THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUSTAINABILITY AT NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT

The New York City Transit (NYCT) operates 24 hour-a-day bus and subway service throughout the city's five boroughs, and has a fleet of over 4500 buses and 6200 subway cars, and approximately 7 million riders each day. In an effort to manage risks, NYCT embarked on a course to redefine itself in the mid 1990s focusing on environmental performance. In March 1999, NYCT's Capital Program Management became the first public transit agency in the U.S - possibly the first public transportation entity in the world - to be certified to the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System standard. The article reviews the progress made and determines that it is becoming increasingly evident that sustainable behavior is becoming a part of NYCT's activities.