Did you wait and wait and wait for a train recently, or get stuck on one that inched slowly to its destination? You’re not alone!
The subway system continues to crumble as the state continues to shortchange the MTA’s capital budget, and it’s left an increasing number of commuters waiting on the platform. An audit by state comptroller Thomas DiNapoli showed a continuing decline in service.
“According to DiNapoli, on-time performance decreased from 84% to 72% on weekdays, and from 90% to 81% on weekends, between January 2013 and December 2014. According to the MTA, a train is “on time” if it reaches the end of the line within five minutes of its scheduled arrival time.”
The MTA argues in a response at the bottom of the audit that DiNapoli didn’t judge the right parameters, and notes that sometimes trains are held in the station to prevent trains bunching up, among other reasons.
The 2 train was one of the worst offenders, according to the audit: it was on time only 51.2% of the time, the third worst performance in the entire system. Maybe time for the Cuomo administration to fully fund the MTA capital budget?
The fact that the governor still doesn’t take MTA funding seriously is outrageous.
According to the MTA, a train is “on time” if it reaches the end of the line within five minutes of its scheduled arrival time.” . . . explains why the Local train bypasses my station. This metric is flawed.
Yes, the C train apparently is # 3 in on-time performance according to this criterion. This explains why at least one evening each week for most of the summer, the local C train conductor will announce that it is going express to 125th Street.
I’m sure that this type of manipulation ‘improves’ the C train’s on-time performance, but they’re not fooling anyone who uses this line into thinking that it the C has runs on time. Certainly not the hundreds of commuters left to wait for the ‘next train right behind this one’ to take them home.
AFAICT the MTA makes local trains skip stations to fill the gaps left by delays, and get trains faster to people further up the line. It doesn’t appear to me that the MTA’s operating policies care much about ontime performance, which is not a bad thing, and why the metric is probably pretty good.
WHat I don’t understand is the relationship between funding gaps and performance. Is it fewer trains running? More breakdowns due to less regular maintenance? Etc.
The capital plan would fund all sorts of improvements to the subways, including updating the 1930’s-era signal system: https://web.mta.info/capital/pdf/Board_2015-2019_Capital_Program.pdf
Ever been stuck waiting because of a “signal malfunction”?
Flawed, maybe.
But:
–it’s 3x better than the Dept. of Transportation’s standard for an “on-time” flight (arrival or departure no more than 15 minutes after the scheduled time) and;
— way-y-y better than Access-A-Ride’s ’30 minutes-or-never…whichever comes first’.
What train/station are you referring to?
On several occasions, weekdays during the months of September through June, between the hours of 7:35 AM and 8:30 AM the Local will bypass the Southbound 79 Street Station.
Also prevalent on the North Bound Local at the 72nd street station between the hour of 4:30 & 5:30. While I understand that its the height of rush hour, its still no excuse, especially at $2.75/ride. But the MTA doesn’t see this a problem, cause that train that skipped me made it to the end of the line on time? 🙂
Yep, my stop is 79th Street, and I’ve experienced the same thing on numerous occasions. Recently, I stood on the crowded platform for a good 20 minutes, and when a train FINALLY arrived, it sped right past the station. Waited another 10 minutes or so, and the next train that arrived was too packed for more than a few people to fit. At that point I gave up and walked the two miles to work.
Thats interesting… I’ve taken the 1 to work from 96th street for 6 years and gave never been on a train that stops over 79th street. I usually ride the 1 between 7:30-7:50, must be a timing thing.
Agree with AC — think its just coincidence / luck of the draw. For 5 years, I’ve commuted from 79th around 9-9:30am and 6-6:30pm and have had to deal with the station being bypassed numerous times, and definitely with more frequency in the last couple of years.
Some more color
https://secondavenuesagas.com/2015/07/30/1968-2015-requiem-for-the-mta/
Looks like DiNapoli and the MTA want people to look at certain aspects of the audit so both are disingenuous to a degree. This once again is the problem with statistical analysis as one group can point to one particular area and say, “see that, gotcha”. Also, a certain degree of delays are the result of people whom haven’t grasped the concept of not holding doors open so family and friends that are still fiddling with their metrocards can make the train. How about being considerate and wait for the next train? Just a thought. A bigger concern for me personally is the cleanliness or lack thereof on trains and train stations. I rather wait an extra 5 minutes to stand in a clean train station and ride a clean train. Also, perhaps funding is short because the MTA is not using the funds that they do receive in a smart way? I have first hand knowledge that there is a lot of waste that goes on with redundancies in management and union agreements that require a certain level of workers be paid to pretty much sleep and/or watch movies because they are on what is know as “standby” and only are there just in case some people call in sick. Sad!
