The current partial shutdown leads into a Tram slowdown, set for Monday. The changes may be permanent. RIOC will announce the move later this morning in an advisory.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
The Tram Slowdown, Nuts and Bolts
The potential impact is unknown. RIOC hasn’t shared any statistics on hourly Tram ridership, if they have them. So, this move may be based on some intuitive guesswork.
RIOC will say that it is “always looking for ways to improve overall service, safety, and ride quality, particularly for our senior and disabled passengers.” Factually, a failure by POMA, the Tram’s contracted operator, at controlling cabin swinging and swaying is behind it.
The upcoming changes are fairly drastic, a sharp departure from nearly 50 years of routine. Instead of running every 7 1/2 minutes during rush hours, for example, POMA cuts back to 10 1/2 minutes. The normal 15 minute intervals jump all the way to 21 minutes, a 40% increase in waiting time.
Some positive adjustments
Taking out some of the sting, RIOC will also announce these helpful changes:
- Rush hour service will be extended a half-hour later for mornings (7AM-10:30AM).
- Rush hour service will begin a half-hour earlier for afternoons/evenings (2:30PM-8PM).
This will help some, especially students, but the overall impact of the Tram slowdown is unknown.
Why Oh Why?
You can be certain this is not happening because someone was inspired by Simon and Garfunkel while passing the 59th Street Bridge.
Slow down, you move too fast
You got to make the morning last.
And only tourists will likely be Feelin’ Groovy.
The Tram slowdown comes from the fact that cabins will now take longer cabling across the East River. And that’s driven by the latest attempt at reducing cabin swaying and abrupt stops high over the water.
Carrying that to the next step, POMA is doing this because, after a year’s effort, it still can’t understand why the swaying started or how to fix it. It’s pointing its finger at aging components in communication systems. Those must be replaced at some point. So, more shutdowns are ahead, and the costs will probably come out of RIOC’s budget – collected from Roosevelt Island.
Don’t Blame the Messenger
Being the messenger of bad news is RIOC’s fate. They will not blame POMA which pulls in over $5 million a year in contract dollars. POMA’s services are mediocre and sometimes dangerous. It’s not as if the state agency can bring in another contractor. Competition for operations as unique as the Roosevelt Island Tram is scarce.
A year ago, before the idea of a Tram slowdown emerged, Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright took action. She brought in the Department of Labor. Since then, DOL has worked with POMA and RIOC on safety. It’s been a long haul that brought POMA’s expertise into question.
Now, those of us depending on the Tram for basic transportation pay the price. Tourists won’t complain about a longer jaunt across the skyline. Disney-minded, they already stand in line for lengthy periods for the best $2.90 thrill in town.
Residents are not so lucky. Degrading service already considered less than acceptable is another step downhill. Most likely, it’s permanent.
AVAC Is Working. The Model Is What’s Aging.
Roosevelt Island’s AVAC system is often discussed as if it were either a miracle or a menace. In truth, it is neither. It is functioning infrastructure that has reached a point in its lifecycle where how it is maintained matters as much as whether it exists at all.
