A group of transit wonks wants the MTA to say dōmo arigatō, Mr. Roboto and institute automated train operation for the upcoming Interborough Express — a revolutionary change that could allow the MTA to carry 50 percent more riders than the agency currently projects.

Running self-driving trains on the orbital light-rail route between Brooklyn and Queens would lower the construction and operating costs for the project, create safer station environments and — most crucially — allow the MTA to far much more service and in turn attract much higher ridership, according to a report from the Effective Transit Alliance.

The MTA should design its planned Interborough Express (IBX) line as a fully automated system from the beginning in order to ensure it can accommodate its frequency and capacity needs without having to undergo a costly retrofit in the future, a new report from the Effective Transit Alliance (ETA) argues.

The MTA is looking for ways to improve passenger wayfinding via improved screens and announcements.

Better tech is good on paper, ETA's Blair Lorenzo told the New York Groove, but the real question is if it will actually be used to improve the rider experience, and not simply blast more noise.

The New York Groove sat down with ETA to discuss the onslaught of unnecessary announcements facing NY riders. This type of noise pollution not only annoys riders, but trains them to not listen to announcements.

As the NY Groove's tag puts it, "Better Things are Possible."

Patch Upper East Side covered ETA's recent report, detailing how shallower stations could save billions of dollars along with saving riders massive trips to super deep stations on the proposed 125 St subway.

Streetsblog sat down with ETA to discuss how better construction techniques could not only save billions in construction costs on the proposed 125 St Subway, but also save riders time through shallower stations.

ETA discussed the FRA's through-running report for Penn Station with Streetsblog. While it's very good that the plan takes through-running seriously, it pushes the real discussion of operational changes to Phase 2.

Streetsblog NYC talked to ETA about New York's short-sighted policy of stopping buses to inspect fares. Cities around the country and the world keep passengers moving by inspecting fares while vehicles are in motion.

The Daily News discusses the push by ETA and other New York-area civic groups to stop a bill mandating two-person subway crews—something not mandated anywhere else in the world.

One-person train operation is the standard across both the country and the world. It is safe, it lowers costs, and allows for more frequent service at a lower price.

A 125th St extension of the Second Ave subway travels the right route, but with a price of more than $7B/mi and with deep stations forcing 5+ min escalator trips, the current plan doesn't work.

ETA sat down with the Joint Transit Association to talk ways to fix this vital link.

Streetsblog spoke to ETA about monthly caps. While better, ETA still recommends steeply-discounted prepaid monthlies.

Before OMNY, a NY monthly pass cost 46 rides. In contrast, the Continental European range is 15-30, encouraging ridership while discouraging fare evasion.

Extending the Second Ave subway across 125th St is a good concept, but the current plan is deeply flawed.

ETA discussed why the project is so expensive and ways to make it cheaper with Streetsblog.

ENR talked to ETA about Metro-North's plan to electrify the Hudson Line's other express track.

This will allow the agency's new Charger locomotives to operate on electricity all the way to Croton Harmon before shifting to diesel, allowing faster, cleaner travel.

The real future, however, lies in electrifying all of the MTA’s diesel territory and running fast EMUs instead of locomotives.

In describing the governor’s veto, Streetsblog NYC pointed out ETA’s role in defeating this poorly thought-through piece of legislation.

The Interborough Express has the potential to be a transformative piece of infrastructure, but to truly live up to its potential, it needs to be constructed to global standards: as an automated light metro.

ETA talked with Bloomberg CityLab about the future and potential of the IBX.

In a baffling and unacceptable move, the MTA recently announced that its purchase of 378 new R268 subway cars will not include walk-through open gangway trains.

As ETA's Blair Lorenzo explained to Streetsblog, walk-through trains are the worldwide standard for good reason: they are safer, more comfortable, and carry more people.

Do you want to learn more about through-running, and why it's the clear solution to improve service at Penn Station? There are few better places to start than with this short documentary from the Joint Transit Authority, featuring ETA’s own Blair Lorenzo and Khyber Sen.

ETA talked to the New York Times about a bill on Gov Hochul's desk that would mandate two crew on every subway train—something not required by any other metro in the world. This bill threatens existing service and would threaten having modern, automated trains on the new IBX. One-person and automated trains are the standard across the world; this bill would lock New York in the past.

ETA’s Blair Lorenzo talked to The City about how the IBX is moving forward at a quick pace—for American infrastructure, at least. In particular, it’s good to see the state pay to fund an Environmental Impact Statement without guaranteed federal support so that the project can be shovel-ready when federal money is available again.

The Gothamist highlights ETA’s work trying to stop a poorly-thought through law mandating two-person trains—something mandated no where else in the world. ETA’s Blair Lorenzo points out that trains run safely in major cities all over the world with one-person operations or fully automated systems.