As ETA has argued, mandating two-person trains is akin to mandating the return of elevator operators.
NY transit should be learning from global best practices. That means OPTO & automation for better service.
Our transit shouldn't be locked in the past.
www.etany.org/statements/i...
-OPTO allows for more frequent service at a lower cost.
-OPTO has been proven safe for decades, including on systems busier than NY, with longer trains, and with older infrastructure.
-This bill would prevent new lines like the IBX from utilizing cost-saving automated trains.
ETA and other civic orgs are urging NY not to require two operators on every train.
One-person train operation (OPTO) is a standard practice used on every subway system around the world—including on the MTA.
This bill would hurt riders and lock NY's transit system in the past.
tinyurl.com/etatpto
Stay tuned, as ETA will launch its own report in a few weeks discussing ways to build this route at a cost closer to our international peers, while also making it far more useful for transfer and crosstown riders.
Also, be sure to check out JTA's petition: c.org/zT4N88GG7b
A 125th St Q extension is the right route, but with a price of > $7B/mi and deep stations forcing 5+min escalator trips, the current plan doesn't work.
ETA sat down with @jointtransit.bsky.social to talk fixes for this vital link.
Watch!: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Fgy...
Blair Lorenzo
Keep your eyes out for Blair, who will have a sign, be wearing a name tag, and have business cards!
TONIGHT, Friday March 27, 2026 from 6-8pm at The Irish Exit Moynihan Food Hall Penn Station
TONIGHT come join ETA for TOD: Transit-Oriented Drinks, March!
Join us for drinks, transit discussion, and transit advocacy!
TONIGHT, Friday March 27, 2026 from
6-8pm at
The Irish Exit
Moynihan Food Hall
Penn Station
All are welcome!
Friday March 27, 2026 from 6-8pm at The Irish Exit Moynihan Food Hall Penn Station
This Friday, come join ETA for TOD: Transit-Oriented Drinks, March!
Join us for drinks, transit discussion, and transit advocacy!
Friday March 27, 2026 from
6-8pm at
The Irish Exit
Moynihan Food Hall
Penn Station
All are welcome!
Division. As detailed in the RFP Overview and Proposal Procedures, both the Base Order and Option Orders have multiple split scenarios consisting of different configurations/combinations of Closed End Cars (the "R262") and Open Gangway Cars (the "R262OG"). The Contractor will provide all design, engineering, testing, manufacturing, delivery, warranty, training, spare parts, tools, diagnostics test equipment and other services as necessary.
In fact, although they are replacing cars from the 1980s, all the R262s should be the true OGs.
www.mta.info/document/201...
Indeed, as the R211T has shown, walk-through trains work well and are popular in NYC already. They allow passengers to move around, and they help prevent subway surfing.
It's past time for all new trains to be open gangway.
While it's exciting that the MTA is ordering new trains, there is no excuse not to buy all of them as walk-through (open-gangway) cars.
Walk-through cars are the standard worldwide: they're not only higher capacity, but safer.
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/19/n...
As ETA argued last year, a bill like this would lock New York transit in the past.
The vast majority of metro systems around the world use only a single operator or are entirely automated, with no negative effect on safety and enabling more service.
www.etany.org/statements/i...
"Blair Lorenzo, Executive Director, Effective Transit Alliance "This is a great decision by Gov. Sherrill, one which should have always been a no-brainer. Urban highway widenings have no place in the 21st century, and all too often, the need for structural replacement is used as an excuse for hidden road expansion. This is the right call not only for New Jersey, but for the entire metropolitan area." "
Last week, NJ Gov Sherrill announced that the NJ Turnpike would replace the Newark Bay Bridge with only one span, finally ending a wrongheaded highway expansion.
Urban highway widenings have no place in the 21st century, & ETA joins our partners in applauding this decision.
tinyurl.com/3757cdhs
Blair Lorenzo
If it's your first time, keep an eye out for Blair, who will be there with a sign, nametag, and business cards.
Tonight, Friday February 27, 2026 from 6-8pm at Vanderbilt Market 45th & Vanderbilt behind Grand Central.
TONIGHT, come join ETA for TOD: Transit-Oriented Drinks February!
Join us for drinks, transit discussion, and transit advocacy!
