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Mass Transit--Then And Now
The Transport Workers Union strike that began on December 19 left commuters stranded, with no means of transportation to work, school, or anywhere else for that matter. However, this was not the first time the transit system had come to a halt over a labor dispute. A strike in 1966 lasted 12 days. In 1980 union employees again caused a shutdown of bus and subway services for 11 days. The chaos caused by the first day of the December 19 strike has made commuters look back to the good old days when the transit system originated, increasing travel and easing the lives of millions upon millions of people. Boston was the site of the first subway system within the United States. The Interborough Rapid Transit (IRT) that brought underground mass transit to New York in 1904 consisted of 28 stations in Manhattan. It was extended to Queens in 1915. These underground trains introduced the token in 1953, when the fare was 15 cents, almost unimaginable today. Fares gradually increased over time, reaching $1 in 1986, $1.25 in 1992 and $1.50 in 1995. In 2003, the highest increase in the city’s history raised a single fare to $2. This was also the year that the MetroCard, first introduced on buses and subways in 1997, brought about the elimination of tokens. Mass transportation in New York City has evolved from the first few elevated and underground stations to 490 subway stations and 244 bus routes across the city. The 1950s and 1960s saw the demolition, building and rerouting of certain train lines to form connections that would link the entire city together. The transit system has also undergone changes in management, seen accidents and maintained fights against vandalism throughout the course of its history. Derailments have been relatively few and the transit system’s fight against vandalism, graffiti in particular, was considered successful in 1989 after a five-year fight, when the last train covered in graffiti was considered officially cleaned and refinished in graffiti-resistant paint. One such train car, a part of the “redbird” fleet that ran on the No. 7 “International Express” line between Times Square, Manhattan and Main Street, Flushing, is now permanently moored at Queens Borough Hall, where it is intended to serve as a tourist information center. The establishment of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in 1968 created the parent organization of New York City Transit, and made NYC Transit the largest agency of the entire MTA transportation network. New York City Transit is a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week system that includes 4,483 buses and 6,210 subway cars, the largest subway car fleet in the world, and serves more than 2.4 billion people a year. This massive organization had an operating budget of $5.26 billion as of last year. While New York City Transit is the largest transportation system in North America, many other cities within the United States, such as Atlanta, Chicago, Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Boston also have their own means of public transportation. Mass transit is also available worldwide. Besides London, subways can be found in Moscow, Paris, Berlin, Athens and Montreal, among other cities. And while the transportation networks do not connect every single city and town, reliability and convenience have formed around providing a way in and out of urban locations, which are generally the centers of occupation and schooling. Mass transportation has given people the luxury of a buffer between workplace and home. To honor of the great impact of the transit system in New York, the New York Transit Museum was formed on July 1, 1976. Located in Brooklyn between Court and Schermerhorn Streets, this transit exhibition contains authentic memorabilia from more than 100 years of the history of mass transit in New York City. Old subway cars, now outmoded turnstiles and a plethora of interesting facts can all be found at the museum. For more information, visit http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/mta/museum
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