RESEARCH PAPER
THE MAGICAL SUBWAY OF NEW YORK CITY
By
Liliana Melo
Profiles and Prospects Business in NYC, Course AMN 195.5081
LaGuardia Community College, Long Island City
May 2, 2007
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TABLE OF CONTENT
I.
Introduction
II. Subway History and its Main Events
III. Subway Impact on New York City
A. Subway Politics
B. The Subway’s Impact on New York City
C. Subway Construction and Engineering
IV. The Subway’s Generalities
A. MTA New York City Transit
B. New York Underground
V. The Subway’s Today and Future
A. Capital Construction
1. 7 Subway Extension - Hudson Yards Rezoning and Development Program
2. Fulton Street Transit Center
3. Second Avenue Subway – SAS
VI. Conclusion
VII. Bibliography
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The Magical Subway of New York City
Introduction
New York City's public transportation system is the most extensive in North America. According to
the 2000 U.S. Census, New York is the only area in the United States where more than half of all
households do not own a car; for example, over 75% of Manhattan’s households do not own a car. Mass
transit is the primary form of travel for New Yorkers, instead of 90 % of Americans that drive to their jobs.
Because New York City transportation has high rate of use, it is one of the most energy efficient cities in the
country. In fact, gas consumption in New York is at the rate the national average that was in the 1920s.
Thus, the transportation system of New York City is considered as one of the most complex of any city in
the United State. However, New York City’s subway plays an important part of the city’s life because of its
infrastructure that is also inundated with ongoing congestion, reliability, and funding challenges. The
subway is essential to New York City’s existence.
New York City’s is the largest rapid transit system in the world, larger than the London
underground, the Paris metro, the Tokyo subway, and the Seal subway. It is the second-oldest subway in
the United States after the system in Boston. In 2002, an average 4.8 million passengers used the metro
each weekday. According to William Neuman, New York Times journalist, the average weekday subway
ridership rose to 5.076 million in September 2005, the highest level since transit officials began making
monthly calculations in 1970. Therefore, the subway with its 26 lines run through all boroughs except
Staten Island (served by the Staten Island Railway) makes life in New York City is so dependent.
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Combined subway and bus ridership in September was 7.61 million on an average weekday. That was the
highest combined figure since December 1970, when it was 7.627 million.
Subway History and its Main Events
The Subway was financed by the City of New York and two private subway companies. It is
significant that the city constructed the gigantic rapid transit system with its own money. In fact, the subway
does not receive federal assistance. According to the article “A Brief History of New York Transportation”
from Gotham Gazette web side (www.gothamgazette.com), I highlight the most relevant historical events of
New York City’s subway:
YEAR
EVENT
1832
First Railroad
1870
Above Ground
1904
First Subway
1913
Creating a City
System
1925
Another
Subway
1940
Subway
Takeover
1953
1953
Running the
Subways
That and a
Token
1994
Swipe and Go
1997
MetroCard
Total
implementation
EXPLANATION
The first railroad system in New York begins operating between Union
Square and 23rd Street, and was owned by the New York and Harlem
Railroad company.
The city's first elevated railway begins running regularly along Greenwich
Street and 9th Avenue.
1871 - New Station: Grand Central Depot, now known as Grand Central
Terminal, is constructed to handle New York City's railroad traffic.
The first official subway system in Manhattan opens. It is operated by the
Interborough Rapid Transit, covering 9.1 miles and 28 stations between
City Hall and 145th street.
New York City approves the expansion of subway lines owned by both
the Independent Rapid Transit Company and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit
Company. The $302 million project adds 123 miles of track to the subway
system.
Mayor John F. Hylan wins approval to create the city-owned Independent
Subway System.
The city takes over the subway system as it purchases the financially
ailing Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) and the
Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT).
The New York State Legislature creates the New York City Transit
Authority to manage and operate the city's subway and bus systems.
Subway tokens debut as the subway fare rises from 10 to 15 cents
The MTA introduces MetroCards (first turnstiles at the Wall Street and
Whitehall Street subway stations)
The entire subway system accepts MetroCard. MetroCard Gold debuts,
allowing customers to transfer free from bus to subway, subway to bus, or
bus to bus.
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1999
2000
2001
2003
2004
Vending
machine
The MetroCard Vending Machine (MVM) debuts in two subway stations.
The first "Subway Series" (World Series between two New York City
Subway Series baseball teams) since 1956 begins between the New York Yankees
(Bronx) and the New York Mets (Queens).
