Category: Rider Strategy

Getting a new MetroCard throws off your game

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Is it me, or does getting a new MetroCard throw off your morning “flow?”

I’m talking about the days when you don’t realize that your monthly pass has expired. You swipe in your normal hurry, and DENIED.

Without fail, there will then be a empty train filled with open seats approaching your stop. Of course, there’s no way you’ll make it in time because there’s a line at the MetroCard machine. But you’ll try anyway, only to make it down to the platform as the doors close.

So I guess there’s something to be said for Transit Check. At least you know that someone else will keep track of when you need a new card. However, there’s something about that system that I just don’t trust. I don’t know what it is, I just don’t like to be at someone else’s mercy. I prefer to screw up my own commute.

So anyway, new card day is a sure way to ruin your transit mojo. Plus, it sucks to shell out $78 $76 bucks for a new card.

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

Evil fun with Red Sox fans

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So yesterday afternoon, SUBWAYblogger went to the Yankees vs Red Sox game (which by the way the Yankees finally won).  Getting up there was a complete nightmare.  Like a complete idiot, SUBWAYblogger forgot that the A and C lines were scheduled to be all F-ed up.

First, there’s no C trains at all.  Damn.  Then, the A trains were running local when in fact they did stop.  Many stops were simply being skipped all together.  At the time, the A trains were running nonstop uptown from 59th Street to 125th Street.  That’s a long, nonstop haul.  So if you were looking (as SB was) to get on at any point in between, you were out of luck. Usually, you can take an A train to  145th Street to catch the B or D.

Anyway, as described, the trains were a complete nightmare.  So there were tons of people that had no idea what to do because they aren’t subway riding regulars.  When people asked, SUWBAYblogger helped them find their way.  Basically, it was “Don’t worry.  Just follow me.”  So I ended up having a little trail of followers.

Then, there was the ride home…

Feeling a bit relieved after our Yankees victory (finally), we were headed back to the train.  There was a group of complete asshole Red Sox fans causing trouble the whole way.  The kind of people you just want to smack.

At one point, they turned around and in my general direction asked, “Does the 4 or the D train go to Grand Central??”

Here was my chance.  “Take the D train!” I yelled back.  Gratefully, they headed for the D.  So there’s a certain amount of satisfaction in sending a posse of Red Sox fans all over Manhattan.

Just some innocent fun.  Hell, I could have told them to take an UPTOWN D train, and that would have been even more fun.

New NYC Subway Map: Keep it or KICK it?

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Have you seen the new (sorta) KICK map for the subway. It’s a new subway map concept by a design firm that thinks they have a better way to demonstrate how the subway lines run.

Regular Subway Map

KICK subway map

So you get the basic idea by seeing the side by side comparison above. The KICK map has a “line” for each line…go figure. This is supposed to make it more obvious where each train line runs and branches off.

So what’s the deal with “KICK” ? That’s what we wondered too. We thought it was going to be a catchy acronym for something. Turns out the design company’s name is KICK. Minor let down.

In any event, the MTA quickly cut down the idea three years ago and again recently. They think the map isn’t geographically correct. We can see that. The lines do get a little “fat.” It kinda makes it look like the subway line is a few blocks wide when we all know it isn’t.

Eddie Jabbour, (the designer) is sticking with it. He’s going to keep tweaking it until it’s something the MTA will be forced to seriously consider. With all the Internet buzz, who knows, maybe there will be a big push behind it.

Although, I don’t see many New Yorkers having trouble with the current map. Maybe the KICK map could be the tourist version? A Subway for Dummies version perhaps.

Congestion Pricing: Friend of Foe of the Subway

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Good or bad?  Let’s hope good!

Let’s backup.  What is congestion pricing?  Good question.  Congestion pricing is the theory of charging a fee to drive in congested areas of NYC during peak traffic times.

In this case,  rumour has it that Mayor Bloomberg is looking to have everywhere below 86th Street fall in the “fee” zone.  Right now, the proposal may be $8 to get down there.  How the fee would be collected is still up in the air.  Boy would toll booths suck!

Anyway, the idea is to 1) relieve traffic, and 2) improve the environmental quality of the city.  It is forecasted that by 2030, an additional million people will be in the city.

But, people still need to get places, right?  So that means people will be more likely to take public transportation.  That’s the goal anyway.  And everyone’s favorite public transportation method is the subway.

So is this a good thing or a bad thing?

