Category: Tourists

We’re very happy to take your tourist dollars. Just don’t get in the way.

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?

NYC 4th of July Madness

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Macy’s FireworksDid you venture to the Lower East Side last night for fireworks?  Remember your umbrella?   Well, SUBWAYblogger did.

It wasn’t bad getting there really.  We transferred at Times Square and took the downtown N train.  Not much waiting time at around 7:30pm.  Took that down to 23rd Street.

Since we got there a little ahead of schedule, there was plenty of time for a pit-stop at Shake Shack.  Here’s where the rain helped.  There was virtually no line whatsoever at the Shack.  That’s unheard of this time of year.  There’s always a line.  On average, we usually wait at least 45 minutes.  The light rain had driven everyone indoors I guess.  There were only about 10 people in front of us.  (For you Shack regulars, thats just past the point in line where you step up onto the gravelly part…past the menu sign.)

After a Shack Burger and Summer Peach custard, it was off to FDR.  Got there in plenty of time and got an excellent spot for viewing.  That was another advantage of the rain.  I can’t even imagine what it would be like if it were actually nice out.  It actually started to come down pretty heavy at about 9pm (just 20 minutes before show time).   Luckily, it stopped just in time.

Good show…yadda yadda.

Then the trek back was…well…an adventure.  The part that sucks after a major event lets out is that you are subject to moving with the crowd.  The only way to avoid it is to leave early, and who wants to be that guy?

Ended up having to hoof it to the 14th Street station.  For some reason, the 14th Street station seemed 10 times farther away than it should have.  Anyway, the N train rolled up, and everyone made a dash for it.  Just as the last people squeeeeeeeezed on, a Q train pulled in.  I was near the outside, so I bailed to catch that express train just as the doors closed behind me.  I made it onto the express and even scored a forward facing seat.  Sweet!

Of course, my connecting train at 42nd Street took forever to get there.  It’s always the last leg that screws you.

On a side note, I’ve never seen so many subway maps out at the same time.  Every other person was a tourist or someone from out of town.  They had no idea where they were going.  You could also tell they were tourists because they thought they were entitled to “breathing room” on the packed train.  They looked mortified.

Subway Congestion Fare: 50 Cents

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Ok, so this proposal was announced last week, and…well…I needed a few days to ponder my reaction. No matter how hard I thought about it, all I was left with was: “WTF?”

Let’s discuss.

The New York State Assembly basically wants to 1) pick a fight and 2) ride on the “green” coat tails of Mayor Bloomberg. The Mayor announced his congestion pricing plan designed to charge an $8 fee to drive in midtown during peak times. It was met with great approval by New Yorkers, over 80% approval. So of course, the Assembly doesn’t want some great idea to be passed without them being involved, so of course the must tamper.

So, they throw out the idea of lowering the subway fare to 50 cents (from $2) during rush hours. [sigh]

Let’s talk about all the reasons why this might be the worst idea on the planet. First, it is going to do nothing to lower carbon emissions, which is the freaking point. Trying to lure people out of the cars by saving them a buck-fifty isn’t going to work. Drivers are just going to keep driving because it won’t cost them any more to drive. Sure, the might contemplate the savings by taking the subway, but let’s face it, there’s a reason that they like to drive in the first place. Saving them a little change isn’t going to inspire them to hit the rails.

On the flip side, a lot more people will ride the trains and buses for shorter trips. Right now, people walk if their destination isn’t worth the $2 to take the subway. Reducing the fare to 50 cents will encourage more people to take very short trips. The number of one stop riders will skyrocket. “For $2…ehh…I’ll just walk,” will be replaced by, “Hell, it’s only 50 cents…lets ride.”

Also, you’re banking on people flooding into the public transportation system that can’t handle the load as it is. As a whole, yeah, the system might be able to handle a sharp increase in traffic. However, certain lines are going to come to a grinding halt. Just to name a few, the 1, 2, and 3 line and the F line will flood well over capacity. They are already over crowded!

You may argue that the Mayor’s congestion pricing model is going to do the same thing, but you would be wrong. Yes, there will be some increase in usage of the public transportation system, but not an insane increase. Why? Because congestion pricing does not target New Yorkers.

