Kate Hinds

The Port Authority's Bill Baroni, testifying at a Senate hearing

Listen to a conversation about the hearings -- and hear some audio from them - below.

UPDATED A Senate hearing ostensibly on the fairness of toll hikes devolved into a slugfest between Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)  and Bill Baroni, Deputy Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Lautenberg has been seething since New Jersey Governor Chris Christie killed the ARC commuter tunnel under the Hudson River in late 2010.  Last summer's  Hudson River toll hikes -- raised by as much as 50% -- only added fuel to the fire.

Lautenberg had a line of questions prepared, including when the Governors of New Jersey and New York knew about the 2010 toll hikes and whether Baroni thought they were fair.

But Baroni, a Christie appointee, was prepared. "It is impossible to argue fairness in tolls if you don’t pay them," he said, pointing out that the senator -- a Port Authority commissioner from 1978-1982 -- had used an agency-funded EZ Pass at Port Authority toll crossings 284 times (a perk -- since discontinued -- formerly available to Port Authority commissioners for life).

Lautenberg seemed caught off guard by the statement, and although he quickly brought the line of questioning back to the toll hike, it looked like he had brought a butter knife to a switchblade fight.

The senator was also unable to pin Baroni down on one of his key issues: what did Governor Christie know about the Port Authority's plans for last summer's toll hikes, and when did he know it? Baroni wouldn't get specific. "I'm not going to talk about conversations that I have with different administration officials," he said -- spurring Lautenberg to retort: "Are you running a protection agency there?" "Excuse me?" responded Baroni, all wounded indignation.

But with all things Lautenberg and Christie-related, all roads lead back to the ARC tunnel. Senator Lautenberg is furious with the governor for canceling the trans-Hudson tunnel -- a project which the senator had long championed. "Why did the administration that we have in office now cancel $6 billion worth of money that we raised through this place to build a tunnel and get 22,000 cars off the road?" he spat at Baroni. A brief mic outage muted the Port Authority executive's response.

Lautenberg went on to grill Baroni about accusations of political patronage at the Port Authority, and told Baroni he had two weeks to supply the Senate committee with the names of people Governor Chris Christie had recommended for employment at the Port Authority.

"Sure!" said Baroni. "Should we go through them now?"

"Your impertinence is barely tolerable," Lautenberg told Baroni.

Later in the hearing, which stretched to almost 70 minutes, Baroni described the agency's plans to expand platforms at Harrison's PATH station. "Under the plan, we're going to be able to go to ten cars, and that's going to help us bring more rail —"

The senator abruptly hit the gavel twice. "Thank you very much. This hearing is over."

After the hearing, Senator Jay Rockefeller, Chair of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee chided Baroni: “I am troubled and disappointed by accounts of inappropriate discourse and decorum by a witness at the Senate Commerce Subcommittee this morning. A basic level of civility is expected from every witness who testifies in a formal Senate hearing and reports suggest that standard was not met today.”

Later this afternoon, Governor Chris Christie's press secretary, Michael Drewniak, sent the following statement dripping with enmity: (full statement at end of post) "Let’s accept the obvious:  the hearing was a partisan charade. Senator Lautenberg is deluding himself if he actually believes the practices he oversaw, participated in and encouraged during his time as a commissioner with the Port Authority are not relevant in explaining the Port Authority inherited by Governors Cuomo and Christie."

For his part, Lautenberg sent out a statement saying "Mr. Baroni engaged in distraction, deception and diversion.  I am very disappointed that the Port Authority continues to operate behind a veil of secrecy."

Lautenberg has requested that the GAO examine interstate tolling authorities. Meanwhile, late this afternoon, word was released that a joint New York-New Jersey hearing on the Port Authority -- scheduled for this Friday on Staten Island -- is being postponed.

Read below for a partial transcript of a piece of this morning's exchange. You can watch a archived video of Wednesday's hearing here.

Here's a transcript of part of this morning's exchange:

Lautenberg: The question is: did the size of the increase strike those of you who make decisions at the Port Authority as being fair? I mean, that’s a substantial -- 50% increase to cross the bridge. That’s a lot of money.

Baroni: Senator, thank you for the question, and I know that the conversation we heard, some of my colleagues talking about much it is. But as I described before, Senator, that if you are a cash-paying, non-EZPass using, rush hour driving truck, you are causing the most challenges physically to our crossings.  For every fully-loaded tractor-trailer that goes across our bridges, it (causes) 10,000 times the damage to our bridges as one car. But one of the reason we built all of the discounts in, Senator, is to be able to -- those folks who are commuting, who have an EZ Pass, or drive in off-peak, and, Senator, respectfully I understand the concerns that people have about paying tolls across the Hudson. It is something that commuters as you mentioned, Senator, each and every day – but respectfully, Senator, you only started paying tolls recently. For years, Senator, as former commissioner of my agency, you received free EZ Pass. Year after year – in fact, I have a copy of your free EZ Pass. I’ve got letters from ‘01 --

Lautenberg: how often was it used? Do you know?

Baroni: yeah, actually. ’01, ’02, ’03

Lautenberg: what? how many times?

Baroni: I can tell you. In...

Lautenberg: I’m not going to permit you to continue with this silliness.

Baroni: Well, Senator, you took 284 trips for free in the last two years you had the pass.

Lautenberg: I want you to answer this question. (Baroni. Sure!) Is this fair? Is this toll increase fair to the public at large?

Baroni: I think, Senator, for those--

Lautenberg: talk about the individual cars (crosstalk) I want to keep you on track. So. Let's go.

Baroni: Senator, it's impossible..certainly, Senator. It is impossible to argue fairness in tolls if you don’t pay them.

After that testy exchange, Baroni talked about the Port Authority's discount toll programs and how many vehicles use EZPass (81%) -- but  Senator Lautenberg was doing the slow burn.

Lautenberg: To pull out that little thing that I got after serving after in the Port Authority for four years -- I don't even think about using it, Mr. Baroni.

Baroni: of course not, because we took it away.

Lautenberg: Well, what happened, what happens, it was there, that's what they did, that's what I took and I'm not going to defend it. That's a silly thing to bring into this. I want to discuss your direction of this grand agency and where the money is gone, and why the increases were so large. What - what - is that fair play in your view? Why did the administration that we have in office now cancel $6 billion dollars worth of money that we raised through this place to build a tunnel and get 22,000 cars a day off the road? Do you want to talk about those things?

Christie's office sent out the following statement:

"As we learned today, Senator Lautenberg himself perpetuated some of the very dysfunction that only now, under Governors Christie and Cuomo, is being reversed through reforms and intensive audits.  A few counterpoints raised by Deputy Executive Director Baroni:

→ Senator Lautenberg, a wealthy businessman who was a commissioner of the Port Authority from March 1978 to December 1982, received free annual passage at Hudson River crossings and parking privileges at all NY/NJ airports for 24 years.  Mr. Baroni pointed out that in the final two years of his free EZ Pass, the Senator made no less than 284 free toll crossings.

→ At the height of his hypocritical moments today, Senator Lautenberg became enraged when Mr. Baroni pointed out that one of Sen. Lautenberg’s 2002 campaign staffers in charge of “U.S. Senate Candidate Visibility” was hired at the Port Authority after the campaign as a “principal energy specialist.”

While Mr. Baroni told the Senator he was available to talk all day and present evidence about PA tolls and operations, the hearing ended abruptly with Senator Lautenberg visibly angry over the turn of events.  Repeatedly, Senator Lautenberg tried to stop Mr. Baroni from providing answers that didn’t fit the hearing game plan or that held inconvenient truths.

→ “I’m not going to permit you to continue with this silliness,” Senator Lautenberg said as he cut off Mr. Baroni’s discussion of EZ Pass discounts available to motorists and the Senator’s free privileges.  “Certainly Senator,” Mr. Baroni replied, “it is impossible to argue fairness in tolls when you don’t pay them.”

→ Let’s accept the obvious:  the hearing was a partisan charade. Senator Lautenberg is deluding himself if he actually believes the practices he oversaw, participated in and encouraged during his time as a commissioner with the Port Authority are not relevant in explaining the Port Authority inherited by Governors Cuomo and Christie.

→ The toll hikes at the NY/NJ crossings were the last thing the Governors wanted to see happen.  But by 2010, the agency was mired in a fiscal crisis years in the making that required the reduced toll hikes the two Governors finally had to approve.  And the undisputed fact of history is that only since Governor Christie took office have reforms been enacted, payroll numbers and costs beenreduced and independent audits – warts and all – been ordered.  Sure, hold a hearing, ask all the relevant and necessary questions you like, but Senator Lautenberg should have spared us the hypocrisy and fake outrage.

 

And

Here's Senator Lautenberg's statement:

PORT AUTHORITY’S BARONI CALLS $12 TOLLS “FAIR”

LAUTENBERG PRESSES PORT AUTHORITY ON ALLEGATIONS OF PATRONAGE AND MISLEADING THE PUBLIC

BARONI ENGAGES IN “DISTRACTION, DECEPTION AND DIVERSION” AT HEARING

WASHINGTON – At a U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Surface Transportation subcommittee hearing today, Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg pressed Port Authority Deputy Executive Director Bill Baroni on the Port Authority’s recent toll hikes and allegations of patronage and mismanagement.

During his testimony, Mr. Baroni stated that $12 tolls on drivers are “fair” and repeatedly refused to answer questions about when Governor Christie became aware of proposed toll increases.

In contrast to Mr. Baroni, witnesses from AAA and the American Trucking Associations were very clear about their strong opposition to the toll hikes, the burden they put on families and businesses, and the lack of opportunity for public input about the toll increases.

“We called this hearing to help New Jersey drivers understand the reasons behind these massive toll increases and what steps the Port Authority is going to take to fix their serious problems,” said Sen. Lautenberg. “Instead, Mr. Baroni engaged in distraction, deception and diversion. I am very disappointed that the Port Authority continues to operate behind a veil of secrecy. Despite this stonewalling, I will continue to stand up for New Jersey commuters and businesses.”

Top stories on TN:
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(photo by Ben Sheldon via flickr)

Almost everything about the House’s transportation bill seems uncertain except this: all the changes to transit funding that Republicans originally proposed have been squashed. (Politico)

Meanwhile, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chair John Mica and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are engaged in a snipefest ("get a life"/"I have a life") over Mica's GSA hearings. (The Hill)

The Senate will hold a hearing this morning on a bill giving the federal transportation secretary power to roll back excessive toll hikes by agencies that receive federal funds. (The Star-Ledger)

The mayor of Los Angeles wants county voters to approve an indefinite extension of a half-cent sales tax used for transit projects. (Los Angeles Times)

New Jersey, Connecticut and suburban New York politicians aren't exactly receptive to NYC mayoral hopeful Scott Stringer's commuter tax proposal. (Nyack News and Views, WSHU)

Bike share programs: successful, but not profitable. "Since its start in September 2010, Capital Bikeshare has taken in $2.47 million and spent $2.54 million on operating expenses." (US News & World Report)

San Francisco's transit agency voted in favor of a pilot program that gives low-income kids free Muni rides -- but first, San Francisco's regional transportation partners must agree to help pay for it. (San Francisco Chronicle)

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Shhh, I'm commuting here! Quiet cars are on the increase on train lines nationwide. (USA Today)

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Want more bikers? Build more bike lanes. (Good)

A movie is being made about Oscar Grant, a 22-year old shot and killed by a BART police officer at the Fruitvale station in Oakland. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Bike advocates want to bring more bike lanes to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. (Next American City)

Atlanta's proposed transit hub -- a "mega terminal" downtown -- gets traction. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

More than 1.7 million New Yorkers were living in poverty in 2010 – marking the biggest increase the city has experienced in five years, according to a new report. (WNYC)

Two weeks after TN's story about New Yorkers' lack of bus etiquette, riders still haven't learned how to properly exit a city bus. (New York Times)

The House will vote tomorrow on whether to extend transportation funding another three months -- but President Obama has already threatened to veto it over language mandating approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline.

The bill would authorize transportation funding through September 30 -- three months longer than the current funding authorization -- but it ties the extension to constructing the pipeline.

The White House said in a strongly worded statement Tuesday "because this bill circumvents a longstanding and proven process for determining whether cross-border pipelines are in the national interest by mandating the permitting of the Keystone XL pipeline before a new route has been submitted and assessed, the President’s senior advisors would recommend that he veto this legislation."

Top stories on TN:
NJ Gov Christie on ARC Tunnel: Believe Me, Not The “Bureaucrats in Washington, DC” (link)
On Opening Day, NY Yankees Parking Garages Limp Toward Default (link)

CicLAvia (photo by Bart van Bolhuis via twitter)

Bike share is coming to Los Angeles: initial plans are to add 400 stations and 4,000 bicycles over the next 18 to 24 months. Mayor Villaraigosa: "Angelenos are aching for a day without a car." (Los Angeles Times; LAist)

And the mayor made the announcement at CicLAvia -- an annual event in Los Angeles that closes 10 miles of road to cars and lets bikers and pedestrians rule. (Los Angeles Times)

Wall Street Journal op-ed: transit is a drain -- what America needs is more roads.

Counterpoint: embrace user fees and infrastructure banks, because when it comes to roads, there's no such thing as a free lunch. (Bloomberg)

Despite the latest round of recriminations over the ARC Tunnel, the project got off to a rocky start -- and trouble acquiring land was just one of the problems. (The Record)

San Francisco will vote tomorrow on whether to become the first transit system in the country to offer free rides to youth. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Tom Vanderbilt talks about his Slate series on walking on NPR.

And it's good for your mental health: a recent study shows that "walking was an effective intervention for depression." (BBC)

Pedestrian traffic managers are reducing gridlock on the Holland Tunnel approach in lower Manhattan. (New York Times)

Crain's New York op-ed: New Yorkers should support Sam Schwartz's traffic congestion plan -- just not the bike-tolling part.

Chapel Hill will be the first place in the country to ticket drivers for using their cellphones at all, even hands-free devices -- but some members of the business community thinks the ban goes too far. (The Takeaway)

Some abandoned bikes in the U.K. are getting a second life in Africa. (The Guardian)

LA's bike share probably can't come a moment too soon for The Californians, an SNL skit about driving-obsessed locals.

Top stories on TN:
On Opening Day, NY Yankees Parking Garages Limp Toward Default (link)
LaGuardia, JFK Airports improve On-Time Departures; Newark Last (link)
Ride The Nostalgia Train to Yankees Home Opener (link)
Musician: Use Technology To Make NY Subway Turnstiles Sing (link)

Pedestrians perambulating (photo by Kate Hinds)

House Republicans will take another crack at forcing approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline on legislation extending federal transportation funding for another 90 days. (The Hill)

The formal plan to build a California bullet train was approved by the state rail agency; it now must go to the state legislature. (Los Angeles Times)

New York Times editorial: When it came to cancelling the ARC Tunnel, NJ Governor Christie's "cost-cutting talk was political bluster."

The new Bart-to-San Jose extension broke ground. (Mercury News)

And: Tuscon broke ground on a streetcar line. (KVOA)

Detroit's first budget proposal following a consent agreement with the state doesn't spare transit. (Detroit Free Press)

Tom Vanderbilt's four-part series on walking concludes today in Slate with a look at how to get Americans walking again. But: "There is not a single dollar in the U.S. federal transportation budget dedicated strictly to walking."

Rhode Island state lawmakers continue to review state funding for public transit in the hopes of finding ways to avoid future service cuts. (AP via Boston Globe)

Accidents in which drivers mistakenly hit the gas instead of the brake tend to involve older female drivers in parking lots. (AP via Seattle Post Intelligencer)

Snackman is being mobbed with date requests after a video showing him breaking up a subway fight merely by eating went viral. (DNA Info)

(photo courtesy of NY MTA)

The Yankees open their season in the Bronx on Friday -- and to celebrate, the MTA is putting its four-car "Nostalgia Train" into operation between Grand Central and 161st Street-Yankees Stadium.

The Lo-V (low voltage) subway was first put into use in 1917 (when the Yankees finished the season in sixth place, out of eight teams in the American League, ahead of the St. Louis Browns). It was removed from regular passenger service in 1969 (Yankees record: slightly better at 80-81). The MTA press release points out that tomorrow's Lo-V isn't "air conditioned like the rest of NYC Transit's 6,300 subway cars, but there will be plenty of fans on board--Yankee fans, that is."

Should a beep be replaced by a series of notes?  (photo by Susan NYC via flickr)

An off-the-cuff idea about re-tuning subway turnstiles is--pun alert!--striking a chord in New York.

Musical legend David Byrne and LCD Sound System co-founder James Murphy sat down at Yale last month for a moderated discussion on the evolving role of the artist in the digital age, during which Murphy floated the radical notion that the beep attending a MetroCard swipe need not be shrill and grating. Not only that, Murphy suggested turnstiles at a given station could be set to sound with a range of notes to give that station a particular sound, especially at rush hour, when the swipes come as swiftly as the notes in a Beethovian crescendo.

The notion has bounced around the blogoshere, including this post that reports on whether the NY Metropolitan Transit Authority would be interested in making the underground experience more sonorous. (No.)

Meanwhile, you can read about James Murphy's turnstile plans -- and listen the Soundcheck - moderated conversation.

All the subway turnstiles in New York City…make a beep. It’s a really unpleasant sound and the one that’s right next to it is slightly out of key with it. So, it’s like “ehhh….aehhh…uehhh” Unless you get it wrong and it’s like, “No!” Then it’s the sound of your bruised hip as you hit the thing…

So I thought, I love New York and I love its aggression, and I love that it doesn’t make it easier for you to be a member of the city…But, I wanted to change the sound of going through the turnstile to a series of notes - I could do a little program. I could be like, well, the dominant note is the root, this is the fifth, this is the third, have a couple of sevenths, throw a few sixths in there just to be crazy. And during rush hour it would make arpeggiated music. And each subway station could have its own key or tonal set. For me, for a new person going to work, I think it would just be nice. It would be hard not to like that more than “shut up, idiot, you’re walking so slow!”

