MTA

New MTA chair Joe Lhota is promising a public-facing dashboard that functions as a "report card" on the agency's performance. Here's what would make it a useful tool to improve accountability and build trust with riders.

One of New York City’s preeminent jurists, Frederick A.O. Schwarz Jr., affirmed today that the city possesses full legal authority to toll its own roads and bridges and thus does not require state approval to implement congestion pricing.

DOT and the MTA may go beyond typical bus lanes in their plan to keep people moving on 14th Street during the L train shutdown, which will suspend service west of Bedford Avenue for 15 months starting in April 2019.

Starting in January 2019, service on the L train west of Bedford Avenue will be suspended for 15 months to allow for Sandy-related repairs. The only way to keep hundreds of thousands of people moving is to dedicate significant street space to buses on both sides of the East River. But at a presentation to elected officials on Friday, the MTA and DOT did not indicate that bus lanes are part of their plan, except on the Williamsburg Bridge itself.

Off-board fare payment is a huge time saver for the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who ride the city's Select Bus Service routes. It cuts out the time-consuming process of each passenger dipping a MetroCard one by one. But the technology that off-board payment relies on could be better.

While bus ridership is down citywide -- and especially in Manhattan -- there are some routes that are bucking the trend. One that's gaining riders is the M86, which got a package of upgrades from DOT and the MTA in 2015. The improvements included off-board fare collection and queue jumps -- short bus lane segments that enable buses to cut ahead of other traffic at signals.

Some streetscape improvements are planned for the Bronx portion of the route. The biggest changes are proposed for 161st Street, where DOT would widen sidewalks and limit eastbound traffic in the tunnel under the Grand Concourse to buses.

There was a little bit of everything at today's City Council transportation hearing -- and we have the highlights for you right here.

If the first step to better citywide bus service is admitting that NYC has a problem, yesterday's MTA Board meeting was a breakthrough.