Metro

Wi-Fi disruptions blamed for ‘scary’ Roosevelt Island Tram swaying

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Published Nov. 10, 2023, 6:19 p.m. ET
The Roosevelt Island Tram suspended over water during the day.
Roosevelt Island Tram operators say the cause of the recent swaying is due to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth disruptions that trigger a safety stop causing rocking from momentum.  Stefano Giovannini

Maybe the Roosevelt Island Tram just needs to be powered on and off.

After The Post reported on Wednesday that the Roosevelt Island Tram has had a number of swinging episodes in recent weeks that have terrified passengers, the operators have issued a statement explaining the issue. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth problems are to blame, they say.

When “Wi-Fi and Bluetooth disruptions between the Tram cabins and station occur, the cabins go into a controlled safety stop, which in mid-air can cause swaying,” Armando Cordova, a maintenance manager for POMA Tram Operation, said in a statement issued Wednesday evening by the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation.

“The system will not restart until an operator or technician takes steps to verify the system status.” 

Leitner-Poma and Roosevelt Operating Corporation are continuing to investigate the cause of disruptions, but it “poses no safety risk” for riders, according to the statement. The Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation did not respond to a request for further comment.

Dozens of people exiting a Roosevelt Island tram car.
“In short, when these Wi-Fi and Bluetooth descriptions between the Tram cabins and station occur, the cabins go into a controlled safety stop, which in mid-air can cause swaying,” the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation said in a statement Wednesday.  Stefano Giovannini

Island residents are fed up with transit issues amid the months-long partial shutdown of Roosevelt Island’s F train subway station that began at the end of the summer. 

“How would Wi-Fi be disrupted?” Chris Klemmer, a 43-year-old blogger at Barstool Sports who has lived on the Island since February, told The Post. “It’s scary. If the swaying takes one of the two trams out that’s a problem because we’ll now have to wait every 15 minutes.”

While Klemmer has not been on board a swaying tram recently, he has suffered in the aftermath of long wait times that have delayed his commute.

Crowd of people cram on line to Roosevelt Island tram.
“How would Wifi be disrupted?” questioned Chris Klemmer, a 43-year-old Roosevelt Island resident who says his commute has suffered in recent weeks as a result of the partial shutdown of the F train. He fears that an uptick in swaying trams could delay it even further. Stefano Giovannini

“They replaced the floors last week and took one of the trams out of service. We don’t have a subway anymore, and now you’re taking out an entire tram to fix the floor? Things like this – and now the swaying – are infuriating people on the Island. People are starting to lose their patience,” Klemmer said, noting that his commute to Midtown, Manhattan, has gone from 20 minutes to more than 40 minutes as a result of the partial F train shutdown and tram delays. 

Clips of the swaying tram have been posted on YouTube and Instagram, where they’ve attracted attention. On October 20th, a passenger suffered from dizziness and headaches due to the tram’s motion, according to a letter that city council representative Julie Menin wrote to the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation.

It cited “concerns about safety.”

Roosevelt Island tram.
An investigation into the cause of the communication interruptions between the Tram cabins and the station are on-going, Armando Cordova, POMA Tram Operation and Maintenance Manager, said in a statement.
Stefano Giovannini

In Wednesday’s statement, Cordova said “The health and safety of our Tram passengers is paramount to everything we do.”

Klemmer isn’t so sure.

He said, “We feel like our local government is letting us down.”