Automating the IBX will ensure it can run faster, handle more riders, at a lower cost: report

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 report, shared exclusively with amNewYork ahead of its Wednesday release, contends that as it puts together the draft environmental impact statement for the IBX — set to be released later this year — it should plan the line as an automated light metro (ALM) rather than light rail. Full automation entails running trains entirely with technology, without any human train operator or conductor on board. By designing the IBX as an automated light metro — a model that utilizes driverless trains completely separated from the road, unlike light rail — from the outset, ETA insists it will be able to run more frequent service due to lower operating costs. More frequent service will allow