Latest news with #MTA
CBS News
6 hours ago
- CBS News
Some riders claim MTA's OMNY system is overcharging. Here's why the agency says not to worry.
Some New York City subway riders allege the MTA's tap and go system, OMNY, is charging them for rides they didn't take. As the MTA pushes back on those claims, here are some ways riders can be sure to protect their fare. "It's one charge after another" Most New Yorkers don't track every trip. But some claim they do and say they're being taken for a ride. One TikTok video about OMNY's tap and go payment issues has been viewed 28,000 times, and Reddit is flooded with similar complaints. "I think I am being charged for rides I didn't take," said rider Nikki Krat, adding, "It's one charge after another, and I haven't taken the train in days." Another rider said she received back-to-back charges and returned to the MetroCard, instead of tapping. But with the classic cards being phased out, soon OMNY will be the only option. MTA says riders are not being overcharged Last month, concerns about the billing issues became so widespread, the MTA wrote online, "Rest assured you're not being overcharged." Due to a software update, it says there is just a delay between the tap and the charge. "The way the system is supposed to work is that people are charged immediately," explained Lucas Gutterman, a consumer advocate with Public Interest Research Group. In 2023, riders could check the location of their swipes online. But then, for security reasons, the MTA disabled the "trip history" feature. Two years later, the agency says it's still evaluating new tools to serve customers, and to call customer service for account questions. "I was on hold for about an hour and then, almost instantly after someone picked up, the call was dropped," said rider James Crowley. What to watch out for Until the issues are fixed, Gutterman says riders should track their trips and dispute if they feel they've been overcharged. "The number of trips you took should match the number of times you were charged," he said. "If those numbers don't match, then you have a problem." CBS News New York reached out to the MTA about the issues. The agency said no one is getting overcharged, but it understands the concerns of customers who have experienced processing delays. It's also working to increase hours and staffing at the call center.
Politico
9 hours ago
- Business
- Politico
America's biggest rail service faces peril from both parties after years of ‘Amtrak Joe' Biden
BENEATH THE EAST RIVER, New York — Twelve years after Hurricane Sandy's brackish floodwaters poured into some of the Northeast's busiest rail tunnels, the damage is still apparent from pooling water and crumbling casing. Political leaders who mattered most — from former President Joe Biden to the region's governors — all backed a $1.6 billion repair of the Amtrak tunnels connecting Manhattan and Long Island. But now Donald Trump is president and New York is taking a more adversarial approach to Amtrak. Even though repair work started last month on the Sandy-damaged tunnels beneath the East River, Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and members of her administration threw intense last-minute shade on the project. They suggested Amtrak cannot be trusted, doesn't care about its customers and compared its officials to a used car salesman. The sharp elbows suggest a new peril for the national railroad following the 'Amtrak Joe' Biden years, when the administration showered billions of dollars on the railroad and New York rail projects, including the separate $16 billion project to build new tunnels beneath the Hudson River connecting New Jersey and New York. Amtrak's leader recently stepped down in a peace offering to Trump and the railroad is facing major layoffs and renewed pressure to turn a profit. If Amtrak doesn't have the confidence of Northeastern Democrats like Hochul, whose state is home to the flagship New York Penn Station and its busiest passenger routes, it's not clear who Amtrak can count on. 'Am I confident?' Hochul said during a recent press conference. 'I don't know.' Hochul's recent criticism of the East River rehab, paired with open hostility toward Amtrak from officials at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, are yet another sore spot between the Democratic governor and the Trump administration over transit — one among many. Trump is trying to kill New York's signature congestion pricing program. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy recently seized control of the high-profile overhaul of Penn Station and handed it to Amtrak, under the supervision of former MTA head Andy Byford. But the tunnel clash adds animosity to what was once widely regarded as a slam dunk repair project by Amtrak to its own tunnels. Sandy flooded two of four East River train tunnels, leaving behind a salty residue that's eating away at the concrete casing. Since then, Amtrak has been working on a plan to fix the century-old tubes by closing them one after another for two-and-a-half years of repair work. The closures could prompt delays for Long Island commuters if something goes wrong in any of the other tunnels. Hochul worries those delays could shred public confidence in transit after the state is 'finally getting our footing.' 'The last thing I want to do is have a setback that can go on for years,' Hochul said. 'So I was very clear in my messaging to Amtrak: Don't screw this up.' As the tunnel repair project loomed, Hochul and the MTA asked Amtrak to rip up its closure plans and take a different approach known as 'repair in place,' which would shift the work to nights and weekends and keep the tunnels open during peak commuting times. In doing so, she and her allies have used rhetoric that would have been hard to imagine when Biden was president. 