Author: subwayblogger

Yet Again, 1 Train Makes Me Want to Kill Kittens

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So the trend of late for the 1 Train is to do construction or service work in the middle of the damn day.  No no, not on the platforms…on the tracks.

From 10:30 to 3:00 on weekdays, there’s no service on certain sections of the tracks on the Upper West Side.

Lately, I’ve been working on a project at Columbia, so I’m riding up there often.  I usually get up there before 10:30a and leave after 3p.  So I’ve never really noticed the service changes.  Not today though.

I wrapped up my meetings at 11a today, and started to head downtown.  Get to the platform, and there was the hot pink tape.  Blocking the stairs to the platforms.

Now, wouldn’t you expect to see the tape before you walked through the turnstile?  Yeah, me too.  I have an unlimited card so it doesn’t matter, but I would be pissed if I had a pay per ride, and had to go get a refund.

Written there in sharpie marker on white paper was a note from the token booth attendant telling me to walk alllll the way down to 96th Street.  Wonderful.

At least it was something like 75 degrees out today.  If it had been freezing cold or raining, this rant may never have ended.

The 1 Train Sucks Lately

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Ok, so the 1 Train has totally sucked for….oooohhh…at least the last week.

Takes forever to come at the peak of rush hour.  The person in charge of the line, or in charge of the dispatch tower must be on vacation this week.  There must be a substitute in there.  Why?

They’ve been using the “skip ahead to other stations” trick way too often.  You know the drill…

You wait on the platform for at least 20 minutes or more.  The over crowded train finally pulls in, and you knock over a few old ladies to get on the train.  Meanwhile, 80% of the people waiting on the platform definitely did not make it onto this train, so you are even more thankful that you made it.

The train pulls away.  It is packed so tight that you don’t even need to old on.  You’re surrounded by puffy, down coats.  If only there weren’t that subtle odor.

You arrive at the first stop since you got on board only to have the “English as a Second Language” door operator try to tell everyone that this local train is about to start running express.  First of all, I’m not that sure they know how to use the intercom.  It’s almost like having your grandmother talk into the wrong end of the phone.  There’s a voice in there, but something just isn’t right.

Then, what you do hear is some sort of randomly organized words.  But you do manage to detect the words “express” “nest stop” “one two five street”…not necessarily in that order.

I’m sure I’m not alone here.

Death of the Subway Token

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Ahhh these were the days…

The New York City subway token, tool and talisman of city life since Vincent R. Impellitteri was mayor, is dead at age 50, transit officials said yesterday.

The causes of death were technology and economics.

Tokens will be sold for the last time on Saturday, April 12, said Lawrence G. Reuter, president of New York City Transit. After 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, May 4 — the moment at which fares will rise, with the price of a single trip jumping to $2 from $1.50 — any token plinked into a turnstile will be spit back out. Bus fareboxes will still accept the token — along with 50 cents cash, thank you — through the end of the year.

Read the rest of this little trip down memory lane on the NY Times Website.

Ringing in the New Year in Times Square

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It wasn’t that bad. Seriously. It was actually pretty cool, but then again, I didn’t have the typical experience that most revelers have.

I was actually working in Times Square. That night, more than ever, the value of the press pass became all the more apparent to me. I could walk around wherever I wanted inside the police lines.

So I got to see a lot of cool things right up close.

However, no press pass gets you through the sea of people all trying to leave Times Square at 12:01am.

I was shocked by how quickly the area clears out. I talked to a cop nearby about this, and he let me in on a little secret…

They turn off cellphone towers in the area for about 10 minutes before and after midnight. Why? One reason is to prevent terrorists from detonating a cellphone triggered bomb at midnight. The other is to discourrage people form lingering in the area after midnight.

What happens is people stand around and call their friends to make plans for the rest of the night. By turning off service, people natually start to wander out of the area because they can’t contact their buddies on the other side of town. They just go.

Pretty interesting, but I bet you won’t hear that one getting mentioned by the NYPD publicly.

Written and published via Blackberry.

Getting to Times Square on New Year’s Eve

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It’s time for the city to get rid of 2007 and move on to 2008 like only we can.  It’s time for the shit-show known as New Year’s Eve in Times Square.

Ask any New Yorker that has been around here for a few years or more.  They’ll likely tell you the last place on earth they would want to be on December 31st is Times Square.   Why?  Well let’s check the rundown.

– No Alcohol
– No Bathrooms
– No Seats
– No Walking Around
– No Bags

Ohh, and you have to be there by around 5pm at the latest if you want an even halfway decent view of the stages or ball drop.

Starting at around 4pm, the NYPD will close down the streets around Times Square and start filling in the revelers’ cages viewing areas.  As each area fills up, they close them off, and start filling the next one.  You have really no choice of where you want to be. You just go where you’re directed.  Then you are pretty much locked in there.  If you leave, there’s really not any getting back in there.

So there’s nothing quite like standing in a penned in area, packed with people while the chick next to you pops a squat because there are no bathrooms.  It’s definitely a once in a lifetime activity.  Then again, I suppose it is a badge of honor once you’ve done it.

SUBWAYblogger will be there!  (Yeah, after that enticing setup.)  SB will be “working” right smack in the middle of it all. Luckily, I won’t be trapped in the pens though.

So how do you get there?  The subway is the best way:

– All normal Times Square trains will be running every 3 – 12 minutes until 3am.  Then, for the rest of New Year’s Day, the system will run on a Sunday schedule.  Keep in mind, the bars are allowed to be open until 6am that night, so you’ll need to be in “Sunday Mode” as you stumble back to your apartment.

