The only blog written from the NYC Subway system

Your thoughts on the new MTA website?

I’m just glad it stepped out of 1998.  It’s a massive improvement that was long overdue.

I’m also interested to see how accurate that little service status widget is in the middle of the page.  Will it get updated right away when trains are being diverted?  Will a simple “sick passenger” even cause an alert?  Or does a whole line need to be backed up?  Guess we’ll see.

And they should make that widget embeddable on other sites such as *cough cough* SUBWAYblogger.  Area news sites would also embed it in their sites.  It is in the MTA’s best interest to make this information as widely available as possible.  They should make something like that available.

I’m a fan of the new site.

So let’s hear your thoughts on the cutting of free and reduced fares for NYC Students.

Personally, I’m torn.  I can see how it is something that students should have.  Then again, times are tough.  I think that everyone needs to chip in.  I guess I’m on both sides of the issue.

Here’s some things I do know.

1) “I have three kids.  How am I supposed to afford buying them each a MetroCard.”

Nothing makes my blood boil more than this one.  It’s the same excuse used for not having to pay for many services.

Here’s an idea:  Keep your legs closed, get on the pill, put on a condom, and stop pumping out children.  The fact that poor people have more than one kid is absolutely amazing to me.  I can understand making a mistake and having a kid.  However, once you’ve realized the difficulties (personally and financially) of having a kid without the income to support it, what the hell business do you have birthing more?  Grow the F up.

I don’t want to hear that you have so many children you can’t afford to pay for stuff on your own.  That’s a problem YOU created.

2) I love this quote from this NBC post:

Samad Ahmed, 16, who takes the N Train to get to school in The Flatiron District, put it this way: “I mean we’re in a recession. I don’t know how you expect my Dad, who drives a car for a living and works real hard to keep us fed, to take on another burden. It’s unfair.”

Yeah Samad…another burden like YOU.

3) My kid will have to walk too far.

Well, you’re kid is fat.  It will be good for them.  If they’ve got to walk 30 blocks to school, great.  They need it.

I could go on, but I’ll let you pick it up from here.

Editor’s Note:  This guest post submitted by Amanda Green.  No, this isn’t the new, softer side of SUBWAYblogger.  But it is a nice subway related story.

When I broke up with my ex-boyfriend Cade, he left my apartment without hugging goodbye, walked down Central Park West, and disappeared.

For months, I’d look out for him as I walked around the Upper West Side. We didn’t live all that far apart – my feet must have covered his tracks myriad times. Then he started working at an office downtown near mine.

But we never saw each other again.

Last Friday, I rushed through the turnstile as the subway pulled into the station. I got on a car farther back from the one I usually ride. The train doors closed. I sat and opened a book.

The train stopped. I kept reading. The train stopped. I looked around. The train started, got to a station, and stopped. The conductor announced that there was a delay due to a sick passenger.

I sat and kept reading until the train was taken out of service.

Over the loudspeaker, the announcer yelled to exit. To take the 1 downtown, which wouldn’t get me where I needed to be.

I got out with a sigh and saw Cade. Speaking of not getting where you needed to be…

Two years ago,  I broke up with him, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt. Cade was the first serious adult relationship I ever had. He made me want normal things that feel crazy when you’re 22 – kids, a house, only one man the rest of my life.

It was new and impulsive and painful. We stayed up too late and together too long. We could never be friends after everything that happened.

Sometimes I thought maybe we’d never really been friends. I told him once I’d just realized we’d never talked about God. Did he believe in a He? Why didn’t I know? He shrugged and said, “Sometimes I feel like I just can’t talk to you.”

Cade and I stood on the platform a few feet apart and said hello. He’s now a strange familiar. Like one of those nameless guys you ride the elevator with each day, some neighbor you hear crying through the bedroom wall.

We talked about the sick passenger and the nature of time.

He said, “I can’t believe this isn’t awkward.”

“Believe me, any hard feelings I ever had have been passed down to someone else,” I replied.

We laughed, and I said, “I’m learning your voice again.” I used to hear it in my sleep.

When the 1 train came, we stood next to each other. We creeped downtown and later saw the 2 train back in service across the platform. We quickly dashed to it and sat next to each other.

I told him this would make an excellent short story, but we needed the tension to rise. Something needed to happen. Perhaps a revelation.

Cade shrugged, and I explained it could be someone else’s revelation. It didn’t have to be one of ours.

We agreed to meet again Sunday.

He bought dinner even when I offered to split it, and then we went to this place a block over for some drinks.

We sat across from each other and Cade said, “I think TBID made a huge mistake when he broke up with you.” I know he doesn’t like me enough to feel he has to say that, so it meant a lot.

