times. Given the amount of redundancy in the LIRR system, however, it ... read the rest on etany.org

Effective Transit Alliance@etany· Apr 24

TONIGHT, come join ETA for TOD: Transit-Oriented Drinks, April! Join us for drinks, transit discussion, and transit advocacy! Tonight, Friday April 24, 2026 from 6-8pm at Vanderbilt Market 45th & Vanderbilt Behind GCT All are welcome!

Tonight, Friday April 24, 2026 from
6-8pm at
Vanderbilt Market
45th & Vanderbilt
Behind GCT

Effective Transit Alliance@etany· Apr 22

This Friday, come join ETA for TOD: Transit-Oriented Drinks, April! Join us for drinks, transit discussion, and transit advocacy! Friday April 24, 2026 from 6-8pm at Vanderbilt Market 45th & Vanderbilt Behind GCT All are welcome!

Friday April 24, 2026 from
6-8pm at
Vanderbilt Market
45th & Vanderbilt
Behind GCT

Effective Transit Alliance@etany· Apr 2

ETA and other civic orgs are urging NY not to require two operators on every train. One-person train operation (OPTO) is a standard practice used on every subway system around the world—including on the MTA. This bill would hurt riders and lock NY's transit system in the past. tinyurl.com/etatpto

Dear Speaker Heastie, Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins and Chairs Cooney, Comrie, and
Braunstein:
We urge you to oppose S9586 (Parker) and A10706 (Chandler-Waterman), that would restrict
the MTA’s use of one-person train operation (OTPO), the industry standard for subway systems
in the U.S. and internationally. Under your leadership, the Legislature has done an outstanding
job supporting the MTA through new dedicated tax revenues. We thank you for this and hope
you continue focusing on big picture questions like the MTA’s financial sustainability as it faces
out-year budget gaps and federal funding challenges.
The bills require each New York City Transit subway train to have at least two crew members: a
conductor, and operator. This is not required for any other U.S. transit system, except for the
Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH), or the world’s other major transit systems. This legislation
would prevent the MTA from adopting the industry standard and realizing operational
efficiencies as it deploys new trains designed to work with the billions of dollars of advanced
signal technology being installed throughout the subway system.
A 2025 report by NYU’s Marron Institute of Urban Management’s Transit Costs Project, “How
Many People Does it Take to Operate a Train?” found that less than 6% of 400 rail lines around
the world use two or more train operators. Of the 94% that use one or fewer operators, many
are completely automated and more are working towards automation as modern signal
systems are installed. These systems have operated safely without conductors, or any staff in
some cases, on board. The MTA has also safely and successfully operated one-person subway
trains since 1996 on shuttles and at off-peak hours.

We supported Governor Hochul’s veto of S4091/A4873 in 2025 because leaving operational
strategies and decisions to management is the best, most flexible path to high-quality service at
the lowest cost. The MTA should be able to follow facts and implement national and
international best practices for staffing and technology investments. Good management and
good transit service are based on facts, not special interest politics.
Mandating specific staffing levels by law also risks squandering the billions in capital
investments to modernize subway signals that are being spent by the MTA and NY State
government, including $5.4 billion in the 2025-29 capital program, and $5.0 billion in the
2020-24 program. It will also make it harder for the MTA to improve service—the key to building
higher ridership. We look to you as proven champions of better transit to focus your efforts on
forward-looking investments, not policies micromanaging subway staffing and operations.
Thank you,
John Kaehny
Executive Director
Reinvent Albany
Andrew Rein
President
Citizens Budget Commission
Blair Lorenzo
Executive Director
Effective Transit Alliance
Eric Goldwyn
Professor and Program Director
NYU Marron Transit Costs Project
Steven Fulop
President and CEO
Partnership for New York City
Tom Wright
President and CEO
Regional Plan Association
Cc:
Governor Kathy Hochul
Janno Lieber, Chair and CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Effective Transit Alliance@etany· Mar 27

TONIGHT come join ETA for TOD: Transit-Oriented Drinks, March! Join us for drinks, transit discussion, and transit advocacy! TONIGHT, Friday March 27, 2026 from 6-8pm at The Irish Exit Moynihan Food Hall Penn Station All are welcome!

TONIGHT, Friday March 27, 2026 from
6-8pm at
The Irish Exit
Moynihan Food Hall
Penn Station

Effective Transit Alliance@etany· Mar 19

In fact, although they are replacing cars from the 1980s, all the R262s should be the true OGs. www.mta.info/document/201...

Division. As detailed in the RFP Overview and Proposal Procedures, both the Base Order and Option Orders have multiple split scenarios consisting of different configurations/combinations of Closed End Cars (the "R262") and Open Gangway Cars (the "R262OG"). The Contractor will provide all design, engineering, testing, manufacturing, delivery, warranty, training, spare parts, tools, diagnostics test equipment and other services as necessary.

Effective Transit Alliance@etany· Mar 9

Last week, NJ Gov Sherrill announced that the NJ Turnpike would replace the Newark Bay Bridge with only one span, finally ending a wrongheaded highway expansion. Urban highway widenings have no place in the 21st century, & ETA joins our partners in applauding this decision. tinyurl.com/3757cdhs

"Blair Lorenzo, Executive Director, Effective Transit Alliance
"This is a great decision by Gov. Sherrill, one which should have always been a no-brainer. Urban highway widenings have no place in the 21st century, and all too often, the need for structural replacement is used as an excuse for hidden road expansion. This is the right call not only for New Jersey, but for the entire metropolitan area."
"

Effective Transit Alliance@etany· Feb 27

TONIGHT, come join ETA for TOD: Transit-Oriented Drinks February! Join us for drinks, transit discussion, and transit advocacy! Tonight, Friday February 27, 2026 from 6-8pm at Vanderbilt Market 45th & Vanderbilt behind Grand Central. All are welcome!

