Month: October 2006

At least there is an upside

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coats.jpgThe one upside to the colder weather is that you don’t feel like death while you wait for the train.

When winter rolls around, everyone is bundled up right down to the snow pants. The complete opposite of the summer time.

This generally means an all around comfortable ride. Even if the heat isn’t working on the train, the body heat keeps the cars comfortable. In the summer, if the AC cuts out, then you might as well grab the 3rd rail.

Also, when you get packed in tightly with other standing passengers, the coats, parkas, and mittens act as padding. It’s “cozy”. In the same situation during the summer, you’re packed up against a sweaty guy at best.

So yeah it is cold on the streets, but its a strange heaven for the subway!

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

If you had to

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If you had to, what subway station would you live in?

Ok, so maybe this question is a little heavy for this early in the morning, but you have to figure it is an important question if you are a bum.

Some stations are clearly in much worse shape than others, yet there are still people living there. Why not go stay at a nicer station?

For me, I think Times Square would be a homebase. It is usually cleaner than most, there are maintained bathrooms, bright light, and lots of travel options. I don’t think I would sleep there because it is too over crowded, but I would definately go there for money. There’s lots of dumb tourists that you could beg a few bucks out of. Plus, if I had a musical tallent, it would be a great place to perform.

14th Street has always struck me as a nice station too. Maybe I would sleep there. It’s nice, big, well lit.

For some reason, Penn Station seems like a bum hot spot. Wonder what I’m missing.

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

Just be glad you don’t ride the bus!

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portauthority1.jpg

It was the day from hell if you were trying to catch a bus in midtown today. The Port Authority Bus Terminal was closed for hours!

There were reports of a crazy guy who refused to get off a Grayhound bus. His outburst caused the police to shut down entire sections of the terminal. So you know he must have been going balistic or yelling threats.

The crazy part was that the MTA didn’t seem to have much of a plan in the event that the terminal was shut down. It was complete chaos.

As can be imagined, those who could turned to the subway as an alternate.

Buses pulled up along areas like 9th Ave to discharge their passengers. That’s ok if you’re already on the bus. But if you were at the Port Authority looking to catch a bus…well…you were screwed. It was very difficult to find out where or if your bus was using an alternate location for pickups.

Just be glad that you are a faithful subway rider because today, ground transportation left you hanging out to dry.

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

A couple minutes makes all the difference

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A couple minutes here or there really makes the difference for me in the morning. If I get to the subway a couple minutes early, I end up riding with a bunch of high school kids, and that is too much to handle this early in the morning.

Leave it to me to have the proper timing whcih allows me to be on the “cool kids” train. This train must be the last one that will still get these kids to private school on time.

It’s night and day when you compare this train with the next. This train will be full of these kids and the next one completely empty. So, this must be the last “I won’t be late for homeroom” train.

I don’t so much have a problem with the kids because they are in high school. I’m not that far out of college myself. Instead, my problem is mostly with the girls. I think they’ve watched one too many episodes of Sex and the City. They try to act older and sluttier.

Listen hunny, you’re 17 years old and you look like a frat house skank. Pull it together a little. Guys actually like it if you don’t come with the “used” look ahead of time.

Also, which ever one of you said it was cool to wear leggings under your skirts should be slapped. My generation decided that was a stupid idea back in the 80’s. Guess what…it’s still a bad idea.

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

So it’s like total drama with like those info sign thingies.

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“When is the next train coming? Don’t ask the MTA.” –NY Post

Siemens has totally f’ed up the software they were supposed to create to power the subway system’s digital message boards.  Back in 2003, Siemens won the $160 million contract to create the system which would tell subway riders when the next train would arrive. 

The screens basically track the trains in the system so you know when the next one will arrive.  When there are problems in service, the signs would be able to tell passengers what the problem is, and provide alternate instructions.

Well, the software basically doesn’t work.  And Siemens isn’t able to fix it even though they have already been paid over $42 million.  So now the MTA is going elsewhere to get someone to finish the job.  Basically, the lesson is that you can totally screw up a job and still get paid by the MTA.

The only good news is that a completely different system is being used on the “L” line. They expect that project to be done by the end of the year.

Guy attempts to board train between cars

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This story was in the news a day or two ago. I wasn’t going to write anything about it because the story was all over the main stream media. However, after thinking about it, I can’t help myself.

So in case you didn’t hear…

In a nutshell, a guy couldn’t fit into a packed train so he decided to try getting on through the doors on the end of the car. These are the doors on either end of the cars that allow you to walk between cars once you are on board.

Well, there are metal safety guards that keep you from being able to fall off between trains and to keep people from doing what this ass did.

Some trains have what look like garage door springs that serve as a guard. Others have metal interlocking gates. They are designed to be flexible for when the trains make turns, etc.

Well, this guy tried to climb over them to get on the train. Stupidest idea EVER.

He ended up pinned between the train and the platform after being dragged over 50 feet.

I’ve been looking at these spots now every time I get on a train. No matter how hard I try, I can’t come up with a situation where that looks like a remotely good idea.

So now what? Is the MTA going to have to put barbed wire up between the cars?

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

Damn these sissy trains

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Ok, this morning is off to a real crappy start. My train skipped the staion that I board from. There was a problem with the local track, so trains were skipping past me on the express track instead. At this stop, there is no express platform so if local trains aren’t stopping, you’re screwed.

So, everyone waiting on the platform had to get out and walk to the next stop.

I should have know n that there was something wrong because there were 40 people waiting at the bus stop.

So we all got out and started the 10 block hike downtown…IN THE RAIN. Once we got to the next stop, I couldn’t believe my eyes. There was a line at least 50 people long at street level trying to get down the stairs to the subway. The line went all the way down to the turnstile.

Then, on the other side, there was a line to get to the platform. This station is one of those where you have to go down some stairs, under the tracks, and go back up stairs to get to the platform.

As you can imagine, things did not improve from there.

I am pacled so tightly with other people in the train that I don’t even need to hold on! Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

As if people using their phones on the subway wasn’t annoying enough

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Now, you can use your cell phone to pay for your subway fare on the Lex 13752_456_circles.gif line. A while back, SUBWAYblogger told you about the latest contactless fare program where you could earn free subway rides. Now, it is going to the next level.

Just look for the little green star symbol at the turnstiles of the 13752_456_circles.gif Lexington Line. You have to sign up ahead of time, I guess to make sure your phone and billing arrangements are kosher. Once it is up and running, you will be able hold you cellphone over the sensor at the turnstile and walk through. From there, you will be automatically billed.

We would love if there were a monthly unlimited version of the same thing. It would be cool to be able to program your monthly pass into your cellphone so that you could do the same thing. Right now, it only looks like single fares. Anway, we are excited to see how it works out. If anyone has experience with it, please post a comment to let us know how it worked!!

You might need an answering service for your business–even universities use telephone answering services. You can research various answering services online before making a choice on one.