Effective Transit Alliance
LightNews LightNews
banner
etany.org
Effective Transit Alliance
@etany.org
2.2K followers 0 following 600 posts
ETA advocates for high-quality, accessible, and forward-looking transit through internationally-inspired, technically-oriented analysis in greater New York.
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Effective Transit Alliance
calelectricrail.org
Join us @icgee.bsky.social @publicenterprise.bsky.social and @seamlessbayareaca.bsky.social for a webinar about how transit funding holds back ambitious investments like electric rail that we need for climate action & affordable transportation. January 8th, 1-2 PST.
actionnetwork.org/events/trans...
Full Steam Ahead: Funding Transformational Transit
Transit and passenger rail investment in the United States struggles for adequate investment. Despite some improvements in top line figures for transit and passenger rail, federal and state transporta...
actionnetwork.org
December 11, 2025 at 8:07 PM
etany.org
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)
January 6, 2026 at 9:59 PM
etany.org
As ETA has discussed, one-person train operation (and increasingly, zero-person train operation via full automation) are the global standard for transit, and for good reason.

ETA is grateful that Gov Hochul has put the needs of NY transit riders first.

www.etany.org/statements/i...
Impeding Progress, Costing Riders — Effective Transit Alliance New York
Bill Banning One-Person Trains Would Lock NY Transit in the Past
www.etany.org
December 19, 2025 at 6:54 PM
etany.org
Great news: Gov Hochul has reportedly decided to veto a bill requiring two-person train operation.

This poorly-considered bill would've mmediately impacted services that are currently run with one person, and would've make it impossible to fully automate new lines like the IBX.
stefanoschen.bsky.social Stefanos Chen @stefanoschen.bsky.social · 23d
Gov Hochul will veto a bill to require both a conductor and a driver on every subway train, according to two sources familiar with the decision. Story to follow. Details on the bill here:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/n...
Does the Subway Still Need Train Conductors?
www.nytimes.com
December 19, 2025 at 6:54 PM
etany.org
A new, bipartisan bill would allow states to take responsibility for federal environmental reviews for transit projects, a major source of delays and cost increases.

Streamlining the process for transit (to parity with highways) could be a big win for new transit everywhere.

tinyurl.com/bdctcstm
Sen. Lee Bill Would Give Transit Environmental Review Back to States - Passenger Transport
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) has introduced bipartisan legislation to improve transit project timelines and quality by restoring the responsibility for environmental reviews back to state agencies from the fe...
aptapassengertransport.com
December 16, 2025 at 6:06 PM
etany.org
We applaud the MTA for making the right decision on the All Faiths Cemetery tunnel.

In building transit, every decision matters, and we must keep making the right choice.

www.etany.org/ibx-all-fait...
IBX: 515 Feet from Greatness — Effective Transit Alliance New York
Only a short tunnel prevents the IBX from achieving full grade separation, frequent service, and permanent integration with the subway system. Now is the time to ensure the IBX is done right.
www.etany.org
December 12, 2025 at 5:55 PM
etany.org
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:
Under the Microscope The IBX is also the first major transit project in New York to have its entire design and planning process scrutinized by a new generation of transit advocacy groups like the Effective Transit Alliance and the Transit Costs Project. Unlike older advocacy organizations, which focused on good urban planning or the needs of riders, these entities are laser-focused on the technical minutiae of transit design, construction and operations. Already, they appear to have influenced aspects of the project. For example, the MTA’s initial plans called for a short section where the train would run on the street to get around a corner of All Faiths Cemetery in Queens as a cost-saving measure. But, in a report entitled “515 Feet from Greatness,” the Effective Transit Alliance argued that this street-running section would slow down service and constrain ridership. Another reason Lorenzo and like-minded advocates fought for the tunnel is that keeping the train off surface streets creates the potential for automating the line. “Our biggest point by far is to push them towards automated light metro,” a technology similar to the JFK Airtrain, Lorenzo said. “With automated technology, you can run every 90 seconds,” said Eric Goldwyn, a professor of urban planning at New York University and the director of the Transit Costs Project. The MTA currently plans to run trains on the line at five-minute frequencies during peak times. “You could have shorter trains and smaller stations, so some of your capital costs could shrink potentially, and you could provide much more robust service,” Goldwyn said.
December 12, 2025 at 5:55 PM
etany.org
If it's your first time, keep an eye out for Blair, who will be there with a sign, nametag, and business cards.
Blair Lorenzo of ETA
December 12, 2025 at 5:49 PM
etany.org
TONIGHT come join ETA for our last TOD: Transit-Oriented Drinks of the year!

