Author: subwayblogger

Rainy Eve Day of the Subway’s Report Card

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Yeah, so it’s rainy as hell, but at least it’s a little cooler out today. That’s a refreshing change.

Unfortunately, it is still humid as hell on the subway. I had the unlucky fortune of getting on car without air conditioning. It was just as crowded as always, so that kinda kept me from being able to jump ship and run to another car. There was a high risk that I might not have been able to get back on board. With the poor reliability of service in heavy rain, I wasn’t about to get out, miss the train, and wind up stuck on the platform forever.

In other news, the Straphanger’s Campaign State of the Subway report comes out tomorrow today (damn you day old wire story)!! In a sneak peak, it seems that the R and W trains aren’t getting a good rating (shock and awe). As a matter of fact, the report is going to be released outside City Hall’s R and W station.

Last year, the 6 train was rated highest. SUBWAYblogger doesn’t think that will be the case this year.

The report should be especially interesting considering the changes that lie on the horizon. Increased fares, congestion pricing, and the behemoth Second Avenue line. This report should be a fairly accurate barometer for telling us if the system can handle the increased load.

Obviously, without even looking at the report, we all know that that the answer is NO. However, now that Bloomberg was able to push congestion pricing through, the City will be eligible for $500+ million in funds to improve the infrastructure. So, much of that cash **should** be going toward improving mass transit as well as getting the toll system up and running.

So, the worst rated lines might be the best areas to start improvements. We’ll see.

NY State Approves Congestion Pricing!

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State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno says that congestion pricing will pass the state legislature as part of a deal worked out with Bloomberg.

From 1010 WINS:

A spokesman for Gov. Eliot Spitzer confirmed the deal, which is being written into draft legislation and a letter of agreement, Bruno said. The agreement on Bloomberg’s congestion pricing proposal will allow the city to qualify as a federal pilot program and receive as much as $500 million in federal funds to improve mass transit, Bruno said.

Holy hell!  I thought for sure that the thing was dead.  Guess not!  Glad to see that the state legislature was able to have some sense talked into it. 

Subway Maps for iPhone

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iphone_map.jpg 

iPhone users can get a nifty little app for their device that shows a full New York City subway map.  It’s a spawn of the infamous iPodmaps.

iSubwayMaps.com now offers up the service.  It’s free.  SUBWAYblogger doesn’t have a iPhone, but we’d sure like one!  Have you tried it?  Let us know how it is.

Side note…with all the Blackberry mentions that SUBWAYblogger gives out, you’d think that maybe BlackBerry/RIM would throw us a bone and give us a new Curve or something?  Nope.  Of course.  No love at all for the little guy.  I can’t wait for the day that it’s time to upgrade from this device to a newer model and they slap me with the full MSRP price.  Caaaaan’t wait.  But if you work for BlackBerry, how bout it…ehh ehh??

Anyway, back to the maps.  The map itself appears to just be an image of some sort.  I don’t think it has any fancy functionality or anything.  However, I hear that there are issues with how iPhone encodes imported images that make something like a map a bit tricky.  So this website has gotten around that somehow. 

BOOOOOM! That’s the power of of a steam explosion blowing up your morning commute

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Steam Explosion in New York City

All I gotta say is two things.  1) I told you so and 2) good luck getting to work on the East Side tomorrow.

Ok, so earlier today, I ranted on and on about how shockingly perfect my morning commute was despite the horrible weather.  At the end, I mentioned that I hoped it would continue to the ride home, but that I wasn’t going to hold my breath.  Boy was I right.

The street literally exploded.  Blew up.  How bad was it?  Bad enough to have the 4, 5, and 6 lines not make any stops in Manhattan.  The trains were still running I guess, but they certainly weren’t stopping.  They ran nonstop from the Brooklyn Bridge to 125th Street.

The other thing I loved was how the FDNY and  MTA couldn’t get their story straight.  The FDNY and OEM were advising people to stay away from the East Side around Grand Central Terminal.  The MTA kept saying that the trains were running still, and that you could enter on the Madison Ave side.  So which is it?  Come catch your train or don’t go near the place?

