Second Avenue Sagas Podcast

In mid-March, Phil Plotch published a new book called The Last Subway: The Long Wait for the Next Train in New York City. The former transit planner-turned-political science professor has penned the definitive book on the history of the Second Ave. Subway and its trials and travails. He joins me on to discuss the tortured saga behind the new subway, the Gov. Cuomo-inspired rush to completion and if the three-stop extension that made up Phase 1 of the project will really be New York City's last subway.

Over the past week, subway ridership has dropped by 60%, and the MTA is suddenly staring into the abyss of a multi-billion-dollar hole in a budget as the COVID-19 public health crisis has put New York City on near-lockdown. As trains and buses keep running to ensure healthcare providers can reach their patients and the city girds for a prolonged quarantine, the MTA has asked the federal government for a $4 billion bailout. The fate of the MTA's fiscal health, let alone the $51 billion capital plan, is in limbo, and the Manhattan Institute's Nicole Gelinas, an expert in the field of MTA finances, joins me to discuss what it all means. Could the MTA default on its debt payments? Are steep fare hikes in our future? And what does it mean when a usually-steady municipal bond starts to falter?

It's been a busy few weeks in NYC transit as coronavirus has descended upon the city amidst the fallout from Andy Byford's departure and the ongoing MTA Transformation effort. Jose Martinez, a long-time veteran of the transit beat and current senior report for THE CITY, joins me for the Season 2 premiere to make sense of the madness of all of the recent news.

Subway maps land in the hot seat in this episode as Eddie Jabbour, the creator the Kickmap, joins me for a wide-ranging conversation on all things design. Jabbour and I discuss the elements of subway map design, what the MTA's current map gets right and what it gets wrong, which international city is the Holy Grail for designers looking to improve underground wayfinding, and of course, the Kickmap itself, his popular dynamic subway map.

Buses are in the spotlight this week as Steven Higashide, TransitCenter's direct of research, joins me to talk about the 14th St. Busway, New York City's bus redesign efforts, and the lessons from his new book Better Buses, Better Cities: How to Plan, Run, and Win the Fight for Effective Transit.

Sarah Feinberg, the former head of the Federal Railroad Administration and current MTA Board member, joins me to discuss her experiences in Washington and her views on what's going right and what's going wrong with the MTA. With the $51 billion capital plan and MTA reorganization on tap, we discuss if the MTA is finally on the right track.

Doug Gordon, the man behind @BrooklynSpoke and co-host of The War on Cars podcast, joins me to discuss how transit advocates, pedestrian safety activists and cycling proponents are all fighting the same fight against the primacy of cars in New York City transportation planning. In an age of climate change and facilitated by conversations on the Internet, these once-divergent groups have come together to fight the war on cars.

OMNY arrives with a bang, as the MTA has rolled out its open-loop tap-and-go fare payment technology that will replace the MetroCard. But what exactly does this fare payment system of the future do? And when will New Yorkers get their unlimited OMNY passes? Al Putre, the executive director of the MTA's New Fare Payment Program, joins me to talk all things OMNY.

Rachael Fauss, Senior Research Analyst at Reinvent Albany, discusses "Open MTA," the good governance group's call for MTA reform and accountability. Fauss discusses the report, which details how Andrew Cuomo and the state government could overhaul the way the MTA is governed and improve the reliability of transit service. New York doesn't have to reinvent the transit wheel; it just need better accountability and governance guiding it.

Aaron Gordon, author of the "Signal Problems" transit newsletter, stops by to discuss the ins and outs and ups and downs of covering the MTA as he prepares to retire the gig. We talk rumors about a rift between Andy Byford and Andy Cuomo, the challenges of covering non-transparent government agencies and whether the subways are indeed getting better.