The MTA Network

Public Transportation for the New York Region

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The Metropolitan Transportation Authority takes people in the region wherever they need to go. It opens up countless job opportunities for millions – jobs that are miles from home are easy to get to with our subways, buses, and commuter trains. And after work, the network enables them to get to leisure activities: music, theater, cultural events, sports, and shopping more varied than anywhere in the country. The MTA is the vital network that knits together this rich area and its unparalleled resources.

Over the past two decades, the MTA has committed some $72 billion to restore and improve the network so that today it runs at unprecedented levels of efficiency. Employees at all of our agencies work diligently to maintain high service and safety standards. And we have embarked on an ambitious program of expansion that will provide an East Side terminal for the Long Island Rail Road, create new subway service on the East Side of Manhattan, extend subway service to the far West Side, improve Manhattan mobility, and create a direct rail link to Kennedy Airport.

In short, the MTA is committed to guaranteeing that the best city in the world has the world's best transportation system.

MTA subways, buses, and railroads provide 2.6 billion trips each year to New Yorkers — the equivalent of about one in every three users of mass transit in the United States and two-thirds of the nation's rail riders. MTA bridges and tunnels carry nearly 300 million vehicles a year — more than any bridge and tunnel authority in the nation.

This vast transportation network — North America's largest — serves a population of 14.6 million people in the 5,000-square-mile area fanning out from New York City through Long Island, southeastern New York State, and Connecticut.

MTA Totals at a Glance*
2011 operating budget
 $11.8 billion
Average weekday ridership
8,487,642
Rail and subway lines, and bus routes
 387
Rail and subway cars
 8,628
Buses
 5,982
Track miles
 2,047
Bus route miles
 3,571
Rail and subway stations
 735
Employees
 65,609
* Financial data as of November 23, 2011;
statistical data as of December 31, 2010.


The MTA network links the diverse parts of New York, giving the region efficient, reasonably priced, environmentally sound travel alternatives to gridlocked streets and highways.

While nearly 85 percent of the nation's workers need automobiles to get to their jobs, four of every five rush-hour commuters to New York City's central business district avoid traffic congestion by taking transit service — most of it operated by the MTA. MTA customers travel on America's largest bus fleet and on more subway and rail cars than all the rest of the country's subways and commuter railroads combined.

It is impossible to place a dollar figure on the MTA's land, equipment, and facilities, located on or under some of the world's most expensive real estate. But the greatest value of the MTA lies in its beneficial impact on the New York region's economy and quality of life. New York ranks near the top among the nation's best cities for business, Fortune magazine has written, because it has "what every city desires. A workable mass transit system.” The mobility provided by the MTA helps ensure New York's place as a world center of finance, commerce, culture, and entertainment.

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 or overhauled nearly all of the subway, railroad, and bus fleets; rebuilt maintenance shops and much of the 2,000 miles of subway and railroad track; rehabilitated scores of subway and railroad stations; and restored Grand Central Terminal and the LIRR's Penn Station.

MetroCard® automated fare collection and E-ZPass® electronic toll collection revolutionized payment on subways, buses, bridges, and tunnels. MetroCard brought 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. E-ZPass transformed regional travel, decreasing congestion, reducing pollution, and speeding commutation.

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.

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, the extension of the number 7 line west from Times Square to the Javits Center, and a direct link from Kennedy Airport to downtown Manhattan.

A public-benefit corporation chartered by the New York State Legislature in 1965, the MTA is governed by a 17-member Board. Members are nominated by the Governor, with four recommended by New York City's mayor and one each by the county executives of Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Dutchess, Orange, Rockland, and Putnam counties. (Members representing the latter four cast one collective vote.) All Board members are confirmed by the New York State Senate.

New York City Transit

See New York City Transit statistics below, or go to maps of the system, or home page.

Subway in the sky
When the subway opened in 1904, it launched an unprecedented era of growth and prosperity for the newly unified New York City. One hundred years later, the city's reliance 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.

Motor-bus service on the streets of Manhattan began in 1905. Today, NYC Transit's buses run in all five boroughs, on more than 200 local and 30 express routes. They account for 80 percent of the city's surface mass transportation.

NYC Transit also administers paratransit service throughout New York City to provide transportation options for people with disabilities.

MetroCard, the MTA's automated fare collection medium, is accepted on all New York City Transit subway stations and on buses. It can also be used on Long Island Bus, MTA Bus, and on the PATH system (operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey), a subway linking New York and New Jersey.

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.

