Effective Transit Alliance

"Blair Lorenzo, Executive Director, Effective Transit Alliance "This is a great decision by Gov. Sherrill, one which should have always been a no-brainer. Urban highway widenings have no place in the 21st century, and all too often, the need for structural replacement is used as an excuse for hidden road expansion. This is the right call not only for New Jersey, but for the entire metropolitan area." "

Last week, NJ Gov Sherrill announced that the NJ Turnpike would replace the Newark Bay Bridge with only one span, finally ending a wrongheaded highway expansion.

Urban highway widenings have no place in the 21st century, & ETA joins our partners in applauding this decision.

tinyurl.com/3757cdhs

Blair Lorenzo

If it's your first time, keep an eye out for Blair, who will be there with a sign, nametag, and business cards.

Tonight, Friday February 27, 2026 from 6-8pm at Vanderbilt Market 45th & Vanderbilt behind Grand Central.

TONIGHT, come join ETA for TOD: Transit-Oriented Drinks February!

Join us for drinks, transit discussion, and transit advocacy!

Tonight, Friday February 27, 2026
from 6-8pm
at Vanderbilt Market
45th & Vanderbilt behind Grand Central.

All are welcome!

MTA blasts 75-decibel ads in subways in latest disruption for NYC commuters — and agency barely makes money off them Sounds like another subway nuisance! Straphangers already struggling to hear service updates over the roar of the subway will soon have to put up with paid commercials blaring through the same spea…

This is inappropriate and unacceptable.

The subway is already too loud, with unnecessary announcements. They make navigation harder for those who rely on them, cause riders to tune out, and make riding a chore.

Advertising is never an appropriate use for transit PAs.

nypost.com/2026/02/25/u...

Friday February 27, 2026 from 6-8pm at Vanderbuilt Market 45th & Vanderbilt behind Grand Central.

This Friday, come join ETA for TOD: Transit-Oriented Drinks February!

Join us for drinks, transit discussion, and transit advocacy!

Friday February 27, 2026
from 6-8pm
at Vanderbuilt Market
45th & Vanderbilt behind Grand Central.

All are welcome!

Advocates to MTA: More Fare Caps Will Be Fairer For All - Streetsblog New York City The MTA has not introduced daily or monthly OMNY fare caps, even as it phased out daily and monthly MetroCards.

Streetsblog spoke to ETA about monthly caps. While better, ETA recommends steeply-discounted prepaid monthlies.

Before OMNY, a NY monthly pass cost 46 rides. In contrast, the Continental European range is 15-30, encouraging ridership while discouraging evasion.

nyc.streetsblog.org/2026/02/18/a...

A Not So Capital Plan Pt 2: The Future is Electric — Effective Transit Alliance New York The future of urban rail is electric. Unfortunately, NYC has near-sighted plans for its commuter system that could hinder electrification for decades. It’s time to move past the status quo & lay groun...

New York should be investing in electrifying its passenger rail network. Electric trains are faster, cheaper, and drive ridership.

Moving backwards to diesel is simply nonsensical.

www.etany.org/not-so-capit...

That's why CT invested $300M in electric trains for SLE: they drive ridership while lowering costs & pollution. To throw that away to "save" $8.8M/yr is nonsensical.

If that number is correct, then the rate Amtrak is charging for electricity on its tracks is deeply unreasonable.

Why Connecticut could pull electric trains off a rail line in favor of diesel DOT Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto said the return of diesel trains will allow the state to save money without cutting services.

Returning diesel trains to Shore Line East would be a disaster:

⬩Electric trains accelerate far faster, enabling quicker service with fewer delays

⬩Amtrak pricing aside, electric trains are far cheaper to operate & maintain

⬩Electric trains pollute less & are more reliable

tinyurl.com/c77fkzus

An Unprecedented Assault on Greater New York’s Vital Transportation Infrastructure — Effective Transit Alliance New York Vital infrastructure is far too important to be used for political games.