As the night wore on, we talked about the separate failed relationships that followed the one we had.

People didn’t love us enough to stay. People said one thing and did another.

When you break up with someone, you sometimes have these fantasies of seeing them again and not giving a damn. This often occurs while listening to Gloria Gaynor.

You see yourself months healed, looking good. Wearing clothes you don’t own. Or clothes you own that suddenly fit you better.

Your ex-love looks the same, not better without you. He or she looks at you longingly as you smile, unfettered by grief or regret.

This fantasy will soothe you in three-minute intervals.

But here’s what really happens: You’ll find each other again randomly. You’ll probably be wearing nothing special. You’ll be exhausted from staying up too late the night before.

Your ex-love will look how you recall, but will gaze at you with more curiosity than longing.

He’ll look pleased to stumble upon the girl who ripped his heart out a few years ago. Then stomped on it. Then blogged about how she stomped on it.

Later, you’ll sit across from each other in the dark and laugh. You’ll remind him he called you fat. He’ll look pained.

He’ll get something off his chest he should’ve said years ago. You would’ve cared then, but now it’s fine. No big deal.

You’ll tell him funny ways he haunted you. He’ll mention that weird sound you used to make.

No one wants exactly those things back. But something like them with someone else someday would be nice.

Afterward, you’ll wait at the subway together for your separate trains. He’ll ask if he can pick the lint off your fuzzy black hat. You’ll say yes.

You’ll look like friends.

His train will arrive. This time he’ll hug you goodbye.

Hey gang.  Long time, no post.  I know…total dick move.  We’re working on making a major comeback for 2010.

A lot went on in our personal lives the last few months including our company getting diverted to a major new project (unrelated to SUBWAYblogger).  But we promise, we’ll be back very soon.

We’ll be making some posts over the holidays and then get back into the regular groove riiiiigh quick.  Just like the old days.

Thanks for hanging in there, buddy.

The MTA is continuing their quest to teach us barbaric New Yorkers some morals.  Of course, they are exactly the right team of folks to be in charge of such an endeavor.

In their latest batch of subway car advertisements, a sign clearly illustrates that it is “the right thing to do” when you get up and give your seat to a person with diabilities.  Plus, IT IS THE LAW.  Oooooo the law.

I think SUBWAYblogger’s policy on the whole seat issue has been well established.  However, to sum it up, if you are spry enough to drag your ass down the stairs from street level, stand in the 100 degree heat on the platform waiting for the train, and navigate the flood of people getting on/off the train, you’re good enough to stand.  If you failed any part of that scenario, you probably didn’t make it on the train alive.

There’s a very rare group of exceptions to this rule, so chances are you won’t see me giving up a seat.

But that’s not my point.

Back to the signs.

Is it not a bit presumptive that every person with disabilities wants a seat on the train?  If you’re sitting in once of those specially noted seats, you’re obligated to get up by L-A-W.  Doesn’t that cause a certain level of indignity to be bestowed upon these people?

It’s like asking the woman in line at the grocery store when the baby is due only to find out that she’s not at all pregnant.  Oops.

Isn’t getting up to let the guy with the cane sit down the same thing.

“Hey you with the gimpy leg, come take my seat so I don’t get a ticket from the humanity police.”

You actually see it happen a lot with old people.  A guy sees and old lady get on the train and dives out of the way so she can have his seat.  She is totally ok with standing, but now you’ve just pointed out to her that she clearly looks to ancient and frail to stand there on her own.

It’s all just a lot of politically correct bullshit.  If someone truly can’t manage to stand, all they need to do is ask for someone’s seat.

If you’ve been riding the subway for years, probably not.  The trains are too damn loud.

Not a shock.  The system is built on an ancient infrastructure running fairly modern trains.  So surprisingly, when a train goes by, it can hurt your ears big time.

Just to drive the point home, Columbia University did a little study to make sure.

They officially discovered that the subways have the highest noise level at 80.4 decibels.  Some platforms were over 100.  Just for reference, a chainsaw runs at about 100 decibels.

I know I’ve made fun of the people on the platforms that wear earplugs.  Don’t get me wrong, I still think it is really weird.  But maybe they have the right idea.  A decade from now, maybe those people will be the only ones in town that can actually hear.

This app is freaking awesome.  Just another reason I have to get an iPhone.  I’ll have to steal my buddies phone and install it on there so I can play with it.

According to the website, it doesn’t look like it is out just yet.  It seems they are waiting for Apple to approve it.

You’ve got to watch the video to see how it works.

This little comedic gem was submitted by SB reader Kelsey. Thanks Kelsey!