New York City Transit at a Glance*
Subway in four boroughs, buses and paratransit in five boroughs.
2011 operating budget
 $8.6 billion
Average weekday passengers
7,415,070
Subway lines
 24
Bus routes
 217
Subway cars
 6,374
Buses
 4,348
Track miles
 659
Bus route miles
 1,796
Subway stations
 468
Employees
 45,414
* Financial data as of November 23, 2011;
statistical data as of December 31, 2010.

Staten Island Railway*
Rail cars
63
Track miles
29
Rail Stations
22
Statistical information as of December 31, 2010

Long Island Rail Road

See Long Island Rail Road statistics below, or go to the map of the system, or home page.

Penn Station entrance
The Long Island Rail Road is both the largest commuter railroad and the oldest railroad in America operating under its original name. Chartered in 1834, it extends from three major New York City terminals — Penn Station, Flatbush Avenue, and Hunterspoint Avenue — through a major transfer hub at Jamaica to the easternmost tip of Long Island.

Traditionally serving a Manhattan-bound market, the LIRR has undertaken extensive efforts to augment its reverse-commute and off-peak service to meet the needs of businesses in Nassau and Suffolk counties.

The railroad has replaced many of its oldest electric cars with state-of-the-art M-7 rail cars and has modernized its entire diesel fleet with new locomotives, bilevel coaches, and "dual-mode” locomotives that operate in both diesel and electrified territory, enabling many customers to travel between Long Island and Manhattan without changing trains.

Through the Capital Program, the railroad has restored Jamaica Station (Queens), the transfer point for the AirTrain to JFK Airport, and is restoring Atlantic Terminal (Brooklyn). The railroad will also install a fiber-optic communications system for greater safety and is consolidating antiquated control towers into one modern center at Jamaica.

Long Island Rail Road at a Glance*
Rail lines in Nassau and Suffolk counties and in
New York City; the largest commuter railroad in
the United States.
2011 operating budget
 $1.6 billion
Average weekday ridership
282,358
Rail lines
 11
Rail cars
 1,165
Track miles
 594
Rail stations
 124
Employees
 6,453
* Financial data as of November 23, 2011;
statistical data as of December 31, 2010.

Long Island Bus

See Long Island Bus statistics below, or go to LI Bus schedules, or the agency home page.

Long Island Bus
Long Island Bus — formed in 1973 by the combination of ten private bus companies into a unified transportation system — operates throughout Nassau County and in western Suffolk and eastern Queens. Its lines link 96 communities, 47 Long Island Rail Road stations, five New York City Transit subway stations, numerous industrial parks, colleges, hospitals, corporate headquarters, and major shopping malls.

To reduce vehicular congestion and increase mobility in its Long Island service area, LI Bus coordinates its services with the LIRR, configuring routes to meet north-south travel demand, and running specialized shuttles that give Long Islanders new access to jobs, educational institutions, and retail sites. Recently LI Bus expanded service to the Nassau hub to seven days a week, ensuring that transportation is available to those seeking jobs in the hub area.

LI Bus operates the largest all natural gas-fueled bus fleets in the country and the largest compressed natural gas refueling station on the East Coast.

It also operates a paratransit service in Nassau County to provide transportation options to people with disabilities.

Long Island Bus at a Glance*
Buses and paratransit in Nassau, western Suffolk, and eastern Queens counties; funded through Nassau County.
2011 operating budget
 $136.9 million
Average weekday ridership
103,428
Bus routes
 48
Buses
 389
Bus route miles
 954
Employees
 1,044
* Financial data as of November 23, 2011;
statistical data as of December 31, 2010.

Metro-North Railroad

See Metro-North Railroad statistics below, or go to the system map, or agency home page.

Metro-North train
Metro-North Railroad is second largest commuter railroad in the nation. Its main lines — the Hudson, Harlem, and New Haven — run northward out of Grand Central Terminal, a Beaux-Arts Manhattan landmark, into suburban New York and Connecticut. Grand Central has been completely restored and redeveloped as a retail hub — a destination in its own right.

West of the Hudson River, Metro-North's Port Jervis and Pascack Valley lines operate from NJ Transit's Hoboken terminal and provide service to Rockland and Orange counties. With the opening of Secaucus Junction, West-of-Hudson customers can now transfer to trains that will carry them directly to Newark or New York's Penn Station, and the Pascack Valley Line has introduced weekend service for the first time in 60 years.

The railroad upgraded its rolling stock through the acquisition of M-7 rail cars for Harlem and Hudson Line service and is introducing M-8 cars - in partnership with the State of Connecticut - to replace the aging New Haven Line fleet. These high-tech cars are more comfortable and more reliable, especially in winter weather. The railroad is also completing a 21st century fiber-optic system to provide more reliable communication with staff and customers.