On the bad side:

-More people means more crowds
-More wear and tear
-Slower commute

On the plus side:

-More subway revenue
-More an implied need for more service
-Perhaps delay a fare hike
-More focus on upgrading/maintaining the system

So yeah, it could suck that there would be a ton more people riding the subway.  But it could be a good thing because maybe that would draw more attention to repairing and fixing the subway.  Also, it might require more frequent service.

Ohh, and there’s the plus side of cleaner air and less horns on the road to honk.  So that’s good too, but the straphanger in me is a little scared!

Free Subways? This guy has thought it out!

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Got an interesting email tonight from a SUBWAYblogger reader.  Apparently this guy has the whole “free subway” thing figured out.

Keep in mind, SUBWAYblogger has no idea if any of this guy’s facts are correct.  Also, we don’t necessarily share all his views.  But hey, we thought it seemed interesting, so we thought we’d publish it.

Dear Whomever,

My name is CXB and I’ve been pitching the no-brainer economics of FREE SUBWAYS for 15 years now. (Okay, I haven’t been dedicating very much time. Sorry.) Many of my “radical” ideas later came true, and this one will too if more people start discussing it and demanding it of the City Council and Bloomberg and Spitzer. (Giuliani proved me right when he made the Staten Island Ferry free.)

The irony is that I don’t ride the filthy, unpredictable trains. (I’m a cyclist.)

The other day, Lord Bloomberg even said FREE MASS TRANSIT would be the smartest thing, but he doesn’t have the guts/energy to do it.

But it’s a flawless plan. Perhaps you could spread the word, and you don’t even have to give me credit! Here’s a short examination / explanation:

FREE SUBWAYS
Impossible dream or intelligent fiscal innovation?
You be the judge!

“How are you going to pay for free subways?” is a silly question, obviously.
(It’s up there with, “but what will you do when you sail off the edge of the earth, Mr. Columbus?”)

FACT:
MAKING THE SUBWAYS FREE WILL NOT COST US A PENNY.

FACT:
MAKING THEM FREE WILL INSTEAD EARN US OVER $300,000,000 A YEAR.

FACT:
THE MTA IS REPLACING AN ASTRONOMICALLY EXPENSIVE SYSTEM OF FARE-COLLECTION (tokens, token clerks, token booths, token-taking turnstiles, etc.) WITH AN ASTRONOMICALLY EXPENSIVE SYSTEM OF FARE COLLECTION (metrocards, metrocard machines, metrocard-taking turnstiles, maintenance workers to fix / stock metrocard machines, people to sweep up the used metrocards, etc, etc,)!

FACT:
THERE ARE ONLY 2 WAYS TO FINANCE NYC’S SUBWAY SYSTEM:
Out of the pockets of citizens (daily) or
Out of the pockets of citizens (annually)

FACT:
The subway fare does NOT PAY FOR THE SUBWAY – ITS MOSTLY PAID FOR VIA ANNUAL TAX REVENUES. (The fare revenue covers less than 30% of operating costs. It’s mostly subsidized with tax dollars.)

FACT:
THE MTA SPENDS OVER $300,000,000 a year (!!!) TO COLLECT A FARE DAILY.
If we eliminate the fare altogether, we save 100% of that annual $300 million which they inefficiently waste collecting the fare. Comprende?

FACT:
THE STATEN ISLAND FERRY USED TO BE 50 CENTS AND NOW IT’S FREE.

(Which proves there’s a 100% chance we can implement my completely reasonable plan b/c it’s not a pipe dream.)

FACT:
We pay for 100% of NYC’s sidewalks & streets out of annual tax revenues.

Imagine if they decided to put toll booths on every avenue & street in Manhattan, to raise $ to pay for the roads! You’d say that’s totally insane and you’d be right. So why don’t you recognize the toll booth system underground is just as inefficient & insane? WASTE is WRONG (and government waste will be ILLEGAL when I’m mayor).

FACT:
It is MORE INTELLIGENT & EFFICIENT TO SOCIALIZE (ie, like single payer health care) most government services.

EX:
THE POLICE DEPARTMENT & THE FIRE DEPARTMENT PROVE EVERYDAY THAT SOCIALIZED SERVICES ARE MOST EFFICIENT. (Imagine if the NYPD started billing you once a month (or once a day like the MTA!!) for their services! They’d have to spend a hundred million extra dollars a year to set up a billing service & mail you a bill (like Con Ed & the phone companies do) wasting billions of dollars in tax money, manpower, and so on.

It would be absolutely MORONIC to bill millions of people each month (or each day as the MTA does) for the U.S. Military’s work protecting us!! (Note: the U.S. Military is a govt-run, MONOPOLY and everyone loves it that way—nobody wants to open it up to the “free market” b/c the free market is a lie and even Republicans know this, which is why they refuse to open PUBLIC SAFETY to it.)

