In a recent trip around the web looking for interesting subway tidbits, I found some great pictures on NYC the Blog of a parade of subway cars rolling down 125th Street.
According to the blog, the train cars were being delivered by flatbed truck on Election night around the time of the Obama win!
NYC the Blog has a lot more pictures to check out.
According to the MTA, most subway cars are well air conditioned.
Well, ok then. Thanks for letting me know…I guess?
Wait, wait. Did they just guess at that? Of course not. They commissioned a full scale study. Transit officials inspected 2,666 train cars throughout the system. Of them, 73 cars failed.
It appears that the pass/fail mark was 78 degrees. Personally, I think that is a little toasty, but manageable. That’s certainly better than some trains over 88 degrees!
The E train had the worst score, which is not a surprise at all because they are the oldest trains.
So I’m left wondering why a study was needed. I mean, sure it probably gives you an official looking number when you’re done, but it doesn’t really fix anything.
The MTA should be studying what would improve the a) reporting and b) repairing of overheating cars.
I guess you can just see which cars have no AC because they are usually empty! However, I doubt if riders report overheated train cars. Air conditioning, along with other general repair needs should be easily reportable, but they aren’t. I mean you could call 411 I guess, but who has time for that?
Let the drama begin. Apparently this September, straphangers will see ads on the subway promoting Islam. (Oh nooo !!)
How can we protect our children from these ads that will surely turn them into terrorists instantly?
Unfortunately, that’s not an exaggeration if you ask many New Yorkers including some Congressmen.
“I have no problem with the ad itself, but I have a very, very real problem with those behind it,” Rep. Peter King, a New York Republican, said Tuesday. He is urging the Metropolitan Transit Authority to reject the ads. [CNN]
What didn’t make it into the text version of the story, but did make it in the live interview with Rep. King was when he said that he was especially appalled by the ads running at a time when America will be “…mourning the 7th anniversary of 9/11.”
The opposition was quick to point out that the campaign starts on Sept 15th, and that Rep. King should get his facts straight. More importantly though, it shows that Rep. King is in fact more concerned with the fact that the ads promote Islam and Muslim beliefs. So he does have a problem with the ads themselves.
Personally, SUBWAYblogger says who the hell cares? The ads themselves are very mild (pictured above). I probably wouldn’t even notice them. Even if they were a little inflammatory, what’s the big deal? It’s an ad on the subway. Let them have their free speech. To get it down to redneck logic, censoring the ad is exactly what the terrorists want America to do.
What do you think?
[poll=7]
This should be an interesting topic of discussion.
Rep. King has sent a letter to the MTA demanding that the ads be kept from running. That’s pretty rediculous.
Dear Rep. King,
Wake up and do something that really matters. Here’s a few things if you’re out of ideas: Read More »
So I’ve seen a lot of gross stuff happen, especially in the subway. Gross, smelly, oozing homeless feet. Fat, sweating, pigs of human beings in airconditionless subway cars. Really, it takes a lot to make my skin crawl. However, this put me over the edge.
I was on a 3 train coming from downtown. It was pretty crowded, and kinda hot. The AC was working, but not too well. The trains were also slow, so there was a slightly higher number of people in each train.
I was standing at the end of a car, standing over the little two-seater. There was an 16 or 17 year old couple (guy and girl).
Just to paint the picture…
Her: Tight, tiiiiight black acid washed jeans. Halter top that didn’t quite make it over the muffin top. High tops. Little acne problem.
Him: All black clothing starting at the top with the Yankees cap and do-rag. Cap at the standard 45 degrees, but also askew like a beret. Black t-shirt long enough to go past his knees. Fake silver chain with a cross and skull.
Here comes the grossness…you’ve been warned.
At first I look down, and she is picking the dirt out from under his fingernails. Already, I’m grossed out. She gets to his thumb, and starts having issues.
Her fake acrylic nails are getting in the way. And he has one little corner on his nail that is a little sharp. She starts to try to pick the sharp corner off to no avail.
So then (cue drum roll), she puts his thumb in her mouth to bit his thumbnail! I shit you not. She starts biting his nails like they were her own. Just chompin’ away.
She nibbles an entire strip as if she were a nail clipper, and spits it out at my feet. Then moves on to the next finger.
He’s just sitting there, too hardcore for life, like nothing odd is going on at all. Meanwhile, his fingernails are getting a mouth manicure right before our very eyes.
Possibly one of the most retarded things I have seen to date. y
A barge full of subway cars head out to sea for their watery graves. Judging by how long the MTA keeps trains in service, I would estimate that those trains were made in 1903. See more at Gothamist
Let’s kick this one around in our collective minds: Standing room only subway cars.
What if we made every other car in a train standing room only? We could get rid of all the seats in the train car, and perhaps add a few more grab rails and holding points.
Think of all the extra people you could fit on the train! The elderly, handicapped, pregnant, fat, or just plain tired/lazy could go into the cars with seats. Everyone else could find more breathing room on the seatless cars.
Ok, how would you know which is which from the platform? Maybe the markings on the outside of the trains could be a certain color. And always make the first car a seated or seatless car (just pick on and make it standard).
My other idea would be to make the seats all “flipable.” Have you ever noticed the flip-up seats on the ends of trains like the 2 train or 4, 5, 6 train? It’s usually just on the end of the train. There’s a double wide seat that automatically flips upright to allow space for a wheelchair.
What’s nice is the fact that many people don’t bother to flip it down during rush hour. What if all the individual seats on the train automatically flipped upright? That would free some space.
Just drives me nuts when I see 350 pound people sitting, taking up 3 seats wide, and the standing room for 6 people.
SUBWAYblogger 