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| Making free walking transfer permanent for (G) (J) (M) (Z) riders? (1309655) | |||
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Making free walking transfer permanent for (G) (J) (M) (Z) riders? |
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Posted by Gold_12th on Wed Aug 27 00:46:11 2014 SUMMER is ending, and so too is a free subway transfer in Williamsburg, Brooklyn — unless elected officials and rider advocates can convince the MTA to change course.The freebie — between the G train station at Broadway and the J/M stop at Lorimer St. — was established in July by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Officials said it was only a temporary measure to lessen the pain of G train riders during a major service disruption on the line — the Greenpoint Tube, which carries the G underneath Newtown Creek, from Greenpoint, Brooklyn, into Long Island City, Queens, was closed to repair damage caused by Hurricane Sandy. That project, which began July 26, is slated to conclude Sept. 2. The no-cost transfer requires riders to exit the system and walk above ground between the two stations. Advocates and some elected officials will hold a rally at the G train’s Broadway station Wednesday morning to argue that the so-called “walking transfer” should remain in place after Sept. 2, because it enables riders to more cheaply and quickly get to their destinations. “The G is the only line that doesn’t go into Manhattan,” said Rebecca Bailin, a community organizer with the Riders Alliance. “It better connects this line to the rest of the city.” More than 2,000 riders made the so-called “walking transfer” daily prior to the freebie, according to an MTA study. About half of those customers didn’t have unlimited-ride MetroCards and paid an additional fare to switch trains. “This disproportionately affects low-income riders who can’t afford the cost of a monthly MetroCard,” Bailin said. The Riders Alliance, and a group of nine elected officials, including state Sen. Daniel Squadron (D-Brooklyn/Manhattan) and U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn), have written letters to MTA brass requesting they keep the free transfer in place. Squadron, one of the rally’s organizers, praised the MTA for the frequency of the shuttle buses that have serviced the route during the construction project, and for the authority’s responsiveness to community concerns along the way. They deserve “enormous credit,” he told the Daily News. The MTA did not immediately establish the temporary walking transfer when the planned work on the Greenpoint Tube was announced, but reversed course several weeks before the project was to begin, following overtures from elected officials. “They get an A for their G performance,” Squadron said. “A silver lining to the G train outage has been the transfer. It’s a great opportunity for the MTA to build on their great work by making the free transfer permanent.” An MTA spokesman had no immediate comment. But MTA officials have said free out-of-system transfers are very rare, in large part because of the expense. The MTA has estimated that the walking transfer in Williamsburg, if made permanent, would result in lost revenues of between $770,000 and $1.1 million. The clamor for the walking transfer to be made permanent predates work on the Greenpoint Tube. The system’s only permanent MetroCard “walking transfer” is in Manhattan, between Lexington Ave/63rd St. on the F line and the 59th St./Lexington Ave. complex, where 4,5,6,N,Q and R trains stop. "Under NYC Transit policy, MetroCard walking transfers between subways are established only to mitigate permanent or temporary service changes," according to an MTA report on the G line.The report states that the only permanent walking transfer was created to preserve a link between the F and the Lexington Avenue Line when the F was rerouted from the 53rd St. Line to the one on 63rd St. in 2001. "Walking transfers cannot be implemented on the G without modifying NYC Transit policy system-wide," the report adds. http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/push-free-g-to-j-m-transfer-permanent-article-1.1917910#ixzz3BZ3UqUe1 |
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