Bloomberg was initially concerned that congestion pricing would have a huge financial impact on outer borough residents coming into Manhattan. However, it turns out that most outer borough peeps are smart, and already rely mostly on the subway to get into midtown. So, congestion pricing really hurt them much. Instead, congestion pricing impacts commercial traffic and people coming into the city from out of town. So, all the people that live out of town, but come in to work will be saddled with most of the fees. Sounds like a plan to me.Read More »

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.

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…

Some how, this will be the NYPD’s fault too.

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There was a high school “Basket-brawl” last night at a game in Madison Square Garden.  Lincoln and Boys & Girls schools were playing each other when the fights broke out.

There was a pretty flagrant foul that some fans flipped out over. 

Says WCBS-TV:

The male, who was wearing a brown jacket, was pulled over the railing by school safety officers and appeared to not be resisting, but four officers are seen beating him. Two of the officers struck the boy several times with their batons.

For the love.  That’s all we need.  Is this Al Sharpton’s busy season or what?  Here’s a concept…if you start a fight in a public arena, and you’re swinging at people, you might get your skull cracked by a baton.  Cost of doing business.

By now, you’re probably saying, “True, but what does this have to do with the subway?”  Well, the melee spilled out into the streets, and into the subway.  Somehow, the brawl traveled from MSG up to Times Square.  There in the subway, the fighting continued.  The CBS 2 video shows the cops flooding into the subway to break up more fights.

21 people were arrested, one of which had a gun.  So yeah, let’s worry about people getting roughed up by the police in this kind of fight.  After all, the combatants are only carrying guns in the subway…no biggie.  Oh, did I mention that there were even shots fired?

Hey, what about those MTA signs that say “Illegal possession of a fire arm in the subway carries a minimum of 3 1/2 years in prison?”  Sounds like they are really working.

Some how, this will be the NYPD’s fault too.

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There was a high school “Basket-brawl” last night at a game in Madison Square Garden.  Lincoln and Boys & Girls schools were playing each other when the fights broke out.

There was a pretty flagrant foul that some fans flipped out over. 

Says WCBS-TV:

The male, who was wearing a brown jacket, was pulled over the railing by school safety officers and appeared to not be resisting, but four officers are seen beating him. Two of the officers struck the boy several times with their batons.

For the love.  That’s all we need.  Is this Al Sharpton’s busy season or what?  Here’s a concept…if you start a fight in a public arena, and you’re swinging at people, you might get your skull cracked by a baton.  Cost of doing business.

By now, you’re probably saying, “True, but what does this have to do with the subway?”  Well, the melee spilled out into the streets, and into the subway.  Somehow, the brawl traveled from MSG up to Times Square.  There in the subway, the fighting continued.  The CBS 2 video shows the cops flooding into the subway to break up more fights.

21 people were arrested, one of which had a gun.  So yeah, let’s worry about people getting roughed up by the police in this kind of fight.  After all, the combatants are only carrying guns in the subway…no biggie.  Oh, did I mention that there were even shots fired?

Hey, what about those MTA signs that say “Illegal possession of a fire arm in the subway carries a minimum of 3 1/2 years in prison?”  Sounds like they are really working.

Virgin Vacations Rates Subways? Bullsh*t Alert

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logo.jpg

We were tipped off to this by Gothamist, and boy does it smell of BS.

Virgin Vacations (as in British based Virgin Atlantic Airlines) rated the top 11 Underground Transit systems in the world.  Well whada you know, London’s Tube came in at #1.  A little bias don’t you think?

The New York City Subway didn’t even rank in the top 5!  It crawled in at number 7.  Booo.  The Russians even beat us (coming in at number 3)!!  At least they have something going right over there. 

Ok, so if you were rating based on cleanlyness and security, well then we’re shocked we even made the list.  But in terms of how well the sytem gets you around the city, you would think the NYC subway would have ranked higher.  For that matter, NYC is the only one with a 24 hour system!  Surely that earns some points somewhere.

Anyway, check out the clearly Euro-Favored rankings here.

Can you hear me now?

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cell.jpgYou can always spot a subway newbie when they think they can chat it up on their cellphone. Not so much sweetie.

This girl to my left is completely confused over why she keeps dropping her call. Helloooooooo. We’re a few stories underground. What makes you think you’ll get service down here?

Yeah yeah, we know subways in other cities get cellphone service. However, look around. What part of your surroundings right now screams “technology?”

Maybe it’s the 1930’s lighting that makes you think it will work.

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…