Ohhh…..there’s waaaaaaaaaaaay more after the jump

Read More »

Annoying Subway People (Part 2)

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Editor’s note:  Todd is a guest blogger from Blog Name Removed. 

On Wednesday March 14th, I posted my list of Annoying Subway people. I got a lot of fun responses to the list, so I planned on doing a follow-up. But then I thought about it. I thought, “Am I mocking other people because I don’t like myself?” and “Maybe I’m being way too hard on other people.” and “Maybe I should try to be more patient.” and finally “Am I too angry?” I decided not to post any more Annoying Subway People articles.

But then I saw this quote:

“Whenever I dwell for any length of time on my own shortcomings, they gradually begin to seem mild, harmless, rather engaging little things, not at all like the staring defects in other people’s characters.” (Margaret Halsey)

I thought to myself, “Hell, Margaret’s right! I’m well behaved and these people are like animals! I should write about it again!”

And so here we are. I’ve come up with a few more on my own, but I’ve also seen quite a few articles on this from other websites. Apparently other people think just like I do! Sit back and relax while I bring you:

Annoying Subway People (Part 2):

In case you forgot, here’s numbers one through six:

1. Zig-Zaggers.
2. Doddlers
3. Fingers in Ear People.
4. People Who Don’t Bathe
5. Door-Holders
6. Candy Selling Kids

Number 7: Window Scratchers: Whoever it is that scratches up the subway windows with graffiti. That must take a long while to do, so obviously this person has way too much time on their hands. I’ve said it before: Vandalism should be cause for immediate Tasering. Not just once, but 10 minutes of shock after shock from a police Taser. Maybe that’ll cut down on the ruined windows.

8: Stoppers/Stair Stoppers: The inbred breeding of half-minded Doddlers and Zig-Zaggers will lead to the dreaded Stopper. This person may look like he’s going to walk straight and true, but then out of nowhere, BAM! He stops and causes a chain reaction of chaos behind him. Even worse are the Stair Stoppers! This may sound trivial, but it is proven to lead to back-ups. (It’s called the shock-wave effect.) Please don’t be a stopper. Keep moving and veer off to the side if you need to pause a moment. The rest of us have places to be. We’re not impatient, we’re just really really motivated.

9: Earbud Guy: Ah yes. This guy just loves his music. He loves it so much that he’s going to crank up his mp3 player higher then his earbuds can handle. Now the whole train gets to love his music. It’s especially nice when Earbud Guy shares his music at 7am. I love Reggaeton at 7am. It warms my heart. (Almost as much as the thought of Earbud guy going deaf in a couple years.)

10: Stop and Go Conductors: Speed up, slow down, speed up, slow down, speed up, and… vomit. Nothing makes my morning commute more pleasant that an overpaid ass playing at the controls of the subway train. Seriously, it’s not that hard to do. Ready for it? Here it is: Go until you need to stop. There aren’t surprises on the track and if there are, well, speed up and run them over. Just don’t slow down until we get to the station. And when we do, slide in gently, don’t jerk it in awkwardly like you did with your prom date.

11: No Speaka English-ites: Just a quick Xenophobic pet peeve. If you’re going to have a full conversation in an America, speak English. If you suck at English, try anyway. It’s good practice. I’ll make an exception for tourists, but if you live here, speak the damn language when you’re out in public.

12: Mimes: Mimes should be barely tolerated, regardless of the circumstance, if only because they remind me of French people (of whom I am also not a fan). When they are ‘performing’ in a subway station? They should be sprayed with a fire hose. The big painful, knock-you-on-your-ass kind. I bet they’d scream…

13: Shorties: Noun. Definition: Short people who hang onto me and/or my clothing instead of the designated handles of The Subway. See also: China Town Residents. (Why? Why do they do this? You try to shake them off and they don’t let go!)

and the last one (for today),

14: The Leaning Sleepers: Subways are gross because there are gross people in them. When those gross people are sitting next to you fall asleep, then decide to lean onto you, you become gross. Unless you’re going to buy me dinner and tease me with suggestive eye glances over candlelight, don’t you dare lean on me! I hate being touched, and being touched by random (usually People Who Don’t Bathe) people on The Subway is the absolute worst. Imagine the lice and other infestations that are probably hopping onto your jacket. Sick dude.

That’s it for now. Don’t worry, there’s more to come! I’ve been keeping a list, and we’re nowhere near the end…