– N/R/W Uptown lines will skip the 49th Street station beginning at 7pm till 12:15am

– 1 Trains Uptown will skip 50th Street from 7pm till 12:15 am.  (That station is waaaay to small to handle the volume of people that will be there.

– From 7pm on, certain subway entrances will be closed as crowd volume warrants, so just be aware that you may need to hoof it to another entrance.

The MTA also reminds you that they are not cool with you shotgunning beers on the trains and buses.   [More MTA Info]

So after it is all over, SUBWAYblogger highly recommends walking as far as you can.  Just get a reasonable distance away from Times Square before even attempting to get on the subway.  Walking uptown to 59th Street really is not as far as it sounds.  Walking downtown to 34th Street is like nothing.  So you would probably be better off getting out of the thickest areas first.

Let you know how it all goes!

Cost of New Token Clerk Uniform Rediculous

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vest.jpgIt was recently brought out in the press that the MTA has spent $2.5 million to outfit all 3,500 of its token booth clerks with new uniforms.

At first glance, $2.5 million seems like an appropriate, ballpark figure. Then, you start to kick it around in your head a little. That’s just what the Daily News did.

The first thing that jumps out at you is how specific the uniform recipients are. The new uniforms aren’t for aaalllllllll the MTA employees, its just for the booth clerks…about 3,500 people. Hmmmm. That doesn’t sound like a lot of people, yet the tab seems pretty high.

Do the math.

That works out to $738 per employee! WTF? Are thee uniforms made by Ralph Lauren? Nope.

Over the past several months, 3,500 workers in the subway stations department have been trading in their traditional work outfits – blue shirts, blue pants – for a more formal look: white shirts and gray trousers, or skirts for the ladies working behind the glass.

The men get gray and black ties; female workers ascots. The new wardrobe also includes a burgundy vest, burgundy sweater and burgundy coat. [Daily News]

You could get a Calvin Klein tuxedo and a coat at Macy’s for less than that…and that’s not some boring uniform bought in bulk!

So how is it possible that it could cost that much to outfit a crew? I understand the need for the uniforms, but how could it cost so much? It has already been slipped into the budget, and is being spent. It is too late to do anything about it, but it is causing quite the stir.

Outrageous.

Light Holiday Shopping Rush?

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shoppingbags.jpg

Well it is usually this time of the year that I run out of Christmas cheer.  It’s about this time that I am ready to kill people on the subway.

Most of it has to do with obnoxious tourists and their 25 shopping bags cramming into the train cars.

See if you can relate to this scenario.  There you are going to or coming from work.  You have on dress pants or a skirt.  Most dress pants tend to be a somewhat thin, light weight material.  Here comes a 50 something woman with 10 shopping bags in each hand.  As she tries to scoot by you on the train, the sharp corners from her designer shopping bags scratch and scrape your legs.

I’ve actually had a person put a small hole in my pants like this ones.  Soooooooo pissed.  Even more pissed because I didn’t notice the whole until someone pointed it out when I got to the office. And I know it was from this woman on the train because the there was a red scratch on my skin right where the hole was in the fabric.

Anyway, the major rush seems to have already ended.  I’m not seeing as many shoppers on the trains this week as I’ve seen in years past.  The trains are no more crowded than normal it seems.

I did speak to a vendor at the Bryant Park holiday bazaar, and he said it is much slower than last year.  It is much colder this year than it was the previous year.  As a matter of fact, it was pretty warm for December last year, so it brought out tons of people.

Any other mass transit holiday nightmares you would like to share?

New Subway Management Structure Unlikely to Make a Difference

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Here’s an excerpt from a very interesting Op-Ed in the Times this morning that supports exactly that I believe:

To be effective and held accountable, managers of decentralized units require autonomy and authority, neither of which is possible within the city’s subway system. These managers will have to operate under the same civil service titles and regulations and the same constricting union agreements, use the standard subway cars and in almost all cases share the tracks. They will have little leeway to run more frequently or more regularly, or to operate longer trains.

There is no indication that the managers will be allowed to buy more subway cars or rebuild stations. Moreover, unless they control their own sections of the rail yards and their own car-maintenance and car-cleaning crews, they will have little influence over the condition of “their” subway cars. Only if the managers of the different lines exercise authority over these factors can one expect innovation, differentiation and competition; otherwise each manager could reasonably claim that he lacked control over crucial factors and could point a finger elsewhere.

While I too believe it is a step in the right direction, it is likely to not make a difference because very little power will be given to the line managers.  They will have to run their own lines within the same constraints the lines currently operate, so how will it change?

Transporting the New Year’s Eve 8 on the Subway

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Apparently, there were budget cuts in the Times Square signage office.  They were unable to afford shipping fees for the “8” in 2008.

So, a crew of guys carried the 500 pound 8 onto the subway from the Bronx all the way to Times Square.  They took the 6 and R trains to get there.

Judging by the photos, I’m fairly sure they were blocking the doors with the 8. They also had to hold the doors in order to get the thing loaded up in time.  I’m also pretty sure it violates the policy of carrying large items like that onto the subway.  Wonder how many summons they received.  🙂

The other thing that makes me laugh about the photos is that the other passengers don’t even pay attention to the fact that there is a 7 foot number 8 on the train with them.

Wonder if they will take next year’s “9” for a ride.  Did you know that the 9 is actually the 6 from 2006?   They just flip the 6 upside-down to make the 9.  I’m not even kidding, it’s completely true.

Did anyone see it?  Or ever see anything like this before?