Join us for drinks, transit discussion, and transit advocacy!

Tonight, Friday December 12, 2025
from 6-8pm
at Vanderbuilt Market
45th & Vanderbilt behind Grand Central.

All are welcome!
Tonight, Friday December 12, 2025 from 6-8pm at Vanderbuilt Market 45th & Vanderbilt behind Grand Central.
December 12, 2025 at 5:49 PM
etany.org
TOMORROW come join ETA for our last TOD: Transit-Oriented Drinks of the year!

Join us for drinks, transit discussion, and transit advocacy!

Friday December 12, 2025
from 6-8pm
at Vanderbuilt Market
45th & Vanderbilt behind Grand Central.

All are welcome!
Join us for drinks, transit discussion, and transit advocacy! Friday December 12, 2025 from 6-8pm at Vanderbuilt Market 45th & Vanderbilt behind Grand Central. All are welcome!
December 11, 2025 at 6:08 PM
etany.org
Better still, these reductions seem to be compounding, with pollution declining over time.

Also worthy of note, the Cross Bronx Expressway—which some feared would see more truck traffic—has also seen reduced pollution decline after a stalled start.
Graph showing the decline of pollution both in the congestion zone and in the wider region since the implementation of congestion pricing.
December 10, 2025 at 9:35 PM
etany.org
Congestion pricing is working: it's not only lowering traffic and generating valuable funds for transit, but as a recent study out of Cornell shows, it's reduced air pollution by a whopping 22% in the zone, with significant improvements also seen across the city (8%) & region.

tinyurl.com/rb6xk3h7
Congestion pricing improved air quality in NYC and suburbs | Cornell Chronicle
Cornell researchers tallied the environmental benefits of New York City’s congestion pricing program and found air pollution dropped by 22% in Manhattan, with additional declines across the city’s fiv...
news.cornell.edu
December 10, 2025 at 9:35 PM
etany.org
Earlier this week, the F and the M train swapped places at 8 stations in Manhattan and Queens as part of process called "deinterlining," which increases the frequency and reliability of subway service.

ICYMI, read ETA on why deinterlining is so valuable and where else it can be used:
etany.org Effective Transit Alliance @etany.org · Dec 8
This morning, the MTA swapped the F/M trains at 8 stations in Manhattan & Queens. This is an example of "deinterlining," a technique which improves the frequency & reliability of subway service.

Read ETA on why deinterlining is so valuable & where else it can be used:

www.etany.org/statements/d...
Deinterlining: Simpler Service, Fewer Delays — Effective Transit Alliance New York
Deinterlining simplifies subway operations, allowing for more trains to travel more quickly, and prevents delays from spreading. It's the correct solution for both riders and operations.
www.etany.org
December 10, 2025 at 6:20 PM
etany.org
There is no excuse for the MTA to walk slowly on this. Walk-through trains are standard for new orders across both the country and the world, and these cars will be in service for 30 years.

The MTA needs to join the 21st Century and start ordering safer, modern trains now.
"Open gangway cars have become the standard for transit systems all over the world. The MTA is paying extra to buy bespoke trains that meet out of date specifications rather than ordering off the shelf models from worldwide manufacturers. These trains will be in service for at least 30 years. There is no excuse for the MTA to live in the past and order trains that know will be out of date before they arrive. Every car should be open gangway at this point," said Lorenzo.
December 9, 2025 at 11:16 PM
etany.org
Open-gangway cars have numerous benefits: they are more comfortable for passengers, are safer, prevent "subway surfing," and offer a capacity increase of around 10%.

That's why essentially all new off-the-shelf metro cars globally are open-gangway.
December 9, 2025 at 11:16 PM
etany.org
In a baffling and unacceptable move, the MTA announced that its purchase of 378 new R268 subway cars will not include walk-through open-gangway trains.