As ETA has argued, infrastructure is far too important to be used for political games.

www.etany.org/statements/2...

Gateway Funding Doesn’t Have to Be Immediately Restored, Judge Says

Although a recent court decision ordered Gateway funding restored, it's been stayed pending appeal.

The result: even though the TBMs are in the ground, construction of this vital tunnel is paused, adding millions (at least) to its cost & further delaying opening.

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/n...

That said, all-door boarding needs to be implemented correctly:

▪️ Fare teams must have the right equipment. They should never need bank statements.

▪️Reinstate prepaid transit passes to speed fare checks.

▪️Checks should happen with the bus in motion, not slowing riders.

Fare evasion: MTA boss Lieber rules out all-door bus boarding until ‘European model’ of enforcement is activated | amNewYork The MTA will only move towards introducing all-door boarding on city buses after it has rolled out a promised "European-style" approach to fare evasion

All-door boarding is right for NY buses: by reducing boarding time, it not only improves rider experience, but speeds service.

To date however, the MTA has dragged its feet, even though the fleet already has rear-door OMNY readers.

Hopefully this isn't more stalling.

www.amny.com/news/fare-ev...

An Unprecedented Assault on Greater New York’s Vital Transportation Infrastructure — Effective Transit Alliance New York Vital infrastructure is far too important to be used for political games.

As ETA has argued, infrastructure is far too important to be used for political games.

www.etany.org/statements/2...

Gateway Development Commission sues Trump for breach of contract over Hudson River Tunnel cash The Gateway Development Commission sued the federal government late Monday, after months of the Trump administration’s refusal to distribute money approved by Congress for the construction of…

The Gateway Development Corporation is suing the federal government to receive its appropriated funds.

While there are many issues with Gateway, stopping construction would add years of delay and potentially billions more in cost to this vital project.

www.nydailynews.com/2026/02/02/g...

Researchers with the Effective Transit Alliance, who previously convinced the MTA to tunnel under All Faiths Cemetery to speed up service on its proposed Interborough Express, said that even the station at 125th Street and Lexington Avenue station — the busiest planned station in Phase II — will not be 75-feet wide, so none of the stations on the crosstown branch need to approach that width. ETA researchers told Streetsblog that keeping the crosstown stations the same size as the Phase I and Phase II stations could save 15 percent on tunneling costs alone.

ETA will soon publish a report recommending ways to significantly cut the project's costs, and we previewed some of those findings to Streetsblog.

This is a promising route, but NY simply cannot build the transit it needs without getting its costs under control.

Extending the Second Avenue subway across 125th St is a great concept, but the current project is deeply flawed:

* At $7.7B for 1.3mi, it will cost an order of magnitude more than similar lines in other global cities.

* Deep stations will waste a lot of time—over 10 min across 125th.

Public Comment on the IBX SEQRA Draft Scoping — Effective Transit Alliance New York ETA's public comment on the IBX, submitted in November 2025 as part of the SEQRA Draft Scoping process.

Victory on the All Faiths Tunnel was just the start. Now we’re pushing for:
• Automated light metro
• High frequencies
• Seamless in-system transfers
• High-floor trains

Check out ETA's official recommendations for the IBX environmental review submitted last November:
www.etany.org/statements/i...

It's time to update this 50-year old law to ensure we are building a strong future for NY.

Read more about the coalition and learn how we can reform SEQRA to make needed green projects easier while continuing to protect our environment here:

www.unlocknysfuture.com

ETA is proud to be part of Unlock New York's Future, a coalition to modernize SEQRA.

For too long environmental law has been used as a cudgel to stop or delay transit investments that we know will benefit not only NYers, but the environment.

It's time to #UnlockNYsFuture.

An Unprecedented Assault on Greater New York’s Vital Transportation Infrastructure — Effective Transit Alliance New York Vital infrastructure is far too important to be used for political games.

As ETA has argued, infrastructure is far too important to be used for political games.

www.etany.org/statements/2...

