Subway station agents are now roaming outside their booths

Plus: Andy Byford in charge of high-speed rail for Amtrak [FORWARD TO A FRIEND]( [VIEW IN BROWSER]( [DONATE]( [WNYC Politics Brief] Subway station agents are now roaming outside their booths Plus: The MTA is trying to get the federal okay for congestion pricing. NJ Transit's service for riders with disabilities needs major improvements, fast. And the Transit Museum is giving a tour of subway station art made by women. --------------------------------------------------------------- 🚆 --------------------------------------------------------------- [a commuter getting assistance at a subway station booth] Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images More than 2,000 MTA subway station agents are [stepping out of their station booths]( starting Thursday, ending a decades-long feature of the city’s transit system that has become obsolete. Commuters will instead find free-roaming service agents outside their kiosks, available to help commuters figure out their route, assist riders with disabilities and report on maintenance issues such as broken elevators, said New York City Transit President Richard Davey. The metal and glass enclosures will not be removed, however — Davey said workers can return there during breaks or whenever they see fit. Station agents had remained confined to booths even as the central duty under the role — processing tokens for rides — became a thing of the past with the advent of the MetroCard. The MetroCard itself is now in the process of being phased out and [replaced with OMNY]( a payment system linked to one’s smartphone or credit card. — [Reporting by Michelle Bocanegra]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 🚆 --------------------------------------------------------------- A virtual tour tonight ceberates subway station art created by women [a floral mosaic at the 28th Street subway station] Cathy M. Carver Since 1982, the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs has mandated that 1% of the budget for city-funded construction projects must be spent on public artwork. MTA Arts and Design was then created in 1985 to fulfill that promise in subway stations, and ever since, a panel of experts has selected artists who reflect the demographics of an ever-growing city. To that end, about 130 out of the 260 pieces of artwork currently in the subway system were made by women, according to art historian Amy Raffel, public programs manager at the New York Transit Museum. Tonight at 6 p.m., she's leading a virtual tour called "[Women Artists in the Subway]( highlighting a selection of subway art by women, including one of her favorites: Nancy Blum’s "Roaming Underfoot," a series of mosaics of various plants installed at the 28th Street station near the Flower District. "As a female artist, it's very discouraging to be a minority in pretty much every art situation you can find yourself in in the city," Blum said. "To be part of a more balanced system is just as good as it gets." — [Reporting by Ben Yakas]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 🚆 --------------------------------------------------------------- Here's what else is happening The MTA has offered to devote $120 million of congestion pricing revenue to curb pollution in the Bronx. The transit agency pitched the idea as part of an effort to get a sign-off from the Federal Highway Administration, which is reviewing the MTA's environmental assessment for the tolling program. ([Streetsblog]( NJ Transit's car service for riders with disabilities has until June to dramatically increase its on-time rate. To comply with a settlement reached with the U.S. Attorney's Office, 88% of Access Link rides need to arrive within 30 minutes of their scheduled time. In 2022, more than 15% of rides arrived late. ([Gothamist]( Astoria residents are demanding safety improvements at a local intersection after an SUV driver ran a stop sign and fatally hit a 7-year-old girl last month. Advocates who've begun attending the 114th Precinct’s community meetings also want police to immediately ramp up traffic enforcement while they push for street redesigns. ([Gothamist]( Andy Byford, the former NYC Transit chief known among his fans as "Train Daddy," has returned to the U.S. to work for Amtrak. The British rail guru starts April 10 as senior vice president for Amtrak’s high-speed rail program. ([Gothamist]( New York City is soliciting name suggestions for the new Governors Island electric-hybrid ferry. The public has until May 25 to pitch names for the battery-and-diesel powered boat that's set to begin service summer 2024. ([Gothamist]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 🚆 --------------------------------------------------------------- And Finally: You think this fella paid the $6.75? [a bird on the Express Bus]( [@whatisny/Twitter]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 🚆 --------------------------------------------------------------- Support WNYC + Gothamist Make a donation to support local, independent journalism. Your contributions are our largest source of funding and pays for essential election coverage and more. [DONATE]( [Facebook]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Instagram]( [WNYC]( [WQXR]( [NJPR]( [GOTHAMIST]( [WNYC STUDIOS]( [THE GREENE SPACE]( Copyright © New York Public Radio. 160 Varick Street, New York, NY 10013 All rights reserved. [Terms of Use.]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your [preferences]( or [unsubscribe]( from this list