Do you think the MTA should allow larger scale subway station takeover ads? For example, our Canadian brothers and sisters have this sort of advertising on their turnstiles.
What about NYC?
[poll id=”8″]
If not, why?
Category: Live Blogging On the Subway
Did You See the Wrapped Shuttle Train?
The MTA just unveiled its fully advertisement wrapped subway train.
The shuttle (S) from Times Square to Grand Central has every single car wrapped from top to bottom, inside and out with a giant vinyl ad for History’s “Cities of the Underground.”
The Times reports that the vinyl costs $75,000 per car. I don’t know if that’s just the cost of having the ad made or if that includes it running on the trains for a month.
That sounds like a lot, but in the grand scheme of advertising, that’s pretty cheap. The whole train is probably going to run them about $370,000 for the month. A single full page ad in the New York Times runs $80,000 to $150,000. So this will probably be seen by just as many people and will gain press attention.
The Times has a photo, but I didn’t want to steal it. If anyone has a picture of it, we’d love to post it. Send it to submit [at] subwayblogger.com.
Thanks But No Thanks, Body Shop
There’s a new ad on the subway that I noticed today for The Body Shop. I’d actually seen it a few times before but never really knew what was being sold.
For whatever reason, I looked more closely at it today.
It is a sign with flowers. Chamomile to be exact. The product claims to help you sleep better and wake up more energized. (Can you say fish oil?)
Turns out, it is a aromatherapy “pillow mist.” I’m not making this shit up.
It is a spray that you are supposed to spritz on your pillow at night. The magical scents are supposed to make you sleep better. Unless it’s chloroform, I’m not buying it.
That one gets chalked up with Dr. Zizmore on the Bullshit Subway Ad Wall of Shame.
Subway Newsstand: Worst Job Ever?
Possibly one of the worst jobs of all time. Can you imagine working in a subway platform newsstand stand? Having to deal with the degenerates of the city all day long?
The heat in the summer alone would be enough for me to throw myself on the tracks.
My biggest concern would be my health. I’m sorry, but spending 8 or 12 hours a day on the subway platform cannot be healthy.
There’s so many smells and fumes, not to mention the lead paint and asbestos.
Someone should do a health study of workers that spend 8 hours a day down there. It can’t be pretty.
New Subway Light Bulbs
For the first time, I noticed that the MTA finally installed new fluorescent light bulbs in the track tunnels of my subway line.
My train was stopped midtunnel because of train traffic, and one of those single, white bulbs was just outside the window. They even replaced the blue marker bulbs (that indicate power cutoff points).
Compact fluorescent bulbs replaced conventional incandescent light in tunnels because the compact bulb design fit the same sockets. Compact bulbs offer the same benefits as longer fluorescent light tubes and have increased tunnel lighting 500 percent with just a modest power increase of 11 percent. What’s more, since each compact fluorescent bulb consumes four-to-six times less energy than an incandescent bulb, the compact bulb yields 1,300 fewer pounds of carbon dioxide emissions over its lifetime of 7,500 to 10,000 hours. Overall, station and tunnel lighting upgrades have made stations and tunnels brighter, safer, more secure, and more comfortable, and save NYC Transit $4.8 million a year.
Wow…$4.8 million is pretty insane considering all they did was replace lightbulbs. Think of the efficiencies that could be found elsewhere.
And when you think about it, the old bulbs lasted 750 hours before they burned out (31 days). The new bulbs last up to 10,000 hours. That’s over a year!
So there’s a big savings just in the cost of paying a person to go around and replace the tunnel bulbs.
The new ones fit right into the regular screw in sockets. The tunnels are noticeably brighter too.
Ok, so yeah I know I just wrote an entire post about lightbulbs. It was a slow day. But hey…you just read it.
Trains that Bypass Stations…”Beep Beep”
When was the last time you were waiting on the platform for what seemed like an eternity only to have the next train blow right past you?
I’ve witnessed it a lot lately. At least 3 times in the last 5 days actually. Luckily for me, I was already on board the train doing the bypassing. So my local train got to run express for a few stops. Honestly, it feels awesome.
It totally sucks though if you’re the one on the platform.
Sometimes, the trains get so backed up that there are massive gaps between trains. So, the train dispatchers instruct the trains to skip stops in order to catch up and spread the load out. It will slow down as it approaches the station and beep the horn in two short bursts. That’s the sound of you getting screwed.
In most cases, there’s another train a minute behind the one that just blew past you (like they say in the announcements).
Have you witnessed it a lot lately?
Backpack Wearing Douchebags
Let’s just be clear, if you’re wearing a backpack on a crowded subway train at rush hour, you are a douchebag. Period. There’s no defense.
Secondly, if you are a grown man wearing a backpack for any reason (at any time) that doesn’t have something to do with hiking or camping, you are also a douchebag.
I know, “the backpack” is a new Euro-trend that’s been getting more and more popular for expense account hipsters. I get it. However, there’s a cool way to pull it off, and there’s a way to not deserve D-BAG stamped on your forehead. Allow me to explain.
Ever been riding the train on a busy morning when some jackass gets on with his backpacked locked and loaded on his back as if he’s about to scale the outside of the New York Times building? You’d notice him right way because every time he turns to the left or right, his backpack smacks into you. Read More »
Welcome Home Kids
The kids are back on the train. They’re back from their summers in the Hamptons, and they look excited…haha.
Schools in the city have officially started, so students are back with us on the platforms in the morning.
It’s fun to watch the high school dynamics. It’s like a flashback for me. They cluster in little groups. The hot chicks in one group, with the obligatory gay guy friend. The punk rock kids in as much black as possible. Cracks me up.
The trick is figuring out how to avoid the train door they are going to use. They’ll only get on the train if they can all fit at once. So you don’t want to be caught in the middle of that for an entire ride.
Hope everyone had a lovely weekend.
Over Energetic Train Conductor
Have you ever been riding to subway and heard an over energetic subway conductor that looooves to use the PA system?
There’s one guy on my line that gets into his little announcements way too much. On the one hand, it’s awesome because you can always hear him loud and clear. On the other hand, it gets a bit overwhelming.
He gets everyone psyched up to make the transfer to the train across the platform.
“Ok passengers. There’s an express train right across the platform that just opened it’s doors. Let’s do this…here we go.”
“C’mon everybody. Be nice. Make some room…I know you’re thinner than that.”
He can be kinda funny and nerdy at the same time.
Some are just a**holes with it. They scream at you the whole time about blocking the doors. As if that’s actually going to make people move faster.
Track Fire at Rector Street
I’m in an R train at city hall. We’re being held here because of a track fire south of Rector St. They said FDNY is on scene.
They’re telling us to get off and go uptown to canal. All downtown traffic on the Broadway line is going over the bridge.
Side note, apparently NJT and LIRR are having some major issues tonight as well.
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