Tonight, Friday February 27, 2026
from 6-8pm
at Vanderbilt Market
45th & Vanderbilt behind Grand Central.

Effective Transit Alliance@etany· Feb 25

This Friday, come join ETA for TOD: Transit-Oriented Drinks February! Join us for drinks, transit discussion, and transit advocacy! Friday February 27, 2026 from 6-8pm at Vanderbuilt Market 45th & Vanderbilt behind Grand Central. All are welcome!

Friday February 27, 2026
from 6-8pm
at Vanderbuilt Market
45th & Vanderbilt behind Grand Central.

Effective Transit Alliance@etany· Feb 3

ETA will soon publish a report recommending ways to significantly cut the project's costs, and we previewed some of those findings to Streetsblog. This is a promising route, but NY simply cannot build the transit it needs without getting its costs under control.

Researchers with the Effective Transit Alliance, who previously convinced the MTA to tunnel under All Faiths Cemetery to speed up service on its proposed Interborough Express, said that even the station at 125th Street and Lexington Avenue station — the busiest planned station in Phase II — will not be 75-feet wide, so none of the stations on the crosstown branch need to approach that width. ETA researchers told Streetsblog that keeping the crosstown stations the same size as the Phase I and Phase II stations could save 15 percent on tunneling costs alone.

Effective Transit Alliance@etany· Jan 28

ETA is proud to be part of Unlock New York's Future, a coalition to modernize SEQRA. For too long environmental law has been used as a cudgel to stop or delay transit investments that we know will benefit not only NYers, but the environment. It's time to #UnlockNYsFuture.

Effective Transit Alliance@etany· Jan 23

If it's your first time, keep your eyes out for Blair who will be there with a sign and business cards.

Blair Lorenzo in front of the Manhattan Bridge

Effective Transit Alliance@etany· Jan 23

TONIGHT, come join ETA for first TOD: Transit-Oriented Drinks of 2026! Join us for drinks, transit discussion, and transit advocacy! Tonight, Friday, January 23, 2026 from 6-8pm at The Irish Exit Moynihan Train Hall's Food Hall All are welcome!

Tonight, Friday, January 23, 2026
from 6-8pm
at The Irish Exit
Moynihan Train Hall's Food Hall

Effective Transit Alliance@etany· Jan 23

ENR talked to ETA about Metro-North's plan to electrify the Hudson Line's other express track. This will allow the agency's new Charger locomotives to operate on electricity all the way to Croton Harmon before shifting to diesel, allowing faster, cleaner travel. www.enr.com/articles/623...

The stretch, which lies south of the Croton-Harmon stop, is the only one of four tracks along the route that doesn’t have a third rail, according to the solicitation document. A single, diesel-only track where all the others are electric is an unusual arrangement, said Blair Lorenzo, the executive director of the Effective Transit Alliance, an organization that advocates for improved transit in the New York region.

The construction site lies within what the MTA calls its “third-rail territory,” or 102 miles of Metro-North that have electric capacity and extend up the Hudson, New Haven and Harlem lines. In September last year, the department announced that new Siemens Mobility Charger locomotives were starting to operate along the Husdon line specifically. While older models on the tracks only run electric within the tunnels of Grand Central Terminal, the Charger locomotives are built for long-distance, high-speed electric travel, Lorenzo said. Completing this final bit of electrification on the Hudson line would let the new models operate diesel-free all the way to Croton-Harmon.

Effective Transit Alliance@etany· Jan 22

😎^3

A tweet from Ben Furnas of Transit Alternatives quoting an interview with MTA Chair Janno Lieber in which he says, "Organized civic groups in New York City have declined. They've in many cases, gone out of business or faded from memory or faded in importance and impact. In their place has arisen a network of urban-oriented and especially transit-oriented advocacy groups, and they had a huge impact on the all of what we've been able to accomplish in the fact in the past few years."

Effective Transit Alliance@etany· Jan 14

Appointing the same leader to run both NJ Transit and the NJ Turnpike Authority is an innovative move. If it can reduce planning silos—and especially if it can begin finding ways to divert auto funding to transit—it could be a significant move for the region. www.northjersey.com/story/news/t...

In an unprecedented move, Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill reappointed Kris Kolluri to head NJ Transit and also appointed him to head the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, two large and complex state transit agencies.
The unusual decision to appoint one person to lead the two agencies is meant to “unify strategy, rethink how we move people, and ultimately improve commutes for the residents of New Jersey,” said the Jan. 8 press release announcing the decision.
“We need a collaborative and creative approach when it comes to addressing challenges and opportunities affecting our state, which is especially true as we update New Jersey’s approach to transit,” Sherrill said in the statement.

Effective Transit Alliance@etany· Jan 6

It's been one year of congestion pricing and the results are clear: *11% fewer cars in the congestion zone *Faster travel speeds *Faster busses *No negative effects on surrounding neighborhoods. All while raising significant funds for transit. A huge win for NYC! www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

A graph in change of bus speeds 2024-2025, showing a 2.4% increase in local bus speed through the congestion zone (vs 0.8% citywide) and a 2% increase in express bus speeds in the zone (vs -0.4% citywide)

Effective Transit Alliance@etany· Dec 12

The Interborough Express has the potential to be a transformative piece of infrastructure, but to truly live up to its potential, it needs to be constructed to global standards: as an automated light metro. ETA talked with Ben Schneider about the future and potential of the IBX: