Q2 2019 Customer Commitment

Our quarterly customer commitment is our way to show you we are accountable to progress and transparent in our efforts to do better.

Read about what we accomplished in Q2 2019 to improve your trips. We’d love to hear your feedback. You can get in touch by submitting a comment online, using #FastForwardNYC, @NYCTSubway, @NYCTBus, or calling 511.

Onwards,
Sarah Meyer
Chief Customer Officer, New York City Transit

Subway

✔️ Re-calibrate more slow-clearing signals in Brooklyn and increase speed limits at another 40 locations throughout the system.

• You’re now moving faster in 59 locations where we increased speed limits throughout the system.
• We also re-calibrated 192 slow-clearing signals. These were “quick wins” where simpler fixes could be applied. We’re currently working through some more challenging signal malfunctions.

✔️ Increase our delay reduction target from 10,000 to 18,000 fewer delays per month through ongoing Subway Action Plan initiatives, including an expansion of our “back-to-basics” approach to Save Safe Seconds.

• We met this goal every single weekday of Q2, April – June. Overall, June was our best month since November 2013.

✔️ Launch Automatic Train Operation on the 7 line, allowing us to run more trains, more reliably, and achieve the full benefits of Communications Based Train Control.

• We dramatically increased on-time performance year-over-year – from 61.1% to 90.2%, making it the second best-performing line in the system (behind the L).

✔️ Install flood prevention infrastructure at Flushing Av on the G, as part of our ongoing work to prevent flooding and build a more resilient transit system. 

Bus

✔️ Bring 250 new buses on board.

• We added 301 new buses to our fleet between April – June!

✔️ Release the first draft of the Bronx bus network redesign plan for public input. More info here.

• We released the Bronx bus redesign draft plan in May, held eight open houses in June, and will close the survey at the end of July. Give your input on the express and local bus draft plans.

✔️ Begin community outreach and public input sessions for the Queens bus network redesign. Stay tuned for updates here.

• We hosted nine open houses this spring, and we’re taking your feedback through this survey, too. Next up: our street teams will be out at major Queens bus hubs this month.

✔️ Remove the last of our oldest, least environmentally friendly diesel buses from our fleet.

• Check! These were also the last high-floor local buses that we had, so no more climbing up steps to board, either.

Accessibility

✔️ Speed up Access-A-Ride service by opening bus lanes to Access-A-Ride vehicles, in partnership with DOT and pending feedback at a public hearing.

• Success! Now, wheelchair-accessible AAR vehicles with four or more passengers can operate in bus lanes.

❌ Launch training to provide all bus operators with an up-to-date and more detailed understanding of disability etiquette.

• After working closely with accessibility advocates and incorporating their valuable feedback, we are releasing an in-depth training session, plus video series this summer.

✔️ Improve web content to provide more information about system accessibility initiatives and connect you with the customer service accommodations you need.

• We’ve added lots new info on our accessibility homepage – including a way to contact the Accessibility team directly. Reach out anytime.

✔️ Share learnings and best practices with accessibility experts from major North American transit systems at the first Transit Accessibility Summit, in partnership with Transit Center.

• We’re brimming with ideas after this session – expect to see some projects from this in upcoming Customer Commitments.

❌ Release a list of the next 50 stations to be made accessible to achieve our Fast Forward goal, that no subway rider will be more than two stations away from an accessible station, once funding is secured.

• We look forward to releasing this list as part of the 2020-2024 capital plan.

Customer Service

✔️ Introduce the public pilot launch of our new contactless payment system, called OMNY, to speed up boarding and give customers new flexibility. To start, OMNY will be available on a pay-per-ride basis on all Staten Island buses, and on the 4, 5, 6 lines between Grand Central-42 St and Atlantic Av-Barclays Ctr.

• Say hello to tap and go, NYC! See how OMNY works and if it’s right for you at omny.info

❌ Add 600 new on-board information screens to our bus fleet to provide more helpful, real-time service information.

• Despite a setback retrofitting some buses, we installed 574 new screens. More of these real-time service information sources coming soon.

✔️ Provide a service option for 100% of L train customers during the L project. Check out the service alternatives map and review enhanced/new train and bus options here.

• We’ve tweaked some alternate service options based on your needs. Check it out here.

❌ Demystify the MetroCard claim process for non-English speakers by providing foreign language literature in station booths.

• Spanish versions will be available in stations this summer.

✔️ Gather community feedback through surveys and community meetings for several studies to find cost effective ways to better serve our customers, including: exploratory studies of Staten Island’s West Shore and Utica Avenue in Brooklyn, and an assessment of bus rapid transit's potential environmental impact on Staten Island’s North Shore.

• Done, done, and done. We will be reviewing findings and announcing recommendations over the coming months.