Amateur Questions regarding the MTA/Transit

I could probably look up the answers to these but I just thought I'd ask here while venting out some frustrations I have. Keep in mind beyond a sizeable donation (for my wagie check lol) to the Queenslink GFM and paying my fare I really don't have an engagement with the MTA. While this post may sound like a complaint I really do appreciate the MTA.

Why aren't there more seats at stations?

I get that the answer is probably because of the homeless, but in my experience (I usually use the MTA around 2AM-3AM) the homeless either sleep on the floor in the underground stations or they just sleep in the trains themselves.

Not adding seats doesn't prevent the homeless from sleeping there but it just fucks over the people who actually pay who typically don't prefer standing for like 10-20 mins waiting for the trains especially in shit weather and more importantly it fucks over the elderly and the disabled, I'm really glad seeing the bigger stations being made more accessible via new elevators but it sucks when I see a guy in crutches standing around waiting for 15 mins.

Unless I'm completely ignorant on the matter installing more seats shouldn't take that much time and man effort and the upkeep shouldn't be that much considering how the few old and worn out that are actually installed are still standing.

Is it particularly pricey to expand bus stations?

More or less the same complaint as the previous entry. The 3 seater bench helps literally no one, especially on busier stops where crowds of people gather. Usually one of two things happen, either the sidewalk gets mildly/infuriatingly congested or (if the weather is particularly harsh) people just start camping out in local stores for like 10 mins. I know a longer bus station w/ more seats wont solve bad weather but it would help clear out the sidewalk a bit and help A LOT with the elderly while making it a more pleasant experience for commuters. Maybe we could even innovate on the current design to provide more shelter from sunlight and rain. Also the homeless people usually just campout in the station at night. Is is a permit issue? I know that buses have a designated area to park on the road, I just assumed that the area was kinda reflected on the sidewalk for a place for commuters to "park"

What decides where each bus stop is placed?

Kinda a pet peeve of mine is when bus stations are placed comically close to each other. I've seen literal bus stops placed across the road from each other for the same bus. Sometimes its not even a 5 minute walk between each bus stop. I've talked about this to one of my co-workers who lives around my area and even she said that sometimes its faster to walk then take the bus route. I have a friend that lives a couple of blocks away from me and she'll spend usually 25-35 mins, sometimes even 40 mins, walking back from our train station if the bus takes longer than 10-15 mins to arrive and still somehow beats the bus.

Maybe this is a problem in my area or I'm just incredibly impatient but having the bus stop so frequently for like 3 people when there's another station right up the street is infuriating to me, and I'd imagine the fuel costs would start adding up for the MTA but I don't know. I don't remember why but I was wandering around 7th Ave when I came across a sign that was decommissioned and then realized you can actually remove bus stops; how are these decisions made?

How influential are NIMBYs?

I've heard of NIMBY's blocking out entire housing projects in the UK via a BritMonkey video and I've read some comments in here complaining about NIMBYs. The only time I've seen NIMBYs in action is when a bunch of Chinese people were protesting that homeless shelter being built near 10th Ave I think and I've heard that the project is still going through albeit delayed.

On that specific case, they didn't want a homeless shelter in that location because of all the preschools nearby but wouldn't advocate for heavier policing in said area instead? Like a protest for more patrols or something. The construction workers would probably patronize nearby businesses and I'm sure the shelter itself would hire from said community, while serving a humanitarian purpose so I don't understand the pushback on that but maybe I'm just missing something, maybe the area has had bad interactions with the homeless idk.

Have any massive housing/transit projects been canned because of NIMBYs or they just like an annoying sect among the wider transit discourse?

Why does the MTA keep trying out new ways to crack down on fare evading instead of just copying what works?

Self-explanatory I guess but what is stopping them MTA from copying don't the turnstiles from other railway network, like the one with large glass panels that you cant crawl under to jump over which I think was implemented in the MTBA. Why do they semi-regularly try out new methods like the turnstile with the long ass dividers that make jump over near impossible? Is it just data collection or trying to add accessories to turnstiles to avoid the cost of actually setting up a new turnstile?

Is it ok feel upset at undercover cops enforcing fares?

Doesn't necessarily have to be undercover, but like cops hiding around the corners. If there was a plain clothes cop standing in plain sight at the other end of the turnstile people who were gonna jump would just leave. When these cops disguise themselves it really feels like they're just trynna dish out fines and make money instead of just stopping fare evasion while increasing the chances of confrontation happening by an upset person who, unjustly so, feels cheated. It's like they're creating scenarios where they could unleash the trigger happy part of themselves and make cash instead of enforcing fare in the easiest way possible, but I'm just repeating myself at this point.

It could be possible that I feel a lot more sympathy to fare evaders because a lot of my friends do/did fare evade because they cant afford to pay $6 dollars per day, 4-5 days a week to get to their 4 hour lectures and, to my knowledge, they really do look try to look for work. I've helped them out prepping for interviews and stuff and the ones who get job start paying their fare (we travel along to same routes). The thought of a candy crusader in disguise fining them $100 when they can't do $6 is just gross to me, especially when there is a better way to stop fare evading while they're just absent on platforms where they're needed, but maybe I just hate cops too much or there is a valid reason for being undercover that I'm just not seeing.

Is there a reason why there aren't any mirrors at sharp corners/blind spots?

Especially on the major stations, I've ran in to so many people going so many people when going around a sharp corner especially during rush hours and having one of those shopping/half-sphere mirrors should just help people be even more aware of their surroundings especially considering how many crazies tend to lurk around big stations. But maybe this is already standard practice and they've just missed the corners I take lol.

How long should renovations take?

The ones I've seen have been there for like 5 months, maybe even longer. Is it supposed to take this long? I understand each situation different and that'll reflect on the construction time but why does is take months at time? Is it just inconsistent funding? Union fuckery? or my perception of construction time incredibly screwed? I've really gotten sick of the blue walls they put up, and how I've had to weasel my way past them, this shit is not safe especially looking at some of the photos I've seen posted on here and how narrow the margins can get.

Should the MTA focus on renovating/maintaining or on expanding their service?

I get making stations more accessible and safer while making stations more aesthetically pleasing but isn't it a better idea to have as many people rely on the MTA as possible? Maybe they'd ditch the usual method of transportation if the amount they'd spend on the MTA is lesser than then their car note and insurance. I know both of them have unique problems fucking up their implementation but which one should be prioritized first?

Can Trump really kill congestion pricing?

Isn't it up for the states to decide how to toll their own roads? Why does he care so much about something that doesn't bother him? Doesn't he live in Florida anyway? Why can Texas decided to ban adults transitioning and issue warrants on women and doctors who perform abortions in other states but we can't do congestion pricing lol? No court would allow this to go through right?

I think that's all I have for now, thanks for reading through my rants/questions if you can answer even of them Ill appreciate it thanks