Service Diversions 12-16-10
I have just updated the Service Diversions page with the latest planned work for the weekend, following week, & beyond in some cases. As is always the case, the weekend work schedule is extremely light due to it being the holiday season.
The next update will be at 3:01 PM tomorrow when the diversions scheduled to wrap up at either 5 AM or 3 PM are removed. Please print out a copy of the diversions before you head out to your destination. If you have a internet enabled mobile device, use it to access the Transit Blogger mobile site. Stay safe!
xoxo Transit Blogger
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MTA Releases Customer Survey Results
Yesterday afternoon, I received a press release from the MTA talking about the release of the customer satisfaction survey results. I did not have the time to open the e-mail & would get to it the next day. I did not think much of it until I was on my way home this morning around 2AM from the pool hall, when I heard a report about most riders being satisfied with the Long Island Rail Road.
Before I get into that, here is that press release:
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced that results of its first agency-wide standardized customer satisfaction surveys show that MTA customers value real-time service information, including countdown clocks and email and text message service alerts. Levels of satisfaction also correlate to on-time performance measures. Customers provided high marks for safety and security and for front-line employees.
The newly activated subway countdown clocks were one of the highest rated attributes of the system, with 95% of customers who reported viewing them stating they were satisfied with them, including 55% reporting that they were very satisfied. Similarly, 83% of subway customers reported being satisfied or very satisfied by service-related email alerts. MTA Metro-North Railroad was given the highest marks by its customers, with 93% of respondents saying they were either satisfied or very satisfied with the service. On the Long Island Rail Road, 89% of respondents reported being satisfied or very satisfied with the service.
Using the new format for the first time that transcends agency boundaries to show comparable statistics across the MTA family, customers were asked about service quality, MTA employees, on-board conditions, information and communications, comfort and convenience, safety and security, home stations, and overall satisfaction. The MTA’s agencies used this data to formulate priority areas for improvement.
“This has obviously been an extremely tough year for our transit system and for our customers, but the survey results show that our customers appreciate the improvements we have been able to put into place, like countdown clocks,” said MTA Chairman Jay H. Walder. “This survey demonstrates the importance of improving service where we can in cost-effective ways.”
Separate surveys asking similar questions were completed by customers of the subway, local buses operated by New York City Transit and the MTA Bus Company, the Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North Railroad, and MTA Bridges and Tunnels. In total, more than 18,000 people responded to the surveys, which have margins of error ranging between +/- 1% to +/- 4%.
If you are interested in reading the individual report for each agency, click the respective link below:
When I was in the car on my way home, I was caught off guard by the report on the majority of riders being satisfied with the LIRR. As someone who has kept an eye on the LIRR for years being a long time customer, I find the results inaccurate.
First off, look at the small percentage of people asked & compare it with the actual ridership numbers for the LIRR. Secondly, it is a known fact that poll results can be skewed based on how the questions are asked. Most riders find the service slow & overpriced. While it might have a high on time percentage, even those numbers are skewed by the reporting procedure,
Not surprisingly the agency scored low with peak service from Penn Station. However in all fairness, not much can be done there considering the facility is outdated & too small for the amount of services running from there.
I skimmed through the majority of the reports due to a lack of available time. However it is easy to see that the sample sizes are way too small for each considering daily ridership figures. Most polls/surveys tend to be useless due to this fact & this is no different.
If you only need one piece of evidence on how flawed these results are, take a look at how subway station conditions scored a satisfied ranking. Seriously our intelligence is being insulted here as I’d bet my life if you polled a true majority of riders, subway station conditions would not scored “very satisfied”. Give me a break…………..
xoxo Transit Blogger
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MTA To Put Cameras In 400+ Buses
This past week, the MTA Board approved a plan to install surveillance cameras on 400+ buses next year. The agency hopes the cameras will serve as a major deterrent to crime occurring on buses, especially to its drivers with this recent incident being a prime example. Andrew Grossman of the Wall Street Journal has more in this report:
More than 400 Metropolitan Transportation Authority buses will get surveillance cameras next year, according to a plan set to be approved by the agency’s board this week.
