New fare-payment systems in the works for New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority spotlight how such a large agency can use its funds to juggle problems of today with challenges of tomorrow.
On Tuesday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and MTA Chairman Thomas Prendergast announced an expedited rollout of "eTix" digital ticketing for Long Island and Metro-North commuter railroads during a news conference at Grand Central Terminal.
According to Cuomo, it will be available to all customers by end of the summer. It's available now for customers who ride LIRR's Port Washington branch or Metro-North's Hudson line.
"One part of our overall mandate is to update our technology in the shortest time possible," MTA Chairman Thomas Prendergast told reporters. "The governor has been pushing for this, and he's right."
The MTA, one of the nation's oldest mass-transit systems, has also issued a request for proposals for a contractor to replace its MetroCard system for subway and bus payment. The vendor would base its system on open bank-card payment standards that would use contactless media, including "contactless" smart cards and mobile devices.
RFP proposals are due by July 13. MTA officials extended the deadline from June 23 after potential bidders sought more time.
The MTA, one of the largest municipal issuers with roughly $37 billion in debt, allocated about $419 million for MetroCard replacement to its New York City Transit subdivision in its recently approved 2015-2019 capital program.
The authority, meanwhile, has more than its share of everyday troubleshooting, ranging from LIRR signal problems to public alarm over a rise in sex crimes.
One reporter at last month's board meeting, noting the authority's range of challenges, asked Prendergast if this was a weird time to be MTA chairman.
"It's no longer a nicety. It's an expectation that we have these [new] levels of technology in the system," said Prendergast, the authority's chief since 2013 and the former head of New York City Transit.
Board members in June discussed fare-payment technology at length. Transit advocates called for a form of "electronic proof of payment" that would speed up the boarding process on buses while also minimizing costly fare evasion. Roughly 2.5 million customers ride MTA buses daily on average, though ridership has tapered of late.
Officials have estimated that the authority in recent years has lost up to $100 million annually through fare evasion. Two years ago, fare beaters represented an estimated 15% of bus riders in New York City's Staten Island borough alone.
The authority does have an Eagle Team to spot fare evaders, notably on Select Bus Service routes, which feature off-board fare payment technology and is intended to decrease dwell time at stops. MTA officials told board members they would provide cost details on the use of inspectors. New Jersey's Hudson-Bergen light rail uses such a system.
Tech enhancement is a lynchpin of the newest capital plan, which a state review board approved in late May.
Projects include finishing the installation of positive train control, a form of remote operation; expanding Select Bus Service in conjunction with the city's Department of Transportation; completing the LIRR double-track project, adding a second track to its Ronkonkoma branch; and enhance real-time train information.
"You ride other systems and you see technology that doesn't exist here and people go 'why?'," said Prendergast. "So the governor has asked me to step up the pace because sometimes we say we're moving into the 21st century and he'll look at his watch and go 'Tom, it's 2016, when are we going to get on with it?'
Cuomo said Tuesday that an agency as big as the MTA needs prodding.
"Technology is frightening to a bureaucracy but the MTA did it," he said. "If you don't push every day it's not going to happen."
Polly Trottenberg, the city's transportation commissioner and also an MTA board member, praised the authority for adapting to new challenges.
"It sounds like the MTA is on board really trying to encourage bidders to come forward with cutting-edge technology on this front," Trottenberg, a former undersecretary at the U.S. Department of Transportation, said of the MetroCard replacement.
"Look, it's challenging in the government sector. We have long, complicated procurements that take a long time. You should see at least in my own agency how many legacy computer systems and processes we have."
