The New York City Subway and the New Jersey Turnpike are both facing some serious problems that are irking commuters. The delays are mounting and people are clamoring for change to make their commute easier.
Here are seven things you need to know about the crazy crisis occurring at the New York Subway and New Jersey Turnpike.
1. The subway has been riddled with delays this summer. For instance, there were three straight days in June when trains were delayed and re-routed. The first two incidents were over a signal issue and the other incident had to do with a “busted switch,” as documented here, here and here. In fact, the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) concluded that 75% of the lines on the subway have ben “chronically late” in the beginning three months of 2017, according to the New York Post.
It wasn’t just in June either, as on Monday a “rubbish fire” resulted in nine people injured, several delays and “overcrowded platforms,” according to New York City Patch.
2. One train on the subway derailed in June. The train derailed in Harlem due to a rail that was “improperly secured,” which was concluded to be the result of “human error.” Thirty-four people were injured in the incident and two supervisors were suspended.
3. The problems with the subway stem from outdated infrastructure. According to City Journal Editor Nicole Gelinas, the infrastructure remains outdated due to an accumulation of debt racked up over decades through various spending projects and appeasing public city employee unions while the state government took further control over the subway system. Additionally, new construction isn’t being completed quickly enough.
4. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) appointed Joe Lhota as the new chairman of the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA). Lhota’s role is part-time, which means that he’s not entirely dependent on the job as a source of income and gives him the freedom to push for serious reforms on how the MTA operates. Instead of serving as a rubber stamp for the governor’s pet projects, the MTA should become more efficient with labor costs and shut down “entire subway lines to speed up signal work,” according to Gelinas.
5. The New Jersey Turnpike has been plagued by “insane” traffic over the closure of the Bayonne Bridge on Sundays. Here’s how a local CBS affiliate described the traffic conditions:
As CBS2’s Tony Aiello found during an exclusive report, Perth Amboy was like one big parking lot on Sunday night. It was so bad that Mayor Wilda Diaz decided to stream the madness.
“It’s just endless — look at this! All the way down Convery Boulevard,” she said.
Twitter users called conditions on the New Jersey Turnpike “apocalyptic” and “insane.”
Drivers were stuck for hours on a summer Sunday night.
“Can you imagine if you have a carload, three or four kids, sitting there, moving inches at a time,” Mike Reilly said.
6. The Bayonne Bridge will open on Sundays. It’s not known when exactly the bridge will be open on Sundays, but it is being done to help ease the massive amounts of traffic on the turnpike.