The MTA will start installing the cameras on buses that ply busy Manhattan routes in early 2011 before expanding them to high-crime routes in other boroughs, according to the proposal. The agency can also choose to exercise an option to buy cameras for an additional 1,150 buses.
“Such a system is essential to providing improvements to the safety and security of the environment for employees and the riding public,” the agency said in the proposal.
Assaults on bus drivers are a recurring problem for the agency. Last week, a Brooklyn woman was charged with assaulting a driver on the B82. The alleged assailant told the New York Post that the driver “drives slow on purpose.” In July, a Brooklyn grand jury indicted a man accused of punching the driver of the B6 bus in the face after an argument. State law makes assaulting a transit worker a felony punishable by up to seven years in prison.
The man who runs the union that represents many city bus drivers said he supports the installation of new surveillance cameras—as long as they’re used to discipline riders, not drivers.
Click here for the complete report.
It is a shame that our society has come to the point where we need surveillance cameras to try & deter crime to bus riders or the driver itself. Personally I am not big on the police state that our country has become, especially after the proven staged attacks in our history.
However with the rate at which bus drivers are being assaulted, I can understand why the MTA is looking to install these devices. Hopefully it will help in the never ending battle to keep employees & riders safe.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Service Diversions 12-13-10
I have just updated the Service Diversions page by removing all of the work that just wrapped up just a minute ago. The latest information for the upcoming week & beyond in some cases is at the forefront.
Throughout the week, I will be removing individual diversions as they expire. The next full update should be sometime Wednesday or Thursday after I receive the scheduled work from the MTA.
As always, I suggest you print out a copy of the diversions to have with you while riding. You may also use any phone or electronic device to access the mobile friendly version of Transit Blogger. Have a safe & wonderful week while trying to keep warm.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Bus Driver Attacked By Angry Rider
Once again the dangers of being a bus driver for the MTA has reared its ugly head. The latest incident involved 60 year old driver Jacqueline Benjamin being allegedly attacked by 25 year old Alicea Diaz. Alicea claims she is always late for work due to Jacqueline purposely driving slow. Matthew Nestel, Joe Mollica, & Jamie Schram of the New York Post have more:
The agony of rotting away on a city bus as it moved at a snail’s pace sent one Brooklyn rider over the edge. Alicea Diaz, 25, who was sick of being late for work because of the pokey B82 Limited, allegedly attacked driver Jacqueline Benjamin, 60, whom she blamed for the mind-numbing rides. “She drives slow on purpose,” Diaz told The Post yesterday.
The waitress “repeatedly punched” Benjamin in the face “with a closed fist” and broke her glasses on Tuesday afternoon in Bensonhurst, according to the criminal complaint.
Benjamin, a 17-year MTA veteran, said Diaz unleashed a hail of blows after screaming, “I’m tired of you, bitch. You’re always making me late for work.”“She thought she’d punch me and then get off at her stop,” Benjamin said. But the driver grabbed the woman’s hoodie and held her until cops showed up. Diaz — who has no prior arrests — was charged in Brooklyn Criminal Court with assault, menacing, harassment and criminal mischief. Her commuter rage could land her in prison because attacking a MTA bus driver is a felony.
Click here for the complete report.
If these allegations are true, I fully support seeing Alicea rot in prison for years & then some! As someone who has come from a family of MTA bus drivers, I saw first hand how hard & dangerous the job truly is. Whether it was seeing my dad busted open in the 90’s by someone who perfectly launched a broken beer bottle at a bus stop or this incident, these drivers put their life on the line daily to serve riders.
While he has since retired, it does not change how dangerous the job was or is for the current fleet of drivers. The increase in punishment for attacking a bus driver & the testing of bus shields are positive steps taken by the agency, it is clear that more needs to be done. The same holds true for subway conductors. Hopefully more will be done to increase the safety for these hardworking individuals.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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