It would be an interesting way to have people relate to the city and I didn’t think it would be that expensive…if anybody knows anybody?

Top stories on TN:
NJ Gov Christie on ARC Tunnel: Believe Me, Not The “Bureaucrats in Washington, DC” (link)
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Walking over the Brooklyn Bridge (photo by Shara Morris)

The plan to build California's bullet train is almost certain to be passed today by the state's high-speed rail authority at a board meeting in San Francisco, but the project is facing a less certain future in Sacramento -- where some state reps say they won't be rushed into approving it. (Los Angeles Times)

Two transpo moments on today's Brian Lehrer Show: New York Times columnist Joe Nocera will discuss the backlash against the Chevy Volt by the right, and Sam Schwartz (aka Gridlock Sam) will talk about how bikers and pedestrians would be impacted in by his tolling plan. (WNYC)

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has lowered a fine drivers would face if caught by a speed camera. (WBEZ)

The head of NJ Transit is defending Governor Christie's cancellation of the ARC Tunnel, following this week's GAO report casting doubt on the governor's numbers. (Star-Ledger)

A NJ State Assembly committee chair now has subpoena power to investigate the Port Authority. (NorthJersey.com)

U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) will chair a senate hearing in Washington next week on interstate tolling, and has invited the deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to testify. (Star-Ledger)

Part three of Tom Vanderbilt's series on walking delves into "walkability" and "Walk Score," the website that ranks pedestrian-friendly streets. (Slate)

A bus accident in China has killed 24 people. (Xinhua)

Virginia voters may see a question on the November ballot about whether to extend a light-rail line into Virginia Beach. (The Virginian Pilot)

US DOT head Ray LaHood is praising the TV show Glee for a storyline involving the dangers of texting while driving. (Washington Examiner)

A new report by the inspector general of the New York MTA blames the Long Island Rail Road for incorrectly installing a piece of computer equipment that led to a massive signal breakdown last year.  (New York Post)

New Orleans is widening the Huey P. Long Bridge -- and one driver gets to be the last person to drive across the old bridge.  (Fox 8 Live)

An alleged car thief accidentally -- and repeatedly -- "pocket dialed" 911, leading to his eventual arrest. "Somehow, the caller remained on the line for nearly 45 minutes as he and another man drove around Renton discussing what kind of cars to steal." (Seattle Post Intelligencer)

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ARC Tunnel Report: Cost Wouldn’t Exceeded $10 Billion — And NJ Didn’t Have To Pay for Most Of It (link)
BART Police Meet the Citizen Review Board (link)
Report: NY MTA’s Temporary Signage Mediocre…But Improving (link)
The Port of Houston Through the Voices of Workers (link)

A Chevy Volt at the New York International Auto Show (photo by Kate Hinds)

A congressional committee has launched a wide-ranging examination of the California high-speed rail project, asking for the preservation of documents that relate to federal funding for the project. (Los Angeles Times, Politico)

A new survey found that only 35 percent of hybrid owners bought another hybrid when they went new car shopping last year. (Marketplace)

A package of legislation -- including a proposal to raise the gas tax -- "collapsed in stunning fashion" in the Maryland General Assembly. (Washington Post)

A top Port Authority official says a NJ Assembly member's probe into the agency "looks like a shakedown." (Star-Ledger)

While the postmortem about the ARC tunnel rages, one thing is clear: no new rail tunnel will be built under the Hudson River for at least a decade, and the new tunnel will end up costing a lot more money when it is finally built. (NJ Spotlight)

Star-Ledger editorial: the Gateway Tunnel is now the only hope for NJ commuters.

Tom Vanderbilt continues his series on pedestrians with a look into the science of walking. (Slate)

A week after a 71-year-old pedestrian died after being struck by a bicyclist, San Francisco officials are vowing to hold errant cyclists accountable -- and make the streets safer for everyone. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Have gas prices -- now averaging $3.92 a gallon -- peaked? (USA Today)

The future of driving: soon, cars will be able to communicate with each other in order to avoid crashes. (Washington Post)

A global database showing the use of Bus Rapid Transit systems is now live. (Denver Post)

After more than 10 years of planning, a $28.2 million rail station is under construction in Dearborn. (Detroit News)

Las Vegas can now boast an "after-party bus" called the Hangover Heaven, a bus that promises to cure your hangover. (WTSP)

A crowded L train

The New York City subway recorded 1.6 billion rides in 2011 -- the system's highest number since 1950.

