How’s that for holiday traffic?

November 21, 2006 subwaybloggerLeave a comment

Brothers and sisters, we are reminded yet again how much better the subway is for getting around this island called Manhattan. As if the pre-holiday rush weren’t enough, there was a major crash on the West Side Highway just after 4pm. A car headed north bound crashed and rolled over the divider into the south bound traffic in the area of 90th Street.

The West Side Highway is still closed hours after the accident. Only one lane of the north side is open, and the south side is completely closed. There were hours that both sides were completely shut down.

For all the bitching we all do, the subway is still hands down the best way to get around the city. When things go wrong, SUBWAYblogger admits that we do tend to go off the deep end a bit, but that’s just good office entertainment…right? Anyway, still the best.

As a result of the accident, the other bridges, side streets, and tunnels were packed with drivers. Over an hour to get through the Lincoln Tunnel. I’d sooner swim across the river.

As for us subway riders, we all got home on time. As a matter of fact, the system was pretty quiet tonight. Let’s hope it’s still quiet in the morning!

Emergency Exits are for Emergencies!

November 20, 2006 subwayblogger7 Comments

Folks, the emergency exits are for emergencies; not your fat ass. They aren’t for your dump truck sized baby strollers either. So cut the crap and use the turnstile.

People use the emergency exits so often, that they are starting to break down! People allegedly can’t tell the difference between the service exits and the emergency exits which really doesn’t matter because you shouldn’t be using them anyway.

After the London subway bombings, the MTA spent $3.8 to install the emergency doors all over the subway system. They were installed mostly in places where there are those floor to ceiling turnstiles (pictured above). Those turnstiles are located at entrances where there is no agent. The problem is that in an emergency, only 20 people per minute can get out.

Unfortunately, people are in such a hurry that they use the emergency doors. When you open the doors, an alarm goes off, but that’s about it. Just a loud noise. The booth agent at the closest entrance is alerted, but what the hell are they going to do. Nothing. People use them so much that the alarms are just plain worn out.

So, next time I see your tubby but heading for the emergency door OR you and your stroller headed out, I’m going to slam the door shut. Another $3.8 million to fix the damn doors is all the reason they need to hike the fares even more. So fold your stroller up like you are already supposed to, or take the bus!

Subway pulls away with DOORS OPEN!

November 8, 2006 subwaybloggerLeave a comment

Holy crap, can you even think of anything more freaky on the train than that? SUBWAYblogger would probably need a change of pants.

A Manhattan bound A train left the Grant Ave station with some of its doors open. It gets so much crazier…

Ok, so some of the doors on the train were stuck open, and the conductor couldn’t get them to close. So, he left his little control booth and started walking from car to car to see if he could see what was keeping the doors open. All of a sudden, the train started to move! Eventually, he intercomed up to the motorman, and the train stopped immediately.

Apparently, the little “Doors Closed” light illuminated on the motorman’s control board, so he thought it was ok to pull away. That’s normally what happens when conductor closes the doors. A little light goes on in the front of the train telling the motorman that it is clear to pull away. In this case, the conductor was still walking from car to car, and the doors obviously weren’t closed.

Note to self, no more leaning on the doors.

Death on tracks confirmed

November 6, 2006 subwaybloggerLeave a comment

This morning’s disaster with 1, 2, 3 plus 5, 6 service was due to a person getting struck by a train. However, it has not been confirmed as a suicide.

Usually, if someone was pushed, or if it was an accident, you would hear about it right away. Especially if they were pushed because police would want to begin the man hunt.

Tonight’s ride seems to be especially calm. There’s plenty of room on my train. So hopefully, Election Day will be a little more relaxed. But I doubt it.

Many people leave for work early so that they can go vote. So this may end up messing up the normal morning traffic flow.

As for the evening, even more people go to vote after work. Especially with the polls in NYC being open until 9pm. So the afternoon commute could get ugly, although I would suspect mustly for the buses.

Most NYC polling places are right in your neighborhood. So a couple block bus ride might be better than the subway.

Anway, we shall see. SUBWAYblogger is leaving early just in case.

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

At least I did not have to kill anyone

November 2, 2006 subwayblogger4 Comments

When it takes 4 trains going by before you can get on one, you know it is going to be a long day.

A broken rail at the 28th Street station threw thousands od us for a loop this morning. Trains were being redirected all over the place.

As a result, there were no trains at my staion for over 20 minutes. When the trains finally did start to come, they were already at capacity. People further up the line already had filled the train. By the time it reached me, only 3 more people could fit into each car. 3 more people out of a couple thousand waiting on the platform.