Tonight, Friday February 27, 2026
from 6-8pm
at Vanderbilt Market
45th & Vanderbilt behind Grand Central.
All are welcome!
This is inappropriate and unacceptable.
The subway is already too loud, with unnecessary announcements. They make navigation harder for those who rely on them, cause riders to tune out, and make riding a chore.
Advertising is never an appropriate use for transit PAs.
nypost.com/2026/02/25/u...
Friday February 27, 2026 from 6-8pm at Vanderbuilt Market 45th & Vanderbilt behind Grand Central.
This Friday, come join ETA for TOD: Transit-Oriented Drinks February!
Join us for drinks, transit discussion, and transit advocacy!
Friday February 27, 2026
from 6-8pm
at Vanderbuilt Market
45th & Vanderbilt behind Grand Central.
All are welcome!
Streetsblog spoke to ETA about monthly caps. While better, ETA recommends steeply-discounted prepaid monthlies.
Before OMNY, a NY monthly pass cost 46 rides. In contrast, the Continental European range is 15-30, encouraging ridership while discouraging evasion.
nyc.streetsblog.org/2026/02/18/a...
New York should be investing in electrifying its passenger rail network. Electric trains are faster, cheaper, and drive ridership.
Moving backwards to diesel is simply nonsensical.
www.etany.org/not-so-capit...
That's why CT invested $300M in electric trains for SLE: they drive ridership while lowering costs & pollution. To throw that away to "save" $8.8M/yr is nonsensical.
If that number is correct, then the rate Amtrak is charging for electricity on its tracks is deeply unreasonable.
Returning diesel trains to Shore Line East would be a disaster:
⬩Electric trains accelerate far faster, enabling quicker service with fewer delays
⬩Amtrak pricing aside, electric trains are far cheaper to operate & maintain
⬩Electric trains pollute less & are more reliable
tinyurl.com/c77fkzus
As ETA has argued, infrastructure is far too important to be used for political games.
www.etany.org/statements/2...
Although a recent court decision ordered Gateway funding restored, it's been stayed pending appeal.
The result: even though the TBMs are in the ground, construction of this vital tunnel is paused, adding millions (at least) to its cost & further delaying opening.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/n...
That said, all-door boarding needs to be implemented correctly:
▪️ Fare teams must have the right equipment. They should never need bank statements.
▪️Reinstate prepaid transit passes to speed fare checks.
▪️Checks should happen with the bus in motion, not slowing riders.
All-door boarding is right for NY buses: by reducing boarding time, it not only improves rider experience, but speeds service.
To date however, the MTA has dragged its feet, even though the fleet already has rear-door OMNY readers.
Hopefully this isn't more stalling.
www.amny.com/news/fare-ev...
As ETA has argued, infrastructure is far too important to be used for political games.
www.etany.org/statements/2...
The Gateway Development Corporation is suing the federal government to receive its appropriated funds.
While there are many issues with Gateway, stopping construction would add years of delay and potentially billions more in cost to this vital project.
www.nydailynews.com/2026/02/02/g...
Researchers with the Effective Transit Alliance, who previously convinced the MTA to tunnel under All Faiths Cemetery to speed up service on its proposed Interborough Express, said that even the station at 125th Street and Lexington Avenue station — the busiest planned station in Phase II — will not be 75-feet wide, so none of the stations on the crosstown branch need to approach that width. ETA researchers told Streetsblog that keeping the crosstown stations the same size as the Phase I and Phase II stations could save 15 percent on tunneling costs alone.
ETA will soon publish a report recommending ways to significantly cut the project's costs, and we previewed some of those findings to Streetsblog.
This is a promising route, but NY simply cannot build the transit it needs without getting its costs under control.
Extending the Second Avenue subway across 125th St is a great concept, but the current project is deeply flawed:
* At $7.7B for 1.3mi, it will cost an order of magnitude more than similar lines in other global cities.
* Deep stations will waste a lot of time—over 10 min across 125th.
Victory on the All Faiths Tunnel was just the start. Now we’re pushing for:
• Automated light metro
• High frequencies
• Seamless in-system transfers
• High-floor trains
Check out ETA's official recommendations for the IBX environmental review submitted last November:
www.etany.org/statements/i...