According to the New York MTA, which posted 2011 ridership figures to its website, midtown Manhattan continues to be home to the most popular stations in the system. Times Square-42nd Street came in at number one, Grand Central was second, and stations along 34th Street occupied three separate spots on the top ten list.

(click to enlarge)

Other trends of note: ridership to the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens has almost doubled since a racino opened last year, the G train is increasingly popular, and the Yankees are more popular with straphangers than the Mets.

Although the subways are booming, bus ridership continues to drop -- not surprising, given the MTA's elimination of dozens of bus lines as a cost-cutting measure in June 2010.

The New York City subway recorded 1.6 billion rides in 2011 — the system's highest number since 1950.

(UPDATED WITH MORE INFORMATION) A federal government's report is raising questions about why New Jersey Governor Chris Christie scrapped the ARC tunnel.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie canceled the trans-Hudson tunnel in 2010, saying that the cost could balloon to $14 billion and that the state would be on the hook for overruns. But a Government Accountability Office report says that the state was only kicking in 14.4 percent -- not the 70 percent that Christie was claiming -- and the cost of the tunnel would not have exceeded $10 billion.

The governor is standing by his figure, saying the GAO isn't counting the New Jersey dollars that the Port Authority would've had to spend on the project, and that the state also would have been billed for related upgrades, like a new railroad bridge near Secaucus.

In statement, Christie's office said: "It was the FTA’s own projections, in an August 2010 memo, that confirmed a rise in projects costs from $8.7 billion to anywhere between $10.9 and $13.7 billion, not including the $775 million Portal Bridge Project that was necessary to complete the ARC project in its entirety."

But U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg, who requested the GAO report, said in a statement that the tunnel was "critical to the future of New Jersey’s economy and it took years to plan, but Gov. Christie wiped it out with a campaign of public deception." He added: "commuters were sacrificed for the short term political needs of the governor."

Here's a pdf of the report, which was released Tuesday.

(with reporting from Jim O'Grady)

Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn (photo by Newkirk Plaza David via subchat.com)

(UPDATED WITH MTA RESPONSE) When it comes to enlightening New York City subway riders about service changes, a new report says the MTA is doing better -- but there's a lot of room for improvement.

The New York City Transit Riders Council (NYCTRC) surveyed temporary signage at 48 stations last November. These paper signs, usually taped to support beams, station walls, and station exteriors, are one of the most tangible ways that the MTA informs riders about scheduled work that diverts trains. (The MTA also tweets planned service changes and maintains a list on its web site.)  The NYCTRC report says "the level of compliance is mediocre at best."

In 2010, the MTA began hanging posters that list all planned service changes on one sheet. The NYCTRC said these signs were a "significant improvement" that promised the MTA was paying more attention to the issue.

But, according to the report, not enough attention. "Particularly disappointing was the lack of postings at entrances, 38%, where riders need to make critical decisions about their subway travel," the NYCTRC writes. "Worse, surveyors frequently found that they did not encounter signage about a specific service change affecting a station until they paid their fare," notes the report.

The NYCTRC wants the MTA to improve its management system for posting signage -- and use electronic display boards, known as SAID (for Station Advisory Information Display), throughout the system. Currently SAID boards are only located in a few high-trafficked areas, like Penn Station and Atlantic Terminal.

Kevin Ortiz, a spokesperson for the MTA, said the agency is in the process of adding an additional 26 SAID boards to stations. "We agree with the Transit Riders Council that all MTA customers should be aware of service changes before they enter a station," he said in an email, "and we share their long-term goal of providing that information. Unfortunately, posting both full-service directories and route-specific posters at the more than 2,100 station entrances in the MTA system is labor-intensive and costly." He said updated service information is always available at MTA.info.

Top stories on TN:
U.S DOT: Transit Ridership Up Again in February, Increase Highest Since 2005 (link)
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DC Taxi Plan Would Revamp Aging Fleet (link)

ARC Tunnel groundbreaking, back in 2009 (photo courtesy of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign)

NJ Governor Christie exaggerated when he said that unforeseen costs to the state were forcing him to cancel the ARC Tunnel, according to a report by independent Congressional investigators. (New York Times)

TN's Alex Goldmark is talking about why so few NYC bike crashes lead to arrests on this morning's Brian Lehrer Show. (WNYC)

Toyota wants to revamp its design so it's more "visionary" -- like Apple. (New York Times)

MARTA board members voted to proceed with a $3.5 billion rail expansion plan, but if voters don't approve a regional sales tax in July the trains may never leave the station. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

