The only blog written from the NYC Subway system

Conditions may be headed back in the right direction: improving. By that I mean there doesn’t seem to be a major surplus in riders. As I stand on the platform right now, it does not seem to be especially crowded.

However, it does seem to be taking forever for the train to get here. Speak of the devil…here it comes. PACKED! Aaaand there it goes. Without me on it. There were too many people on board already for me to even attempt getting on.

Of course, there were plenty of idiots who did. People will do everything short of crowd surf the people in the train.

“What’s that? One more? Sure! Jump on top…there’s plenty of room over the grab rails.”

I take back what I just said about it not being crowded. Since 4 people made it onto the last train, there are now twice as many people waiting here for the train.

OMG. They just announced that the next train is at 34th Street. That’s like 5 stops away still!

Alright, I’m going to have to get my game face on to make this next one. Gonna have to holster the Blackberry to I can claw my way on board.

You think if I get down like a lineman in the “ready possition,” people might get out of my way? Just a thought.

Almost had to trip an old man, but I made it. It took abou 12 tries for them to get the doors closed. I say after the 6th try, they should be allowed to say “screw it” and start rolling. What ever or whom ever is stuck in the door is simply out of luck. Sorry lady. Looks like that big ass Coach bag of yours just isn’t going to make it. Let’s roll!

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

The MTA Chairman, Peter Kalikow, says that he and staff will strongly oppose any fare hikes or service cuts. So that is good news for us. Hopefully, the money grubbing politicians will stay out of it and not force the proposal through.

“Now is simply not the time to reduce service to our commuters,” Kalikow said, pointing to the 36% increase in transit ridership during the past decade.

I wish I could say that the rider volume was lower today. I still believe they messed with the schedule because trains seem to be slightly less frequent.

The eastside gridlock issues should be pretty much over now. Unfortunately, I don’t think people know that. I think they assume that the streets would be closed all week, so they keep coming into the subway.

Yeah, this is definitley out of control. Right now, I feel like a sardine.  If this woman elbows me one more time, I might have to throw one back.

People act like this is the last train of the morning. If they don’t make it onto this one, they will have a meltdown. People, just wait for the next one. It will literally take 4 more minutes out of your life. Not the end of the world so GET A GRIP!

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

It is me or did the MTA juts decide to go ahead with the proposed service cuts anyway? This could be residual volume from the UN gridlocks, but I doubt it.

This week, there have been constant bottlenecks on the platforms. There are always waaaaaay more people waiting for the train than space will allow. You’ve got to wait 2 and sometimes 3 trains just to get on board.

Ohh snap…there’s the express train. Does anyone else have a sense of danger when you arrive at a station at the same time the express train across the platform arrives? You just know that a sea of people are about to slam into eachother. Tons of people from this train are about to make a dash for it so they can catch the express. Then people from the express are going to dive into this train. The entire exchange always has an air of panic around it.

I just hope grandma doesn’t get mowed down as she hobbles across the platform!

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

So the MTA wants to up the fares on our subways and trains because they believe the “surplus” well is about to dry up.  Well, ok…I guess we can deal with that.  We all know everything is getting more and more expensive these days, so I suppose a hike was in the cards.  However, it still bugs me that there was an enormous surplus one year, and the next we need to raise the rates?  Anyway, a fare hike…I can deal with it.

However, the part that is the real bitch is that they want to also start a reduction in service.  Not so much in eliminating lines or stops, but just fewer trains.  In other words, we will have to wait longer for each train to come.

AMNY says:

“Under the proposal by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, riders on many subway and bus lines would have to wait an additional one to five minutes during off-peak hours. Midday riders would wait for up to 10 minutes for trains, while evening and late-night trains would run every 10 to 20 minutes, according to authority budget documents detailed Wednesday in The New York Times.”

I can even (somewhat) deal with waiting longer, but that isn’t the biggest problem.  The problem is that I will not be the only one waiting longer.  So will the 400 other people in the train platform.  If there are already 400 of us waiting for the train, what are we going to do with the dozens  of people pouring down the stairwells right behind us?

The longer the time between trains means the more people there are waiting to get on the next train that comes.  Already there isn’t enough room on each train to get everyone on board.  Invariably, there is always some percentage of schmucks that can’t fit into the far.  The train is bursting a the seams because there is not a square inch of space left.  So, they have to wait for the next train.  Consequently, reducing the frequency of trains is only going to make that problem worse.

Every week SUWBAYblogger ends up posting something about how ridiculously crowded the trains are.  Now, it seems, every train is going to be like that all the time!  I can deal with a rate hike, but it hard to deal with the stress of battling your fellow riders for space on each train.  It is hard enough to function at that hour of the morning.

The proposed bus service changes would affect about 65 percent of the system’s routes, saving the agency $15.1 million yearly.

Is there anything on this earth more annoying than a loud group of Puerto Rican girls? I think not.

There’s a group of them at the other end of my train that are so loud, and so abnoxious that I I’m seriously thinking about getting in their faces.

By the way, the fact that I mention that they are Puerto Rican is not at all a racist or ignorant comment. It is a fact. A group of the same size only white girls or black girls would be no where near as loud.

They stand around and scream, laugh, and carry on in their broken spanglish. The people they are talking to are right in front of them, yet the entire train needs to hear them. I don’t know why, but I it is just the kind of thing that makes you blood boil.
Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

Now where are these kids when I need entertaining?  This video brought to SUBWAYblogger by our friends at IvyGate. 

I think the rediculous atmosphere in the subway system this morning had an interesting impact on tonight’s commute. There’s actually no one on board this afternoon.

We were packed into the subway cars this morning, and now there are open seats this afternoon? I think many people said “screw this” when planning their trip home. Consquently, there are fewer than normal aboard. Hopefully it carries over to the morning.

Not only was it croweded this morning, but people were just nasty. As a result of the abnormal crowds, people were getting pissed. Lots of shoving and bitching about the lack of room. I look forward to the day someone asks why it is so important that I have arm room to type on my Blackberry

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

Some unwritten subway rules.  While I agree with the rules, I still find her insanely annoying.