MTA

Andrew Cuomo personally intervened to get the Second Avenue Subway running by January 1. But when it comes to the less flashy task of getting the whole subway system to run reliably, the governor is nowhere to be seen.

On fare hike day, straphangers should remember that Cuomo broke a promise that would have helped keep money in their pockets.

The subways remain vulnerable to routine weather events setting off enormous disruptions, while the governor touts bells and whistles like underground internet connectivity.

"You have to have a mass transit system that people want to use," Governor Cuomo asserted at a transportation-themed press event today. At least he got that much right.

You can tell Governor Cuomo doesn't get on a New York City bus unless it's for a photo-op about on-board USB ports.

After spending the first half of the year touting frills like Wi-Fi and charging ports on buses, Governor Cuomo finally delivered some news this morning that will make a real difference to transit riders. The MTA plans to buy hundreds of open gangway subway cars, which can carry more passengers and help relieve crowding on maxed-out lines.

There's a huge disconnect between the way Governor Andrew Cuomo talks about transit improvements and the service upgrades that transit riders actually want to see.

NY1's Zack Fink reports that last week's Albany budget deal raised the MTA's debt ceiling to $55 billion (about one-third higher than the previous cap of $41 billion). That's $14 billion more in potential borrowing that, in all likelihood, straphangers will pay off in the form of higher fares.

The next time you hear a friend talking about the time their train stayed still for 30 minutes because of signal problems, or the time they waited 45 minutes for a bus then watched four buses pull up simultaneously, or the time they almost got pushed onto the tracks because the platform was so crowded, point them to this video from the Riders Alliance. It's 30 seconds of truth about Andrew Cuomo.