A breakdown of subway ridership data shows more straphangers are forsaking the Mets for the Yankees. (AM NY)

Missouri lawmakers are reviewing legislation that would make it legal for riders to carry guns on public transit. “This is about making people feel safer about riding,” says one legislator. (Kansas City Star)

Why don't Americans walk more? Tom Vanderbilt's four-part series in Slate premieres today. (Part 1)

Drivers in Leipzig, Germany, are being offered free public transit this week in order to cut down on traffic congestion. (BBC)

March was so warm it didn't just break national records, it jumped up and down on them and left them for dead (Huffington Post) -- making how climate change will affect transit systems a hot topic.

And: the mild winter also means that companies drilling for natural gas now have a a lot of it on their hands -- and are running out of places to store it. (Marketplace)

It may have started out as a TN April Fool's joke, but are left-handed turnstiles such a crazy idea after all? Maybe not. (New York Magazine, Gothamist)

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Slideshow: New York’s “Taxi of Tomorrow” on Display at New York Auto Show (link)

Subway platform in Warsaw (photo by foTOmo via Flickr)

Metro riders may get smaller-than-expected fare hikes, after DC's transit agency found an extra $16 million. (Washington Post)

Has Toronto's mayor been fighting for the wrong subway line? “We’ve got to turn our attention back to the core, where the density is,” says one planner. (Toronto Star)

Boston's Big Dig project has "left a gaping financial hole in the state's transportation budget that isn't likely to be filled anytime soon." (AP via Bloomberg Business Week)

California's high-speed rail project has dropped a link to Anaheim from its current, $68-billion plan. (Los Angeles Times)

Nearly 650 comments were submitted to government entities about the Tappan Zee Bridge project; now federal and New York State officials have three months to respond. (Journal News)

Winnipeg launched a new BRT system this weekend. (Winnipeg Free Press)

New York's former traffic commissioner, Sam Schwartz, knows that his plan to toll the East River Bridges isn't an easy sell. (Crain's New York Business)

Detroit residents are getting creative with the city's vacant land: some lots are being turned into gardens, some homeowners are fencing the vacant lots next to their houses to create suburban-size parcels for themselves. (Detroit Free Press)

New York City agencies are spending money washing official vehicles at a car wash empire that is currently being investigated for allegedly illegal labor practices. (New York Daily News)

Good luck trying to recreate French parenting in the states: you'll spend your lives driving your children around in your car. "My gas bill grown astronomically because of the chauffeuring, (and) my waist size has also multiplied from walking less and eating more," writes one recently returned expat. (New York Times)

Slideshow: subway platforms from around the world. Check out Warsaw and Prague! (Atlantic Cities)

The Nissan NV200 -- picked last year to be New York's "Taxi of Tomorrow" -- is making its public debut Friday at the New York International Auto Show.

It will be phased into the fleet beginning in October 2013. The city expects it to replace all other cab models by 2018. Check it out below.

The city's choice of the Nissan is enraging everyone from disability rights activists to lawmakers upset with the company's business ties to Iran. A class action lawsuit, calling on the city to make all cabs wheelchair accessible, is wending its way through the courts system. Meanwhile, a photoshopped image of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad riding shotgun in the new taxi is being tweeted by NYC Public Advocate Bill de Blasio.

(photo by Kate Hinds)

The Yankees officially kick off their season today -- reason enough to post this picture of a pinstriped Toyota hybrid, taken this week at the New York International Auto Show.

(game time 3:10pm, CC Sabathia on the mound.)

Did anyone say public relations?

Happy opening day!

Top stories on TN:
Report: Young People Are Driving WAY Less (link)
Ray LaHood: 50 Years Ago, JFK Talked Transit (link)
Work at Crane Collapse Site to Resume Monday (link)
Cuomo’s Infrastructure Bank To Fund Parks With $143 Million (link)

The Ryou-Un Maru after being fired upon in the Gulf of Alaska (photo courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard)

The NYPD has started tracking bike accidents. (New York Daily News)

The annual rate of growth in American cities has now surpassed that of the suburbs for the first time in 20 years, according to new census data. (The Takeaway)

The U.S. Coast Guard sank a Japanese "ghost ship" set adrift by last year's tsunami. (NPR)

Shortfalls in the Highway Trust Fund are the reason why the Senate's bill is two years instead of five -- and until that revenue gap is solved, expect shorter and shorter transportation bills. (Politico)

Bloomberg opinion: why does the U.S. build roads if it can't afford to fix them? (h/t Stateline)

