WEBVTT - MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber Talks NYC's Storm Response 

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio News joining us now.

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<v Speaker 2>We mentioned the wonderful snow removal above ground, there is

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<v Speaker 2>beneath the ground as well on the bus as well. JOHNA.

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<v Speaker 2>Lieber joined us now MTA chare and CEO here in

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<v Speaker 2>New York City. John, I remember years ago in Boston

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<v Speaker 2>the snow, the salt, the slush drifted down and basically

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<v Speaker 2>shut down the large system of Kenmore Square. Are you

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<v Speaker 2>and your team worried about major breakdowns just because of

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<v Speaker 2>the harshness of this or is it just an emergency

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<v Speaker 2>as usual?

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<v Speaker 1>You know, Tom, It's an interesting point. Rob was talking

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<v Speaker 1>about the advances in forecasting. The advantage of that is

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<v Speaker 1>that allows us to do a ton of preparation, and

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<v Speaker 1>fifteen thousand MTA workers labored over the weekend and into

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<v Speaker 1>today to make sure we could put on service. And

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<v Speaker 1>we were able to maintain bus and subway and Metro

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<v Speaker 1>North and Long Island Roilroad commuter service right through the storm,

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<v Speaker 1>with delays, with imperfections, but we were able to operate,

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<v Speaker 1>which is not always the case in the past, and

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<v Speaker 1>that's because of preparation. And our concern now is we're

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<v Speaker 1>operating a full Monday morning commute, which is amazing. But

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<v Speaker 1>you know, the obviously with a risk of thaw and icing,

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<v Speaker 1>that presents new problems. So we're moving on and how

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<v Speaker 1>we manage the impacts of the storm. Just as you suggest, Jeneral,

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<v Speaker 1>give us the status of the subway and the bus

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<v Speaker 1>system as it is right now and kind of how

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<v Speaker 1>do you think it might play out over the next

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<v Speaker 1>twenty four hours. Well, here, the bottom line is we're

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<v Speaker 1>operating service on all subway lines, on all bus lines.

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<v Speaker 1>There are some delays because partly because we have crews

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<v Speaker 1>that live in New Jersey and they're not able to

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<v Speaker 1>get in because New Jersey Transit is out of business

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<v Speaker 1>for today.

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<v Speaker 2>Shame there in New Jersey a little bit.

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<v Speaker 1>Now, listen, everybody's different. We were able to survive this

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<v Speaker 1>storm with it, I guess I said, fifteen thousand people

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<v Speaker 1>doing a ton of work. But the bottom line is

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<v Speaker 1>we're running. We're running every line. Metro North is running,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, five hundred and fifty trains today, Long Island

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<v Speaker 1>Road running seven hundred and fifty trains, both of them

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<v Speaker 1>on kind of robust holiday schedules or weekend schedules. Check

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<v Speaker 1>your if you're listening, MTA commuter check your train time

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<v Speaker 1>app or your MTA website MTA dot info for specifics.

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<v Speaker 1>But we're running service uh and we're ready to We're

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<v Speaker 1>ready to keep that going as we go forward in

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<v Speaker 1>the week.

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<v Speaker 2>General persistent cold is in the forecast here heard from

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<v Speaker 2>Rob Carolyn. Maybe for the week, maybe two weeks of

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<v Speaker 2>well below average temperatures. How does that impact your system?

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<v Speaker 1>Listen, you know when you're ice is a is the

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<v Speaker 1>enemy of good service on rail, right, So you have

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<v Speaker 1>to have run your de icing trains constantly, make sure

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<v Speaker 1>that the switches don't actually freeze up, and we have

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<v Speaker 1>maintainers literally standing by our major switches, our major interlockings

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<v Speaker 1>to constantly de ice. But we got all the snow

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<v Speaker 1>by running service yesterday right through the system. We got

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<v Speaker 1>the snow off of the third rail. We've been maximizing

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<v Speaker 1>our use of diesel engines on the commuter rails which

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<v Speaker 1>don't depend on the third rail, and we're going to

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<v Speaker 1>keep at it. So those are their new challenges brought

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<v Speaker 1>on by icing, especially for the bus system, which is

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<v Speaker 1>one hundred percent chain that all the wheels are chained.

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<v Speaker 1>But we're going to keep managing through.

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<v Speaker 2>Can I ask one non storm question?

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<v Speaker 1>Sure?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah. What is so fascinating is you've been very vocal

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<v Speaker 2>in your support of our new mayor, and you've also

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<v Speaker 2>said that we need a lot of study of free buses.

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<v Speaker 2>Give us an update on how close we are to

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<v Speaker 2>free bus service of the MT You.

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<v Speaker 1>Know today is today's really about the muscling through the storm, honestly, Sean.

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<v Speaker 1>But but you know, I'll just say this is that

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<v Speaker 1>the mayor, the new Mayor Mamdani, is very pro transit,

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<v Speaker 1>and I welcome that. I've also made clear that, uh,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, if we're going to talk about something as

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<v Speaker 1>radical and as as impactful as making a whole section

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<v Speaker 1>of our system free, we need to do a ton

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<v Speaker 1>of study and it's not a flip the switch type thing.

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<v Speaker 1>So well, I'm sure that you know the governor who

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<v Speaker 1>is leading, uh you know, the with her state of

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<v Speaker 1>the state message, making a lot of investments, but also

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<v Speaker 1>mindful of the we've brought the MT eight back to

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<v Speaker 1>financial stability under Hocal's leadership, and we don't want to

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<v Speaker 1>mess with that. So we'll be moving methodically under Governor

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<v Speaker 1>Hockel on addressing this idea.

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<v Speaker 2>Amid this storm. Thank you, for the conversation for General

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<v Speaker 2>Leebert is with an MTA chair and CEO as well