As ETA's Blair Lorenzo explained to Streetsblog, walk-through trains are the global standard for good reason.

nyc.streetsblog.org/2025/12/09/m...
"We're as confused as anyone as to the MTA's reticence to buy open-gangway cars," said Blair Lorenzo, the executive director of the Effective Transit Alliance. "Walk-through trains have long since become the standard around the world: they're safer, they're more comfortable for riders, and they increase train capacity by around 10 percent. They are an obvious win."
December 9, 2025 at 11:16 PM
etany.org
This Friday, come join ETA for our last TOD: Transit-Oriented Drinks of the year!

Join us for drinks, transit discussion, and transit advocacy!

Friday December 12, 2025
from 6-8pm
at Vanderbuilt Market
45th & Vanderbilt behind Grand Central.

All are welcome!
This Friday, come join ETA for our last TOD: Transit-Oriented Drinks of the year! Join us for drinks, transit discussion, and transit advocacy! Friday December 12, 2025 from 6-8pm at Vanderbuilt Market 45th & Vanderbilt behind Grand Central. All are welcome!
December 9, 2025 at 6:53 PM
etany.org
In short, deinterlining simplifies subway operations, allowing for more trains to travel more quickly, and prevents delays from spreading.

It is the correct solution for both riders and operations, and ETA is excited it's becoming a reality.

www.etany.org/statements/d...
Deinterlining: Simpler Service, Fewer Delays — Effective Transit Alliance New York
Deinterlining simplifies subway operations, allowing for more trains to travel more quickly, and prevents delays from spreading. It's the correct solution for both riders and operations.
www.etany.org
December 8, 2025 at 6:11 PM
etany.org
We encourage the MTA to consider deinterlining the B/D/N/Q trains through DeKalb Interlocking as well. This is one of the worst sources of delays in the system, as anyone who travels the Manhattan Br can attest.

It would also offer huge cost savings for the 6 Av CBTC project.
December 8, 2025 at 6:11 PM
etany.org
ETA is excited for the F/M swap, which will simplify service, improving reliability & speed for riders.

We're also eager to see the MTA deinterline Nostrand Junction, where the 2,3, & 5 trains must currently share tracks. This would improve service for over 300k daily riders.
December 8, 2025 at 6:11 PM
etany.org
Particularly difficult are "reverse branches," where services that share a central trunk split, and then meet with branches from other trunks.

Reverse branches quickly become delay factories with ripple effects that can impact riders boroughs away.
A diagram of reverse branching, where two trunks split into three branches, but the middle branches from each truck join into a single branch.
December 8, 2025 at 6:11 PM
etany.org
The New York City Subway is famously complex, with many lines intersecting and sharing tracks with others. This makes it incredibly difficult if not impossible to schedule so that trains arrive at merges at different times. It also allows delays to cascade across the system.
Many of New York’s subway lines are interconnected through delicate acts of interlining, allowing delays to spread. This graph shows all B Division services that share tracks with at least one other service. Services that share tracks after the F/M swap are connected by a line.
December 8, 2025 at 6:11 PM
etany.org
This morning, the MTA swapped the F/M trains at 8 stations in Manhattan & Queens. This is an example of "deinterlining," a technique which improves the frequency & reliability of subway service.

Read ETA on why deinterlining is so valuable & where else it can be used:

www.etany.org/statements/d...
Deinterlining: Simpler Service, Fewer Delays — Effective Transit Alliance New York
Deinterlining simplifies subway operations, allowing for more trains to travel more quickly, and prevents delays from spreading. It's the correct solution for both riders and operations.
www.etany.org
December 8, 2025 at 6:11 PM
etany.org
A bill like this is an affront to good transit planning.

Rules like bus lane enforcement exist to keep transit riders—the clear majority of New Yorkers—moving.

No neighborhood should have an exemption to transit rules.
reinventalbany.bsky.social Reinvent Albany @reinventalbany.bsky.social · Dec 4
Gov Hochul should VETO the bill that carves out Co-op City from bus lane enforcement.

It slows buses and worsens pollution. The state Legislature should not be getting involved in local transit decisions.
buff.ly/01VdEUW
December 5, 2025 at 9:46 PM
etany.org
Congestion pricing is working.

It's providing money for needed transit upgrades.

It's lowering traffic, making bus rides faster.

And of course, its' making New York streets safer and more enjoyable for all.
December 4, 2025 at 6:21 PM