Metro-North Railroad at a Glance*
Rail lines in Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Orange, and Rockland counties and in Connecticut and New York City.
2011 operating budget
 $1.3 billion
Average weekday passengers
277,169
Rail lines
 6**
Rail cars
 1,026
Track miles
 765
Rail stations
 121
Employees
 5,823
* Financial data as of November 23, 2011; statistical data as of December 31, 2010
** Includes a line not in service

Bridges and Tunnels

See Bridges and Tunnels statistics below, or go to the regional map, or the agency home page.

Verrazano Bridge
Created in 1933 by Robert Moses, MTA Bridges and Tunnels serves more than 830,000 vehicles each weekday — nearly 300 million vehicles each year — and carries more traffic than any other bridge and tunnel authority in the nation. Surplus revenues from the authority's tolls help support MTA transit services.

MTA Bridges and Tunnels bridges are the Robert F. Kennedy, Throgs Neck, Verrazano-Narrows, Bronx-Whitestone, Henry Hudson, Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial, and Cross Bay Veterans Memorial; its tunnels are the Brooklyn-Battery and Queens Midtown. All are within New York City, and all accept payment by E-ZPass, an electronic toll collection system that is moving traffic through MTA Bridges and Tunnels toll plazas faster and more efficiently. Seventy-four percent of the vehicles that use MTA Bridges and Tunnels crossings on weekdays now use E-ZPass.

MTA Bridges and Tunnels is a cofounder of the E-ZPass Interagency Group, which has implemented seamless toll collection in 12 states, including New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia; tolls are charged electronically to a single E-ZPass account.

Bridges and Tunnels at a Glance*
Seven bridges and two tunnels in New York City; toll revenues help subsidize mass trains
2011 operating budget
 $380.5 million
Support to mass transit
$842.6 million
Average weekday vehicles
822,700
Bridges
 7
Tunnels
 2
Employees
 1,670
* Operating budget data as of November 23, 2011;
support to mass transit and other statistical data as of December 31, 2010

MTA Capital Construction

See Capital Constructions statistics below or the agency website.

MTA Capital Construction Company was formed in July 2003 to serve as the construction management company for MTA expansion projects, downtown mobility projects, and MTA-wide security projects.

Capital Construction has a core group of employees and draws on the expertise of construction and other professionals at the MTA agencies as well as on the nation's leading construction consulting firms.

Expansion Projects

East Side Access — connection of Long Island Rail Road to new terminal in Grand Central

Second Avenue Subway — subway line from 125 th Street to the Financial District

7 Line Extension — extension of subway from Time Square to the Javits Center; to be supported entirely by New York City funds

Downtown Mobility Projects

Fulton Street Transit Center — new station linking A, C, J, Z, 2, 3, 4, 5 lines; underground concourse to E/R/1 lines, PATH, World Trade Center site

MTA Capital Construction Planned Project Costs*
Construction management for MTA Capital Program expansion, downtown mobility, and network security projects.
2011 operating budget
$32.8 million
Total cost
East Side Access
(2016 completion)
$7.3 billion
Second Avenue Subway
(Phase 1, 2016 completion)
$4.5 billion
7 Line Extension
(NYC-funded; 2013 completion)
$2.4 billion
Fulton Street Transit Center
(2014 completion)
$1.4 billion
* Budget as of November 23, 2011; project data as of September 2011.

MTA Bus Company

See Bus Company statistics below or the agency home page.

The MTA Bus Company was created in September 2004 to assume the operations of seven bus companies that operated under franchises granted by the New York City Department of Transportation.

The takeover of the lines began in 2005 and was completed early in 2006.

MTA Bus is responsible for both the local and express bus operations of the seven companies, consolidating operations, maintaining current buses, and purchasing new buses to replace the aging fleet currently in service.

MTA Bus operates 46 local routes in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens, and 35 express bus routes between Manhattan and the Bronx, Brooklyn, or Queens. It has a fleet of more than 1,200 buses, the 11th largest bus fleet in the United States and Canada.

MTA Bus at a Glance*
Buses in four boroughs
2011 operating budget
$618.9 million
Average weekday ridership
394,317
Bus routes
80
Buses
 1,245
Bus route miles
821
Employees
 3,339
* Budget as of November 23, 2011;
statistical data as of December 31, 2010.

For more information about the MTA and its agencies, write:

Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Marketing & Corporate Communications
347 Madison Avenue, 5th floor, New York, NY 10017-3739

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