NYC MTA Unveils 10-year Transit Moderniztion Plan

Metropolitan Transportation Authority New York City Transit President Andy Byford revealed a comprehensive plan to completely modernize every major aspect of the organization and its services, from subways to buses to accessibility to corporate culture.

The plan, called “Fast Forward: The Plan to Modernize New York City Transit,” focuses on four major priorities which President Byford identified on his first day in office earlier this year: transforming the subway, reimagining the city’s public bus network, improving accessibility for all modes, and engaging and empowering NYC Transit’s workforce to deliver the best service possible.

The plan’s four priorities are all underpinned by three foundations of corporate philosophy that President Byford and his team are working to make the norm at New York City Transit: agility and accountability; safety, security and resiliency; and customer service and communication.

“As I said when my appointment was announced, what is needed isn’t mere tinkering, a few tweaks here and there,” President Byford writes in the Fast Forward Plan’s opening letter.  “What must happen is sustained investment on a massive scale if we are to deliver New Yorkers the service they deserve and the transit system this city and state need…. Now is the time to think big and transform our network so it works for all New Yorkers.”

“President Byford is a proven change agent in the world of international transit and this plan will achieve exactly what he was brought on to do — give New Yorkers the reliable, efficient, accessible transit system they need and deserve,” said MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota.

Highlights of the plan, which was presented to the MTA Board today and can be seen here, include:

• State-of-the-art signal and track infrastructure for optimum reliability, performance and safety.
• Accelerated work towards a fully accessible subway system. 
• Critical station repairs and improvements. 
• A state-of-the-art fleet of new subway cars and buses. 
• A completely redesigned bus route network. 
• A simpler, more reliable, more efficient paratransit experience. 
• Engage and empower employees. 
• Improving efficiency and reducing costs. 
• Embracing and increasing capacity for innovation. 
• Advancing environmental sustainability and resiliency. 
• Modernizing the approach to safety.  
• Improving customer service and communication. 
  

In order to track and report progress for stakeholders and the public, the Fast Forward Plan includes twice-yearly reports on the progress of its initiatives. “I believe that New Yorkers want more than just a return to the reliability of yesteryear,” President Byford writes in the Plan’s introduction. “The world’s greatest city needs world-class transit and this Plan will deliver exactly that.”

(more on the details of the Fast Forward Plan in NYC...)