A terrorist attack destroys the World Trade Center on September 11. IRT
terrorist attack Broadway 1/9 service is shut down between Chambers Street and South
Ferry.
New York City subways and buses stop accepting tokens, as MTA New
Death of an
York City Transit hikes fares on its buses and subways by 33 percent
Icon
from a $1.50 to $2.00. It is the largest fair increase in city history.
New York City celebrates the 100th anniversary of the subway's opening
Anniversary
in 1904.
Table 1. the most relevant historical events of New York City’s subway
Subway Impact on New York City
In the book “722 Miles” by Clifton Hood describes three aspects of the subway are examined: first,
its political culture, meaning the values, decisions, and institutional relationships that brought about
underground rapid transit’s rise and fall; second, its impact on New York City, both as catalyst for urban
spatial the city; and third, its construction and engineering, as one of the largest public works attempted in
any city (13).
Subway Politics:
New York’s rapid transit system was created as response to the extraordinary economic and
population growth sustained by the city after the 1820’s. The work concentrates on the years from 1888 to
1953, with the time span divided into two periods: first, from 1888 to 1907, the merchants or business
interest dominated; and after 1907 professional politicians made the important transit decisions.
In 1888, a number of blueprints were inspired by the opening of the world’s first underground
railway (London, 1863). The purpose was established a critical connection between advanced technology
and business-government relations. A high-speed subway was needed to serve northern Manhattan.
Therefore, the merchant-led Rapid Transit Commission contracted with financier August Belmont to build,
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equip, and operate New York’s first subway in 1900. In 1904, the subway was opened by Belmont’s
Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT). The IRT constituted the first of the three stages of construction.
In 1907 the progressives replaced the old Rapid Transit Commission with the more potent Public
Service Commission (PSC). In general, subway conflicts involved issues of political culture rather than
economic structure or government institutions.
The second stage of subway construction, the dual contract system, was approved in 1913. This
system integrated the IRT with another corporation, the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT). In fact,
this project doubled the total rapid transit mileage and extended beyond the build-up territory to new parts
of the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn. Due to the World War I, a series of financial crises worried the political
arrangements between the City of New York City and the two subway companies since it were prohibited to
raise the nickel fare. The context of a political culture in which public ownership and regulation combined
with private operation to encourage competition and conflict rather than cooperation, low prices and high
quality service, increased the friction between government and business.
In 1934, Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia unified the private and public operation in a single operation
because the great depression devastated the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) and the BrooklynManhattan, giving federal subsidies. This unification was framed by the prevailing political culture, being
hemorrhaging money under direct city operation. In effect, according to Hood, “the idea of federal subsidies
for local railway operation was inconceivable in the 1930s and neither LaGuardia nor any other leader
purposed such a drastic subsidies … the remained saddled with an ideology of business management log
after private operation ceased” (16).
However, between 1932 and 1940, the third stage of the subway was developed. The phase was
called Independent Subway System (IND), being the major phase of subway construction because the
public policy supported the construction of highways rather than mass transit. On the other hand, the
LaGuardia administration succeeded in acquiring the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) and the
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Brooklyn-Manhattan proprieties, creating a new political agreement in 1940 because this unification did not
solve transit’ fiscal problems. Finally, a popular support for Windel’s transits autority proposal grew in the
early 1950’s as the subway deficits increased, and the New York City Authority was organized in 1953.
The Subway’s Impact on New York City:
Within the construction of the subway, New York City’s life had a remarkable impact due its high
speed and service. For example, the IRT stimulated the growth of vast areas of Manhattan and the Bronx
(1904), and the dual contracts spurred residential expansion across a crescent of undeveloped land from
northern Bronx to Queens and Brooklyn. Moreover, the subway accelerated the pace of urban life and
enabled riders to experience a new technological realm below the surface, allowing people to travel across
the city. Lastly, the subway increased passenger crowding in the cars and aggravated gender, class, and
ethnic tensions.
Subway Construction and Engineering:
This project not only required large engineering and work forces, but also overcame formidable
physical barrier. In fact, the subway construction gave experiences such as: the geological obstacles to
underground transit construction (the topography between 23 rd to 103rd street was so rough with steep hills
and rocky outcroppings); the preparation of an engineering plan; and the construction problems that were
encountered. For example, the dual system eliminated the East River as a transport barrier and activated
the development of Queens and outer Brooklyn.
