It was, apparently, too good to last.
After years of improving performance and reliability, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority last week approved a set of extreme service cuts and a massive 25 percent fare hike.
Should no new money come from the Legislature in Albany, entire lines would be cut, stations would grow dirtier and fewer booth operators would be around to help. The train cars and tracks would deteriorate rather quickly, giving rise to even more “signal problems” that so often hold up trains, boosting the number of “slow zones”—which are pretty much what they sound like—and increasing the number of derailments.