Thank you for pointing out that math (e.g. statistics) are stupid.
Science is also stupid.
I’m in favor of policies that ignore those hard things like math and science. We should base everything on feelings.
StatBoys brain is so consumed with statistics he has trouble reading posts accurately. Never said statistics shouldn’t be used nitwit!
About cleanliness, H, have you ever had the luck of discovering a moderately empty car when all the rest of the train was crowded?
You get in as the doors close. You finally can take a breath. And, at the moment, you grasp why it’s empty: There’s even more space, you notice, near the reclining man in dirty clothes taking up an entire seat.
You decide that you’ll simply get off at the next station and make a quick turn directly into the adjacent car. But — surprise –- you’re not the only one who who thought of that and, by now, there’s no squeezing in.
The door delays are also caused by passengers who block the path out — often they are with carts, etc. But, most times, I think that these blockers just want to be the first ones out at their stop.
Sometimes, I don’t blame them, because there is an opposing current from the people on the platform who want to get in.
You know you can just go to another car while the train is moving right? The doors aren’t locked and you can walk the whole train no problem without having to wait.
And you would be at risk of getting a ticket by an overzealous police officer trying to meet his/her quota for that month.
“West Side Trial”
I love it!
Need to change the paperboy graphic though.
Maybe a Hangman.
I thought that my encounter was rather humorous. I didn’t think that it would turn into a trial.
I would have been at risk of getting hurt, since the alternative car was filled to the brim. It would have been dumb not to wait for the next stop.
The law exists so people don’t get hurt.
Unauthorized movement between subway cars: $75 Fine
Riders may not move between subway cars even if the train is not in motion, except in an emergency or when directed by police officer, conductor or authorized MTA/New York City Transit employee. (from web.mta)
That may be, but if the doors were locked on all trains then the woman who was raped in broad daylight on the 3 train wouldn’t have been saved by that man from the next car if the doors were locked. I think you need to get over yourself
There aren’t any rules on the subway, not unless a cop is around 😉
Definitely have had that experience although luckily not in a couple of months. Usually depends on how early I commute. Just the other day on the 1 train someone vomited all over the door which was a lovely experience for the senses.
Just use UBER!
really?
Yes.
Yes. You can visit friends in TriBeCa in no time.
There’s a ton more graffiti on the Subway these days too, especially on Broadway
How dare you complain about the homeless- I mean the unsheltered or taggers who vandalize property- I mean street artists. How racist and horrible. SMH. Isnt this what you all wanted? If cops try to move the homeless along it is ‘harassment’. If a cop confronts a tagget its police brutality with an edited anti cop video on youtube a few hours later. Just stop already.
MTA to New Yorks: Drop Dead! I recently returned from a trip to Japan. THAT’S what train/subway service should be like. I couldn’t believe it. What a pleasure! All New Yorkers should be ashamed, embarrased and angry at the state of the NYC subway. I know I am. One of the greatest cities in the world has one of the worst subway systems in the world. Unbelievably noisy, dirty, cramped, no apparent routine time schedule and no logical connections. Go to Japan and you will see what a real subway system should be like: quiet, fast, efficient, on time, color coded and cheaper per ride than NYC.
Uh, it’s about the money. Always has been, always will be. We bitch about taxes being too high but want better roads and more cops. We want the subway and trains better but bitch about the fare costs. Pay more, manage the costs better and we to will have a very nice subway. But as long as the union dictates and the government dictates, well, we got what we got. Don’t like it? Buy yourself a car, move to California, and spend you commute on the 405. Or the 5. Or the 15. Or the 1. Jeeze. It really ain’t that bad. Even for $2.75. Really.
Exactly right, it’s about the money! The money that Cuomo (a disgrace to his father’s memory) is sending upstate rather than returning to the city.
I don’t bitch about taxes and I don’t bitch about fares. I bitch about the quality of the subway system. It stinks. The Japanese have a similar tax structure but the difference is that they actually care about their people and want them to have the finest, when possible. Just the opposite here. It’s not about money at all. It’s about the mentality.
You live in America. No one in government cares about infrastructure. The rich don’t use mass transit.
Any yet the mayor wants more people and more units on the upper UWS. He uses the fantasy of good public transport to support this higher density. That at least is his claim but of course the people he wishes to accommodate may use cabs or sniffers while the rest of us get crammed into subway cars and put at risk on crowded train station platforms. No one really cares. We could learn a lot from Europe with their clean subway stations and efficiently run public transport.
This city is run by clowns.
Are you a good witch or a bad witch?