Category: This just in

MTA/Transit Public Relations Stunt Goes…Well

subwayblogger1 Comment

Other than someone yelling out, “Keep the fares down, bastard,” the public appearance stunt went very well.  MTA and NYCT heads took their case to the people yesterday morning.

Elliot G. Sander, the executive director and chief executive of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, actually stood on the Grand Central platform handing out flyers.  That’s right, handing out flyers.  He might as well have been wearing a sandwich-board too.

He’s fairly new, and hasn’t been involved in any scandals (yet), so his face is not that well know.  Apparently, only very few people actually stopped to talk to him.  However, it was probably very odd to see a man dressed in a very nice suit handing out flyers.  That and all the news cameras around were probably a tip.  (See the photo)

Police to Fight Subway Perverts?

subwayblogger1 Comment

AMNY reports that the Manhattan borough president wants to have the police crack down on subway pervsattacking and harassing people in the subway.

Scott Stringer’s office asked commuters how often someone sexually attacked or harassed them in the subway, and found frightening results. More than 60 percent of those who responded to the online study said they were sexually harassed and 10 percent said they’d been sexually assaulted. (AMNY)

60% !??!  Are you kidding me?   More than half the riders of the subway have been sexually harassed in the subway?  That seems a bit too extreme.  Ok, so 98% have been harassed in general, but not sexually. 

Rush hour was noted as the most dangerous time to get sexed up.  How is that?  One woman reported that a man began to masturbate across right in front of her.  I must be missing something.  Where are all these freaks at 5:30pm on a Tuesday?

I guess I can see how people can cop a feel while getting crammed into a subway car.  I mean, it is just close quarters.  Your entire body gets pressed up against the person in front of you, but I don’t think that counts as a sexual crime.  Pervs must be playing grab ass or something and blaming it on the congestion. 

I guess I will have to do a better job protecting my sweet, sweet ass. 

Ohh Don’t Even Tempt Me…

subwayblogger2 Comments

Check out this little nugget that I found:

ADVISORY

MTA senior staff will be out in the transportation network talking to customers about the MTA’s Financial Plan on July 26, 2007 at these locations:

MTA: Elliot G. Sander, MTA Executive Director and CEO will be at the Shuttle platform in Grand Central Terminal at 8:00 a.m.
NYC Transit: Howard Roberts will be at Utica Avenue station on the 3 and the 4 at 7:30a.m.
LIRR: Senior staff will be at Penn Station between 7:00 – 9:00 a.m.
Metro-North: Senior staff will be at White Plains station between 4:00-5:30 p.m.

Love the part about “talking to customers.”  That’s code for answering the media mob of questions that will be thrown at the them about the fare hike.

Hmmm…do I want to go to the GCT S platform at 8am??

MTA Could Move on Fare Hike TODAY

subwayblogger3 Comments

Published reports say that the MTA could vote on its first fare hike in four years as early as today!  😦 

If an increase is on the agenda, there won’t be a decision until December. But the MTA board could decide today to schedule public hearings on fare hikes for New York City Transit, the Metro-North Railroad and the Long Island Rail Road. (AP)

The City’s Independent Budget Office did a review of the books and it seems that at 20% base fare increased would be needed by 2010 to fight mounting debt.  That would put the standard far at about $2.40. 

Free bus-to-subway transfers and MetroCardsthat allow unlimited trips for one price over seven or 30 days have dropped the average cost of a ride to $1.28, which is lower than it was in 1996, according to MTA monthly reports. Longtime board member Barry Feinstein, who said he was not privy to budget strategy, vowed he would not support anything that means a step backward for the system.

Where’s Captain “No Fare Hike” Spitzer on this issue?  Too busy battling it out with Bruno I guess.  Clearly this increase is the exact opposite of what he promised in his election campaign.  However, at this point, politicians making promises and then not delivering shouldn’t be a shock to anyone.  Let’s hope he speaks up soon.

Anyway, I’m not opposed to a fare hike if it is the only way to keep the system from going under.  Listen, I understand that things cost money, and that things are always going to get more expensive.  Unfortunately, there’s that lingering feeling that if money were managed more efficiently, this wouldn’t be a problem. 

On that note, if there’s going to be a fare hike, at least make it a good one.  Let’s say the fare does go up to $2.40.  That increase is only designed to maintain the status quo.  That means that we would be stuck with the same issues that we are faced with now:  dirty subways, failing equipment, and lack of consistent service.  I’d rather bump it up to $3.00 if it means that all the subway platforms can get a face lift, more trains can be put into service, and the equipment system wide get’s updated.  I have no problem paying more if it means that there’s going to be some sort of benefit. 

Paying an extra $0.40 on a base fare just to keep the MTA’s head above water doesn’t seem smart.  Might as well take the opportunity to make a big splash.  That is of course under the assumption that the only way to solve this problem is a fare hike…of which I think we are all a bit suspicious. 

1 Train is #1, W is the Worst in Straphanger Ratings

subwaybloggerLeave a comment

1 Train

Well, the results are in from the 10th Straphangers Campaign Report.  The 1 train was rated the best overall line in the entire system (I catch a faint smell of bullsh*t), and the W train is tied for worst line with the C train.  No shock in either case on the losing end.

This “State of the Subways” Report Card tells riders how their lines do on these key aspects of service.  We look at six measures of subway performance for the city’s 22 major subway lines, using recent data compiled by MTA New York City Transit.2  Much of the information has not been released publicly before on a line-by-line basis.   Most of the measures are for all or the last half of 2006.

Let’s review the 1 line ratings for a moment.  It ranked with above average regularity.  I kinda beg to differ on that one.  It does come with great regularity, but when it gets screwed up, look out.  One little mishap on that line ruins the entire 24 hours following.

When you factor in the fact that it breaks down more than average, how good is it really?  That’s basically like saying that it works great when it’s actually not broken down.  So as long as it isn’t too hot, isn’t too cold, not too wet, and there’s no crazy people on board, you can count on the 1 !

Above average on in-car announcements?  Uhhh no.  Sorry.  Unless the average is barely English, I don’t think it’s that high.

As for the C and the W trains, well…I agree with everything they say.  Basically, waiting those trains is a roll of the dice every single time you go.

Interestingly, the report is based on MTA data that is collected through the year.  Ever notice those people standing on the platform with a watch and a clipboard?  They usually have an orange vest on.  Anyway, they are doing part of the survey work.  Sounds like an awesome job.  Anyway, it makes me question the actual results…something about the MTA reviewing itself.

The Entire Report

Rainy Eve Day of the Subway’s Report Card

subwaybloggerLeave a comment

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!

subwayblogger4 Comments

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

subwayblogger1 Comment

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

subwayblogger2 Comments

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