The E Continues To Be Far From Excellent
E train layup at the Kew Gardens-Union Tpke. station. Resized photo courtesy of Eye On Transit.
The 
has once again showed it is far from excellent in terms of overall service & performance. The line finished with a D+ as part of the 2008 Rider Report Cards. This was the same exact grade from the initial Rider Report Cards back in 2007. Lets get straight to the breakdown:
E Train Riders’ Top 10 Priorities; 2007 priority rank will be in ( ):
01. Adequate room on board at rush hour ( 1 )
02. Minimal delays during trips ( 2 )
03. Reasonable wait times for trains ( 3 )
04. Comfortable temperature in subway cars ( 5 )
05. Cleanliness of subway cars ( 4 )
06. Train announcements that are easy to hear ( 6 )
07. Cleanliness of stations ( 8 )
08. Station announcements that are easy to hear ( 7 )
09. Working elevators and escalators in stations ( 10 )
10. Sense of security on trains ( 9 )
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Now here is the entire order of E train riders’ priorities. 2007 rank will be in ( ):
01. Adequate room on board at rush hour ( 1 )
02. Minimal delays during trips ( 2 )
03. Reasonable wait times for trains ( 3 )
04. Comfortable temperature in subway cars ( 5 )
05. Cleanliness of subway cars ( 4 )
06. Train announcements that are easy to hear ( 6 )
07. Cleanliness of stations ( 8 )
08. Station announcements that are easy to hear ( 7 )
09. Working elevators and escalators in stations ( 10 )
10. Sense of security on trains ( 9 )
11. Sense of security in stations ( 11 )
12. Station announcements that are informative ( 12 )
13. Train announcements that are informative ( 13 )
14. Courtesy and helpfulness of station personnel ( 14 )
15. Availability of MetroCard Vending Machines ( 16 )
16. Lack of scratchitti in subway cars ( 15 )
17. Ease of use of subway turnstiles ( 17 )
18. Signs in stations that help riders find their way ( 18 )
19. Signs in subway cars that help riders find their way ( 19 )
20. Lack of graffiti in subway cars ( 20 )
21. Lack of graffiti in stations ( 21 )
Click here for the breakdown of votes in this section.
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Now here is the graded breakdown for all 21 categories; 2007 grade in ( ):
01. Minimal delays during trips C- (C-)
02. Reasonable wait times for trains C- (C-)
03. Adequate room on board at rush hour D- (D)
04. Sense of security in stations C (C)
05. Sense of security on trains C- (C-)
06. Working elevators and escalators in stations C- (D+)
07. Signs in stations that help riders find their way C (C)
08. Signs in subway cars that help riders find their way C (C-)
09. Cleanliness of stations D+ (D+)
10. Cleanliness of subway cars D+ (D+)
11. Station announcements that are easy to hear D (D)
12. Station announcements that are informative D+ (D)
13. Train announcements that are easy to hear D (D)
14. Train announcements that are informative D+ (D+)
15. Lack of graffiti in stations C+ (C+)
16. Lack of graffiti in subway cars C (C)
17. Lack of scratchitti in subway cars C- (C-)
18. Courtesy and helpfulness of station personnel C (C-)
19. Comfortable temperature in subway cars D+ (C-)
20. Ease of use of subway turnstiles C+ (C+)
21. Availability of MetroCard Vending Machines B- (B-)
Click here for the breakdown of votes in this section.
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As with previous report card results from 2008, not much as changed in terms of year to year performance. In regards to the E, the grade is justified considering the song has remained the same. Although the amount of responders dropped by 1,790 people, the main complaints are still in place. The E is packed like a can of sardines, the trips have delays, & the wait times can be an issue. This is especially the case in rush hour when many times you have to let 1 or 2 trains go before you can squeeze into one.
When looking past the top 3 priorities, the story is pretty much identical from the initial results. The same priorities occupy the top 10 slots & pretty much in the same exact order. This can only be looked at as a huge negative. However on the flip side, what did you really expect? It is not like they can just add more trains along the Queens Blvd corridor as it is bursting at the seams as it is. The fact that a few of the areas that the line serves in Queens are desirable does not help in terms of overall ridership.
As far as the individual grades go, I feel most were on point. My main issue would be the top 2 priorities not grading out lower. In my honest opinion, those two categories deserved a D- each respectively. As I mentioned, the crowding on the line is horrible especially during rush hour. I have lost count of how many times I was forced to let 1-2 trains go by before I could get on. The most frustrating thing with the E is that even outside of rush hour, the crowding can be really bad. While many other lines die down a bit, the E seems to stay steady for all the wrong reasons during non-peak travel times.
In the end, the results will be similar for years to come. The line’s capacity is not going to magically increase or will the crowds die down. So if you are a daily rider of the E, I say get used to this being the norm. I would love to paint a pretty picture for you but I am a realist.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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