MTA New York City Transit will host two public “Community Conversation” events this October in Queens and in Upper Manhattan on the recently announced Fast Forward Plan to modernize the subway system and reimagine bus and paratransit service.  These town hall-style events provide opportunities for the public to learn about and comment on the Fast Forward Plan from Transit President Andy Byford.

“Public transit is the engine of New York City, and anyone who takes the subway, a bus or paratransit has a personal stake in the future of New York City Transit, which is why it is so important for all of our customers to get to know what the Fast Forward Plan means to their commutes,” President Byford said.  “The plan will be a monumental task to implement and we absolutely want every stakeholder to have a say in how we will achieve our goals.”

In May, President Byford introduced the Fast Forward Plan: The Plan to Modernize New York City Transit as a roadmap to modernizing and improving all aspects of NYC Transit, such as subway service and stations, bus service including local, express and Select Bus Service, and paratransit. The plan sets out to improve accessibility across all Transit services, and addresses how NYC Transit can improve its organizational structure, corporate culture, and customer service. 

The Fast Forward Plan includes goals such as installing state-of-the-art new signal and track infrastructure for subways within five years, accelerating accessibility improvements across the subway system by ensuring all customers will be no more than two stops from an accessible station within five years, repairing and improving more than 150 subway stations over five years, putting a new modern fleet of thousands of subway cars and buses into service within five years, and completely redesigning the bus network to meet new ridership demands and population trends. The full plan is available here.

To track and report progress and to hold itself accountable to stakeholders and the public, MTA New York City Transit plans to issue twice-yearly reports on the progress of its Fast Forward Plan initiatives. Since the plan was announced, NYC Transit has moved forward on accessibility improvements at three subway stations, implemented a newly redesigned express bus network on Staten Island, increased off-peak service on bus routes with high growth potential, and launched the quarterly Customer Commitment report to set and track clear goals on customer-focused improvements. NYC Transit also has begun community outreach to redesign bus travel in the Bronx as part of the Fast Forward Plan to reimagine the entire city bus network.  In June, President Byford appointed Transit’s first advisor for systemwide accessibility to improve paratransit service and implement accessibility initiatives in the Fast Forward Plan.

President Byford and MTA New York City Transit staff will present the Fast Forward Plan at ‘Community Conversations’ across the city, soliciting feedback from customers on how the Fast Forward Plan will affect their commutes and how NYC Transit plans to improve accessibility and customer service. Members of the public are highly encouraged to attend to learn about the plan and bring their questions and comments to President Byford and his staff.

Information on the events in Queens and Upper Manhattan is below. Subway station signage have been posted in both boroughs to help inform customers about the meetings. Both venues are ADA accessible, and any members of the public who cannot attend are encouraged to submit questions and feedback about the Fast Forward Plan online via the MTA website at fastforward.mta.info.

QUEENS:
Wednesday, Oct. 10, 5:30 p.m.to 8:30 p.m.
Robert Ross Johnson Family Life Center
172-17 Linden Blvd, Jamaica
 to Jamaica Center-Parsons/Archer
At Archer Ave and Parsons Blvd, transfer to Q4, Q4LTD to Linden Blvd and 172^nd St
Q5, Q5LTD, Q85, Q85LTD To Merrick and Linden Blvds

UPPER MANHATTAN:
Thursday, Oct. 11, 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem
Herbert Cave Auditorium, Mural Pavilion
512 Lenox Avenue, Harlem
 to 135 St or M1, M1LTD to Malcolm X Blvd
Bx33, M2, M2LTD to W135 St