'Amtrak's track record for us is a little terrifying,' MTA CEO Janno Lieber said, citing unrelated problems with Amtrak's system that caused massive headaches for New Jersey commuters last summer. Lisa Daglian, the head of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, cited a history of Amtrak system problems to suggest that if something went wrong with the East River tunnels, the 2017 'summer of hell' transit crisis in New York City would look like a 'warm spring day.' In New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy and members of the state's congressional delegation have expressed frustration with Amtrak, but for other reasons and in more muted terms. Murphy, a Democrat, stepped in to broker a peace between Amtrak and NJ Transit last summer after the two railroads got into a spat over who was to blame for massive delays for Garden State commuters. Now, every few months, Murphy gathers NJ Transit and Amtrak leaders in front of cameras to field reporters' questions about their joint work. Not so in New York. New York's criticism of Amtrak intensified shortly after Duffy announced in mid-April that it would be in charge of Penn Station, a move that sidelined the MTA and Lieber, who has his own particular vision for what should happen there. It's hard to know if the tunnel flare up aimed at Amtrak is part of a tit-for-tat, but it's a theory few people are discounting given that the MTA and Amtrak had been talking about the tunnel work for years. 'We were surprised by this sudden disavowment of a plan that we had worked together on for a long time,' said Laura Mason, Amtrak's executive vice president for capital project delivery. New York contends it has long harbored worries about Amtrak's plan to close one tunnel for 13 months of repairs, reopen it and then close the other for 13 more months. The East River tunnels are used by Amtrak, the MTA's Long Island Rail Road and NJ Transit, which sends trains to Queens so they can be ready to head back to New Jersey during rush hour. NJ Transit has not raised a ruckus over the tunnel project. But LIRR, which is part of the MTA, is the biggest user of the tunnels. And its leader, Rob Free, is worried because it sends more than 450 trains and 125,000 customers through them each day. In early May, Amtrak handed LIRR an easy anecdote to bash it with even before repairs began: Poor quality control meant one of the tunnels wasn't ready to go after an overnight outage, inconveniencing tens of thousands of Long Island commuters. If another tunnel had been closed for repair when that happened, there would have been even more delays and cancellations. 'The governor of New York seems to be more concerned about Amtrak customers than they do,' Free, the head of LIRR, said during a press conference in remarks that echoed Hochul's own. Mason of Amtrak responded that the critique 'didn't hurt because it wasn't true,' but she was frustrated by Free 'misrepresenting the collective effort that went into these plans.' Mason said that while the MTA has had concerns, it has been part of the project for years — the MTA has helped get the money for the project, signed off on the design and participated in the procurement. But there's been a bipartisan group of New York members worried about Amtrak for a while, including everything from Amtrak's service cuts to the full closure of the tunnels. Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's ideas about how to run a railroad also loom over the dispute. To avoid a shutdown of the L subway line in 2019, Cuomo's administration instead shifted most of the work to nights and weekends. He was hailed as a sort of hero at the time and wanted to use that same repair-in-place approach on other projects, including Gateway. Now Hochul wants to use the idea for the East River tunnels. Amtrak recently fought back against it by offering a rare media tour of one of the East River tunnels to show just how fragile the tunnels are and why it considers repair-in-place unworkable. The tour began on a recent Thursday with a descent into Tunnel 2 at 1 a.m. Down there, travelling on the back of a truck in an otherwise empty tunnel dozens of feet below Manhattan's 1st Avenue and the East River itself, Amtrak officials pointed to the extent of the damage done by time and Sandy. Rickety catwalks meant for escape in an emergency seemed questionable at best. Water dripped from the ceiling, pooling near tracks in a way that could force trains to slow or stop. Cast-iron casing crumbled in one Amtrak worker's hand. The tunnel repairs Amtrak is making should ensure people can escape in an emergency. It won't stop all the dripping, but it's expected to prevent puddles from shutting down service and will upgrade the tunnel's interior and electrical work. 'What we're designing is a tunnel that helps itself,' said Liam McQuat, Amtrak's vice president of engineering services. 'This has been 12 years in the making.' The biggest impression Amtrak made was just how hard it would be to cram in work on nights and weekends: It seemed hard enough to get a gaggle of reporters in and out of the tunnel — no trains could travel in the tunnel that had to be blocked off and powered down for safety. The message Amtrak sent was that trying to get hundreds of workers and all their equipment in and out of the tunnel each night and have the tunnel reopened in time for the morning commute would be challenging and inefficient. It could also triple or quadruple the time it would take to make the repairs. In a press conference the next day, Free dismissed Amtrak's tour as the work of a car salesman. 'The salesman pulls the car up, you sit in the car, pulls at your heartstrings, pulls at your emotions,' Free said. 'But at the end of the day, it's about the details, it's about what's the bottom line.'
