MTA

Residents of Northern Manhattan and the west Bronx have been waiting more than three years for the re-opening of the bike-ped path on the lower deck of the Henry Hudson Bridge. When the moment finally came earlier this summer, however, cyclists got a nasty surprise: MTA Bridges and Tunnels still won't allow biking on the bridge.

With the cuts to New York City Transit taking effect this weekend, today's the last day of service for many riders. If you take the V or W train, or the M6, M18, M27, M30, B23, B37, B39, B51, B71, B75, B77, Q74, Q75, Q79, Q89, Bx14, Bx25, Barretto Park Pool Shuttle, S60 or S67 buses, you'll be hit the hardest; those lines are scheduled for elimination. On dozens more routes, riders will be waiting longer for their ride or scrambling to replace night and weekend service.

MTA service cuts are here. With reductions taking effect on Sunday, tomorrow marks the last day of operation for weekday-only services like the V and W trains, and many express buses. And even as transit supporters mourn current losses, more cuts loom on the horizon.

In an unbelievable display of chutzpah -- okay, not really -- Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Ways and Means Committee Chair Herman "Denny" Farrell issued a self-congratulatory press release last Friday taking credit for "saving" student MetroCards. Here's an excerpt:

How many ways can New York state raid the MTA piggy bank? Here's one to keep an eye on.

The $2 billion transit operating aid bill unveiled by Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd today could set the stage to stave off major MTA service cuts slated to take effect next month.

Prospects for safer cycling on the east side of Midtown got a boost last night, as Manhattan Community Board 6 strengthened its support for uninterrupted bike lanes as part of NYCDOT and the MTA's redesign of First and Second Avenues. 

In January, the MTA took the long-awaited step of opening up its data to software developers, clearing the way for third parties to devise new and innovative ways to put current information in the hands of transit customers. Since then, the agency has received some 1,100 requests for data, reports AMNY. New apps provide everything from the location of the nearest subway stations, like acrossair, demonstrated above, to history trivia along bus routes.

Last December, John Samuelsen was elected president of TWU Local 100, the union that represents 38,000 subway and bus workers in the New York City region. He assumed the leadership from former president Roger Toussaint at a troubled time for the transit system. With transit tax revenues in free fall and state lawmakers raiding MTA coffers to plug holes in the general budget, transit riders and transit jobs were under threat.