The Subway’s Generalities
MTA New York City Transit:
MTA New York City Transit is the largest agency in the MTA regional transportation network, which
also includes MTA Staten Island Railway (part of NYC Transit's Department of Subways), MTA Long Island
Rail Road, MTA Long Island Bus, MTA Metro-North Railroad, MTA Bridges and Tunnels, and MTA Capital
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Construction. In short, the MTA is dedicated to insure that New York City has the world's best and the
safest transportation system. In fact, MTA subways, buses, and railroads provide 2.4 billion trips each year
to New Yorkers.
MTA Totals at a Glance*
2006 operating budget
Average weekday ridership
Rail and subway lines, and bus routes
Rail and subway cars
Buses
Track miles
Bus route miles
Rail and subway stations
Employees
$9.09 billion
7,785,175
341
8,590
5,113
2,058
2,967
734
63,511
* Budget as of February 2006; other statistical information as of December 31, 2005. Number
of buses, bus route miles, and number of employees exclude operations of MTA Bus.
Table 2. MTA Totals at a Glance according to the MTA Network
MetroCard® automated fare collection revolutionized payment on subways and buses, bridging
free transfers between subways and buses, multiride bonuses, and weekly, monthly, and daily transit
passes, reducing the cost of public transportation for the first time. In the future all New York-area transit
systems will use a new, standardized "contact less" payment system similar to the Octopus Card in Hong
Kong, which is a RFID-Type smart card with a computer chip that can be read by turnstiles without
requiring passengers to swipe
Trunk line
Broadway (BMT) Line
IRT Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line
Canarsie Line
Crosstown Line
Eighth Avenue Line
Flushing Line
Lexington Avenue Line
Service bullets
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Nassau Street Line
Shuttles
Sixth Avenue
Table 3. Subway routes – current status
New York Underground: According to Taylor, these are some of the actual characteristics and
interesting data of the New York City’s subway:
1. There are 469 subway stations in New York City; 109 of them have working public restrooms.
2. There are 4,379 subway cars; 2,111 of them have speedometers.
3. The average number of transactions at subway stations per week is 1.1 million; the average
number of people who ride the subway each year is 1 billion.
4. Average of 80 women goes into labor on New York subway each year.
5. Opera music is played over the subway’s public address system at Lincoln Center stop.
6. At 95 decibels, the Union Square is ranked as the worst in terms of noise.
7. The average number of 340,000 people walks to work each day in New York City.
The Subway’s Today and Future - Capital Construction
Since 1982 the MTA has been carrying out America's most extensive transportation rebuilding
project. With funding by federal, state, and local government and by the issuance of bonds, the MTA has
replaced nearly all of the subway, railroad, and bus fleet; and restored Grand Central Terminal and the
LIRR's Penn Station. In effect, the results include significant improvements in performance, higher levels of
efficiency, and vastly improved reliability, including new highs in Mean Distance Between Failures (the
distance rail cars and buses travel between breakdowns), on-time service, ridership, and wait times at
bridge and tunnel toll plazas.
Capital Construction:
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The MTA is continuing its rebuilding and improvement efforts with its 2005-2009 Capital Program
and will move forward on the first substantial expansion of the network in 60 years, including Long Island
Rail Road access to Grand Central, the uptown segment of a full-length Second Avenue subway, and he
extension of the number 7 line west from Times Square to the Javits Center.
1. 7 Subway Extension - Hudson Yards Rezoning and Development Program: the New York City
Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (MTA) plans to extend the IRT Flushing Line (7 train service)
from its current terminus at Times Square, adding one new station at 11th Avenue–34th Street (where
the Javits Convention Center is located). A second new station at 10th Avenue–41st Street will only be
partially built to accommodate future expansion and will not provide service under the current 7 line
extension plans.
General Objective of the Project: to aid redevelopment of the west side of Midtown Manhattan around
the Long Island Rail Road's Caemmerer Railyard, and was originally proposed as part of the failed
attempt to build the West Side Stadium for the New York Jets and the city's bid for the 2012 Summer
Olympics.
Status: In December 2006, the $2 Billion 7 subway extension is funded with New York City funds from
municipal Tax Increment Financing (TIF) bond sales, and the extension is in the final engineering and
design stage. Construction is slated to begin in the summer of 2007, but will most likely not be
complete until 2013. However, in February 2007, the 7 subway extension was in doubt because the city
of New York refused to pay for overruns in the projects costs which could be in excess of $1 billion.
Future Extension: The 7 subway extension will have service tracks that extend to near 23rd Street. This
track segment opens up the possibility that the line could be extended further south to 23rd Street and
11th Avenue.