The developer of a proposed downtown football stadium is betting that Los Angelenos will embrace transit. (Los Angeles Times)

Speaking of which: should L.A. New Yorkify with skyscrapers and transit hubs? (online debate at New York Times)

The designer of the iconic Porsche 911, Ferdinand Porsche, died. (BusinessWeek)

To convince skeptics that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is serious about returning to its core transportation mission, executive director Pat Foye is beginning to shed money-losing investments. (Crain's New York)

Up to 50,000 bodies will need to be exhumed to make way for Britain's new high-speed rail line. (Telegraph)

A twin-size mattress ended up under an MTA bus and sparked a bizarre Brooklyn blaze that left the bus and six parked cars torched. (New York Daily News)

LA Times opinion piece: the building of LA's Purple Line "will aim an above-ground wrecker's ball at three of L.A.'s most vulnerable arts establishments."

Top stories on TN:
NYC and MTA Feud Over Ownership of Crane Collapse Site (link)
Post 9/11 Security Upgrade To NYC Transit Lags (link)
Boston Epicenter of Occupy Transit’s Day of Protest as MBTA Approves Fare Hike (link)
Long Island City Parking Lot Now A Park (link)

Chevy Volt at the NY International Auto Show (photo by Kate Hinds)

A Southern California government group voted to approve a $524 billion agreement that calls for nearly half the region's transportation money — $246 billion — to go to public transit. (AP via San Francisco Chronicle)

Car owners who buy hybrid and electric cars may not necessarily be saving money. "Gas would have to approach $8 a gallon before many of the cars could be expected to pay off in the six years an average person owns a car." But for some drivers, the benefit to the environment outweighs the cost. (New York Times)

What went wrong with DC's 'parking meters for the disabled' program? Issue #1: disability placards essentially became a “commuter parking pass,” said one official. (Washington Post)

San Francisco has begun replacing some of the bacteria-laden BART cloth seats with easier-to-clean vinyl ones. Ah, nostalgia: "The four cars with new seats lacked that classic BART smell: the subtle mix of mildew and body odor." (Bay Citizen)

All 25,000 light fixtures in Boston's Big Dig tunnel have to be replaced, at a cost of $54 million. (Boston Globe)

Meanwhile, Boston transit riders -- who will be paying 23% more to ride the T as of July — may have to dig even deeper next year if state legislators fail to fix the T’s funding crisis, the state’s transportation chief warned. (Boston Herald)

Denver bus drivers protested cuts in public transportation funding and services, saying getting people to and from jobs and home is a basic civil right. (Denver Post)

NYC transportation expert Sam Schwartz will talk about his equitable toll pricing plan each Thursday this month on the Brian Lehrer Show. Tune into WNYC this morning around 10:40am to hear his first installment.

New York's aging Kosciuszko Bridge — which connects Brooklyn to Queens via the BQE — will be replaced to the tune of $460 million. (WNYC)

New York's Taxi of Tomorrow is on view at the New York International Auto Show. (WNYC)

Planners and students are brainstorming ways to turn the existing Tappan Zee Bridge into a park. (New York Times)

Actor Ryan Gosling saved a British tourist from being hit by a NYC taxi--at least according to Twitter. (New York Daily News)

Members of the public at Wednesday's MBTA meeting (photo by J. Platt via twitter)

The tweets are coming fast and furious.

Boston's MBTA Board just voted for a fare increase that takes effect July 1. Unluckily for that body, today's board meeting coincides  with national protests (referred to as a National Day of Action for Mass Transit) proposed by Occupy Boston. It's the date on which Martin Luther King Jr. -- himself a transit activist -- was assassinated.

Occupy MBTA tweeted: "SHAME! Board member just said 'we are transportation agency, not a social service agency.'" @AceEJ tweeted: "Disabled rider tells #MBTA bd: Someday you're going to need THE RIDE & I hope it's there 4 u! Transit is a right, not a privilege! Cheers!" And Boston Metro reporter Steven Annear wrote: "Second Board member interrupted by crowd chanting "Just Vote NO"

At the end of the two hour-plus meeting, members voted 4-1 in favor of the fare hikes of about 23%.

Boston's transit system is facing a $161 million budget gap.

Boston Globe reporter Eric Moskowitz tweeted that just getting into the meeting involved "3 checkpoints, (and) 1st-come-1st-served ticketing" -- not to mention passing by a large poster displaying the rules of order.

The MBTA was probably taking no chances. Last week, members of a Boston transit riders coalition commandeered an MBTA committee meeting while wearing superhero costumes -- causing official business to grind to a halt.