The Hill
19 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hill
NYPD investigating car bomb threat against mayoral candidate Mamdani
Police in New York are investigating car bomb threats against Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, according to a Thursday release from his campaign. Mamdani said a repeat caller has been leaving 'alarming' voicemails. 'While Zohran does not own a car, the violent and specific language of what appears to be a repeat caller is alarming and we are taking every precaution,' Mamdani said in a statement sent to The Hill by his campaign. 'While this is a sad reality, it is not surprising after millions of dollars have been spent on dehumanizing, Islamophobic rhetoric designed to stoke division and hate. Violence and racism should have no place in our politics. Zohran remains focused on delivering a safe and affordable New York,' the statement added. The New York State Assemblymember's reports of violent threats come after New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, a fellow Democratic mayoral candidate, was arrested while leaving immigration court. It also follows a 'politically motivated' shooting involving two Democratic lawmakers in Minnesota. 'This is an atrocious threat of political violence against Mr. Mamdani. It is unacceptable —I strongly condemn these threats and any others like them. This has no place in our politics or our society. Thankfully no one was harmed,' Andrew Cuomo, a Democratic candidate for mayor, wrote in a Thursday post on X. 'This is a pivotal time in this country and we need to tone down the rhetoric and focus on the people's agenda,' he added. Mamdani and Cuomo had a notably heated moment during the June 12 candidate debate. The former slammed the latter for past misconduct and mispronouncing his name. 'I have never had to resign in disgrace. I have never stolen hundreds of millions of dollars from the MTA. I have never hounded the 13 women who credibly accused me of sexual harassment. I have never sued for their gynecological records. And I have never done those things because I am not you, Mr. Cuomo,' Mamdani said during the debate. 'The name is Mamdani, M, A, M, D, A, N, I. You should learn how to say it,' he added. Cuomo and Mamdani are neck and neck with voters, separated by 10 percentage points— 55 percent to 45 percent— according to a June poll from the Marist Institute for Public Opinion. Jared Gans contributed to this article.
New York Times
a day ago
- Lifestyle
- New York Times
Summer Beans, Make Me Feel Fine
Determined to hit my step goal, I recently switched up my commute, walking 20 minutes to an express train instead of taking the line closest to home. It's been a nice change in routine, for the most part. Here's the rub: The M.T.A. has managed to create dozens of little hells on earth, and they are the regularly un-air-conditioned cars of the A train. For the low price of $2.90, you too can show up to your office job unprofessionally soaked. Come the commute back home, the still, suffocating air has eviscerated my desire to turn on the oven or a stove burner. With a heat wave rapidly approaching the Northeast and parts of the Midwest, it's only going to get worse. So begins no-cook season. To build your no-cook arsenal is to turn your attention to one Hetty Lui McKinnon. Her latest recipe transforms the very-much-cooked vegetarian chili into a need-no-heat salad. Behold: the no-cook chili bean salad. It's genius. It's versatile. It still plays well with a tricked-out toppings bar. Fresh tomatoes, red onion, bell pepper and canned pinto and black beans mingle in a highly seasoned and tangy marinade, all awaiting your desired combination of corn chips, tortillas, sour cream, avocado and cheese. View this recipe. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Scoop
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Scoop
Transport Rules Reform Welcome, But Don't Forget Safety
The Motor Trade Association (MTA) supports the Government's focus on reforming transport rules for the benefit of the sector and the public. However, MTA cautions that public safety must not be compromised by any changes. Transport Minister Chris Bishop has announced a work programme to increase productivity and efficiency through comprehensively reforming New Zealand's land transport rules. MTA Head of Advocacy James McDowall says MTA has been actively involved as part of the core group of industry stakeholders engaging with the Minister and the Ministry of Transport on the work programme. 'Evaluation of measures that reflect and are fit for purpose for the modern fleet on our roads is timely,' Mr McDowall says. 'The advent of new technologies, particularly in regard to safety, means many vehicles on our roads are vastly different from those even just ten years ago.' MTA believes the Warrant of Fitness (WoF) is overdue for review, both in terms of new and old vehicles. New vehicles have safety features that simply do not fit the current WoF inspection template, while at the other end of the scale, there are now 25-year-old vehicles which only need to undergo a Warrant of Fitness check once a year. 'This raises serious questions around safety, and it is appropriate that the review takes WoF frequency into account,' Mr McDowall says. 'Improving the role of digitalisation also reflects modern trends and overseas experience. Many New Zealanders travelling abroad remark on the lack of stickers on vehicle windscreens. It is time for that conversation here.' Any overview of regulation that removes 'red tape' and improves efficiencies and processes is a win for both the transport sector and the traveller, MTA believes. This initiative is a good example of how changes to rules – often overshadowed by major legislative reforms – can deliver meaningful benefits across the system. 'We're keen to see it progress, particularly given that MTA members carry out the majority of WoF inspections across New Zealand,' Mr McDowall says. 'We welcome the opportunity to continue working with the Government to update and simplify transport rules and regulations.'