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2. Fulton Street Transit Center: It is a $750 million project in New York City that will improve access to
and connections between 12 subway services stopping at Manhattan's Fulton Street, PATH service
and the World Trade Center station in Lower Manhattan. Construction began in 2005 and is now
scheduled to be finished in 2009. Nowadays, this project has had several delays, with the completion
date delayed from late 2007 to the middle of 2009. There have also been several design cutbacks.
Actually, the project is running $45 million over a $799 million budget, but that the project design will
not be further curtailed according to the New York Times (June 27, 2006)
3. Second Avenue Subway – SAS: it is series of public works projects and engineering studies
undertaken to construct a subway line underneath Second Avenue in the borough of Manhattan as part
of the New York City Subway system. The first phase of the project will be an extension of the Q
(Broadway Express) subway line to Second Avenue and 96th Street. A ceremonial Ground-breaking for
the Second Avenue Subway was held on April 12, 2007 and contractor work to prepare the project's
initial construction site at 96th St & 2nd Ave began on April 23, 2007. These are the expected
construction dates:
 2007-2013: Phase 1 (96th St. to 63rd St.): State Funding In-Place, Federal Funding Approved. A
$333 million contract was awarded on March 22, 2007 to three American firms to build Phase One.
 2014-2017: Phase 2 (125th St. to 96th St.): Engineering ongoing. No funding commitments.
 2015-2018: Phase 3 (63rd St. to Houston St.): Engineering ongoing. No funding commitments.
 2017-2020: Phase 4 (Houston St. to Hanover Sqr.): Engineering ongoing. No funding
commitments.
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CONCLUSION
When the subway opened in 1904, it stated an extraordinary era of growth and prosperity for the
newly unified New York City. One hundred years later, the city's confidence on its underground rapid transit
system is greater than ever. NYC Transit keeps New York moving 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as
its subways speed through underground tunnels and elevated structures in the boroughs of Manhattan,
Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. On Staten Island, NYC Transit's Staten Island Railway links 22
communities. Otherwise, the automatic service for the fare collection by MetroCard ® is accepted on all
New York City Transit subway stations and on buses, bridging free transfers between subways and buses,
multiride bonuses, and weekly, monthly, and daily transit passes, reducing the cost of public transportation
for the first time.
Among NYC Transit's capital projects are additional new subway cars and a state-of-the-art
“communication-based” signal system to replace mechanical signals dating to 1904. Recently the city has
reinvested billions of dollars in its subway system and proposed several multi-billion dollar projects intended
to increase capacity. As a result, the New York metropolitan area's ranking is one of the most populous in
the world, hours of delay per person caused by traffic congestion is less than in far smaller cities like San
Francisco. This savings translates into reduced fuel costs and consumption as well as reduced costs from
wasted labor productivity. Major additions to the city's transport infrastructure have been stalled since the
1970s, however. Deferred maintenance of existing facilities hurt the reliability of trains and subways.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Fischler, Stan and Handerson, John. The Subway and the City celebrating a Century. New York City: Frank
Marriwell, 2004
Gotham Gazette. A Brief History of New York Transportation. June 3. 2003. April 23. 2007.
<http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/issueoftheweek/20030609/200/419>
Halbfinger, Caren and Neroulias, Nicole. “Center Second Avenue subway groundbreaking: Is 4th time the
charm?” Lower Hudson Outline. April 12. 2007. April 29.2007
<http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070412/NEWS05/704120441>
Hood, Clifton. 722 miles – The Building of the Subways and How They Transformed New York. Baltimore:
The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004.
Lueck, Thomas J. “Fulton Street Transit Center Plan Stands” NY Times. June 27, 2006. April 23. 2007
<http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/27/nyregion/27mbrfs002.html?ex=1178251200&en=7aa923b040a34351&ei=5070>
Movilizing the Region. Is the No. 7 still alive and well?. February 24. 2006. April 29. 2007
http://www.tstc.org/bulletin/20060224/mtr52206.html
MTA
New
York
City
Transit.
The
Subway.
Feb
4.
2007.
23
abril.
2007
<http://www.mta.info/nyct/facts/ffsubway.htm>
NY1. Money Issues Could Halt 7 Line Extension. February 14. 2007. April 19. 2007.
<http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=5&aid=66799>
Taylor, B. Kim. The Great New York City Trivia & Fact Book. New York City: Cumberland House, 1998.