Anyway, the whole event was way to reminiscent of past tragic events.  While it is very sad that one person died indirectly from the blast, it is absolutely shocking that there weren’t more deaths.  Folks, what was essentially a volcano opened up in the middle of 41st Street, and swallowed a tow truck.  It shattered windows 16 stories up.  We were lucky.

Anyway, it’s going to be dicey in the morning.  Make sure you check the MTA’s transit advisory before heading out in the morning.  Good luck to us all.

Photo via stuntbox

Rain? What Rain? The Transit Gods Smile Upon Me

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As many loyal readers know, the transit gods often poop on my morning commute.  Yes, that’s right…I said poop.

Today, however, they spared me from a complete nightmare.  As we all are completely aware, it’s raining like hell today.  When I woke up and looked out the window, it was coming down in buckets.

I did the morning routine, and headed out with my umbrella in hand.  Nothing.  It had completely stopped raining.  So I wandered over to the subway without having to take out my umbrella.

I thought for sure that the heavy rain was going to screw up my train.  I was waiting there, completely expecting there to be an announcement saying that the tracks were under water or something.  Nope.  The train showed up, and had no problems all the way to work.

I got off the train and started to hoof it over to the office.  Just as I was starting to get close, it started to sprinkle a little.  There was still no need for the umbrella though.  So, I got into work completely dry.  By the time I got up the elevator to my office, it was pouring again.  I looked out my window and could hardly see the building across the street it was raining so hard.

Then I heard that all the highways were flooded, Metro North was all f-ed up, and subways were starting to experience extensive delays.  Somehow, I had completely avoided transit hell.

Let’s hope it keeps up on the way home today.  I’m not holding my breath, though.

Ohh Congestion Pricing, How Short We Knew Yee

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A sad day.  Mayor Bloomberg’s Congestion Pricing Bill has been killed.  It was a bloody day in Albany.

There his plan fell to a confluence of local politics and a showdown between a mayor who knew he was right and a Legislature in no mood these days to be pushed around by an aggressive executive.

That about sums it up.  Of course state politicians always hate when local municipalities come up to challenge them.  So, they have to kick it around until it dies, then they can look like heroes.

I love how people act like Bloomberg has something to gain by passing congestion pricing.  Uhhh, hello…he’s a BILLIONAIRE.  Billions.  The man takes a $1 a year salary.  He couldn’t spend all his money if he wanted to.

Ohhh but he’s doing it for his political future.  Pleeeeeeease.  It’s such a divided issue that he’s not going to gain much political ground.  If it were to have passed, and was successful in reducing traffic, pollution, and noise then he should get political credit.

Mmmm Touch It

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What will you or won’t you touch in the subway? If you ask me, nothing unless I have to.

Sometimes, you’re forced into a crowd of people where you have to hold onto a rail or something while the train is moving. Otherwise, this BlackBerry is the only thing my hands will touch for the entire ride. Even the BlackBerry I disinfect every other day or so.

I bring it up because many (if not most) people grab right onto those hand rails even when they don’t need too. People sitting down even hold on sometimes! Unless I am about to fall on a pregnant woman carrying newborn puppies, I’m not touching a thing.

Take a long, hard look at some of the fine specimens riding the train with you. Then think about how disgusting some people are. To top off the grossness, then think about the homeless, TB infected bums that were touching that same rail or seat just last night.

Mmmm, gonna think twice next time?

Live from the subway, back to you in studio… .

One for the Transit Geeks

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Here’s one for fellow transit geeks. If you’re into all things transit related, this daily newsletter might be something right up your alley.

Bernie Wagenblast’s Transportation Communications Newsletter is a little newsletter publication that sends out links to transit related articles of the day from all over the country. It’s not just NYC, but it’s cool to see what else is going on in other cities. Many of our troubles are not unique to New York!

So if you’re interested, you can see some of the archive emails.

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To subscribe send an e-mail to: TCNL-subscribe@googlegroups.com