On Thursday, May 24, New York City Transit president Andy Byford presented the details of the new Fast Forward plan to an audience of over 400 civic and industry leaders in the Vanderbilt Hall at NYU Law.
In partnership with the NYU Rudin Center for Transportation Center and a dozen other organizations, RPA welcomed Byford, who spoke confidently about how the agency plans to turnaround the transit system over the next decade.
“People would give their right our for our subways, and their left arm for our bus network,” Byford said as he began his presentation. “Most people most days get to where they need to go without incident, and I think we do need to put it in that perspective.”
Just a day before, Byford presented the comprehensive and ambitious plan during the MTA Board meeting, laying out four core areas:
- Fixing the subways (maining through signal modernization)
- Reimagining the bus network
- Accelerating accessibility and
- Engaging and empowering employees
As he had mentioned during the RPA Assembly in April, this corporate plan would be a ‘full renaissance’ of the subways and busses, describing what needs to be done in order to deliver a world class transit system for New York City.
Shortly after his presentation, Byford joined a panel discussion with Chris Pangilinan, program director at TransitCenter; Angela Pinsky, executive director of Association for a Better New York; John Raskin, executive director of Riders Alliance; Julie Samuels, executive director of Tech:NYC; and our president Tom Wright.
When asked about improving New York City’s bus network, Byford said that there has to be priority given to public transit on congested roads.
“It is simply unacceptable for a single person in a car to hold up a busload of people,” Byford said. “If we are serious about getting busses moving, we simply have to give busses a dedicated right of way.”
To hear Byford’s full presentation, click here.
To hear the full panel discussions, click here.
To read the full Fast Forward plan, click here.