A train pulls up. A handful squeeze on. Another train pulls up, a couple more get on. I finally made it onto the 5th train.

I love how people show up on the platform and think they are going to get on the train before you when you have already been there 30 minutes. Back of the line pal!

One woman finally got shoved off the train because her ass was litterally blocking the doors. They kept closing, and her butt was so big that it got stuck. Finally, a guy gave her a hip check which made her step out. Then the doors closed with no problem.

Again, I say when one of your ass cheeks weighs more than a 12 year old, you should have to pay double or tripple the fare. The MetroCard machines should have scales in front of them. Pay by the pound!

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

Just be glad you don’t ride the bus!

October 23, 2006 subwaybloggerLeave a comment

It was the day from hell if you were trying to catch a bus in midtown today. The Port Authority Bus Terminal was closed for hours!

There were reports of a crazy guy who refused to get off a Grayhound bus. His outburst caused the police to shut down entire sections of the terminal. So you know he must have been going balistic or yelling threats.

The crazy part was that the MTA didn’t seem to have much of a plan in the event that the terminal was shut down. It was complete chaos.

As can be imagined, those who could turned to the subway as an alternate.

Buses pulled up along areas like 9th Ave to discharge their passengers. That’s ok if you’re already on the bus. But if you were at the Port Authority looking to catch a bus…well…you were screwed. It was very difficult to find out where or if your bus was using an alternate location for pickups.

Just be glad that you are a faithful subway rider because today, ground transportation left you hanging out to dry.

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

Damn these sissy trains

October 20, 2006 subwayblogger1 Comment

Ok, this morning is off to a real crappy start. My train skipped the staion that I board from. There was a problem with the local track, so trains were skipping past me on the express track instead. At this stop, there is no express platform so if local trains aren’t stopping, you’re screwed.

So, everyone waiting on the platform had to get out and walk to the next stop.

I should have know n that there was something wrong because there were 40 people waiting at the bus stop.

So we all got out and started the 10 block hike downtown…IN THE RAIN. Once we got to the next stop, I couldn’t believe my eyes. There was a line at least 50 people long at street level trying to get down the stairs to the subway. The line went all the way down to the turnstile.

Then, on the other side, there was a line to get to the platform. This station is one of those where you have to go down some stairs, under the tracks, and go back up stairs to get to the platform.

As you can imagine, things did not improve from there.

I am pacled so tightly with other people in the train that I don’t even need to hold on! Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

It is official, ground transport is safer

October 11, 2006 subwayblogger4 Comments

So what’s up New York. Slow news day?

Not so much.

In case you were under a rock or something today, you missed a headline that you probably wouldn’t believe anyway.

“New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle crashes plane into building on the UES”

That’s right. Lidle flew his small plane smack into the side of a high rise apartment building. He and a passenger did not survive.

Thankfully, no one else was killed. There were some injuries, but only two deaths.

This just confirms that ground transportation is the way to go. Or, in this case, underground transportation. The NYC subway is never going to be crashed into a building.

One can imaging that transportation over on the east side was a little nutty during all this. People left work early out of fear of another “9/11 style” attack.

My butt is staying underground. Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

2 Express trains not so much express

October 10, 2006 subwaybloggerLeave a comment

The voice in the ceiling tells me that downtown 2 trains are “running slowly” on the express track due to “an earlier incident.” So express isn’t really that express-like. As a matter of fact, other riders tell me that the 1 train is actually the faster option.

When they announce things like “earlier incidents,” don’t you wish they would just come right out and say what the hell is up? Go ahead. Be blunt about it. Just say that some bum caused a power failure by pissing on the third rail.

The honesty would be a welcome change of pace.

Also, if it is because of a suspect package laying around, just tell us. I think we all deserve to know.

That’s my gripe of the day. Glad I’m not on the 2 ! Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

Because of an investigation

October 6, 2006 subwaybloggerLeave a comment

Yeah, those are always words you want to hear.

Apparently, the trains are suspended “because of an investigation” between Union Square and 86th Street in both directions.

I don’t even ride those trains and I’m pissed. For those that don’t know, the trains run up the east side of Manhattan. For some reason though, when that line is having problems, everyone goes to the 1,2, and 3 trains. The thing is, those trains run up the WEST side. The complete opposite side of town.

The best I can figure is that people use it as an alternate because both lines ultimately end up in the Bronx. Looks like all the Bronx commuters just switch lines.

So what we have is 2 lines worth of passengers using 1 line. That just doesn’t work. Talk about a cluster f*ck.

The doors open and no one gets off. Shoot me. Live from the subway, back to you in studio…