Work Will Stop on Critical Tunnel Project Unless Trump Restores Funding

Right now, the tunnel boring machines for Gateway have arrived and are being assembled in their launch pits.

There are many issues with the Gateway project, but stopping construction now would only add years more delay while further inflating costs.

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/n...

Blair Lorenzo in front of the Manhattan Bridge

If it's your first time, keep your eyes out for Blair who will be there with a sign and business cards.

Tonight, Friday, January 23, 2026 from 6-8pm at The Irish Exit Moynihan Train Hall's Food Hall

TONIGHT, come join ETA for first TOD: Transit-Oriented Drinks of 2026!

Join us for drinks, transit discussion, and transit advocacy!

Tonight, Friday, January 23, 2026
from 6-8pm
at The Irish Exit
Moynihan Train Hall's Food Hall

All are welcome!

A Not So Capital Plan Pt 2: The Future is Electric — Effective Transit Alliance New York The future of urban rail is electric. Unfortunately, NYC has near-sighted plans for its commuter system that could hinder electrification for decades. It’s time to move past the status quo & lay groun...

ETA strongly recommends the MTA commit to electrifying its remaining diesel routes, including the Hudson Line north of Croton Harmon, utilizing cost-effective overhead catenary, and running EMUs instead of slower locomotives.

The future is electric.

www.etany.org/not-so-capit...

This situation is unusual, as one Hudson Line track had its third rail removed in the late 20th c. for budgetary reasons.

Fixing this hole is good for the region: electric power is not only cleaner & cheaper, but allows for faster accelerating trains, and thus far faster trips.

The stretch, which lies south of the Croton-Harmon stop, is the only one of four tracks along the route that doesn’t have a third rail, according to the solicitation document. A single, diesel-only track where all the others are electric is an unusual arrangement, said Blair Lorenzo, the executive director of the Effective Transit Alliance, an organization that advocates for improved transit in the New York region. The construction site lies within what the MTA calls its “third-rail territory,” or 102 miles of Metro-North that have electric capacity and extend up the Hudson, New Haven and Harlem lines. In September last year, the department announced that new Siemens Mobility Charger locomotives were starting to operate along the Husdon line specifically. While older models on the tracks only run electric within the tunnels of Grand Central Terminal, the Charger locomotives are built for long-distance, high-speed electric travel, Lorenzo said. Completing this final bit of electrification on the Hudson line would let the new models operate diesel-free all the way to Croton-Harmon.

ENR talked to ETA about Metro-North's plan to electrify the Hudson Line's other express track.

This will allow the agency's new Charger locomotives to operate on electricity all the way to Croton Harmon before shifting to diesel, allowing faster, cleaner travel.

www.enr.com/articles/623...

Friday, January 23, 2026 from 6-8pm at The Irish Exit Moynihan Train Hall's Food Hall

Tomorrow, come join ETA for first TOD: Transit-Oriented Drinks of 2026!

Join us for drinks, transit discussion, and transit advocacy!

Friday, January 23, 2026
from 6-8pm
at The Irish Exit
Moynihan Train Hall's Food Hall

All are welcome!

A tweet from Ben Furnas of Transit Alternatives quoting an interview with MTA Chair Janno Lieber in which he says, "Organized civic groups in New York City have declined. They've in many cases, gone out of business or faded from memory or faded in importance and impact. In their place has arisen a network of urban-oriented and especially transit-oriented advocacy groups, and they had a huge impact on the all of what we've been able to accomplish in the fact in the past few years."

😎^3

Friday, January 23, 2026 from 6-8pm at The Irish Exit Moynihan Train Hall's Food Hall

This Friday, come join ETA for first TOD: Transit-Oriented Drinks of 2026!

Join us for drinks, transit discussion, and transit advocacy!

Friday, January 23, 2026
from 6-8pm
at The Irish Exit
Moynihan Train Hall's Food Hall

All are welcome!