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As Usual With Anything The MTA Touches, The Online Seminar Fails

Posted by
on December 11th, 2007 at 4:16 am

Unfortunately anything the MTA touches usually turns into a huge failure. Yesterday was no different as their heavily promoted “Public Engagement” online seminar was a huge failure. The online seminar which I signed up to participate in was not accessible to anyone. I have yet to read or speak to anyone who was able to access the seminar. The MTA sent out an e-mail to all of those who registered apologizing for the technical difficulties. Here is the actual e-mail that was sent out:

Dear Webinar Participant,

Thank you for taking the time to register for today’s fare and toll webinar. Unfortunately, we experienced some technological difficulties which created difficulty for some participants to view the slide presentations being given. For that we sincerely apologize.

Even though the technology didn’t work perfectly for us this first time, the webinar format and the extremely successful Public Engagement Workshop we held on November 17th, were noble experiments to expand our public outreach efforts. We learned a lot today and look forward to better employing the electronic element in the future.

The good news is that virtually everyone who signed on was able to hear the presenters and to submit questions. In fact, several hundred questions were asked by the hundreds of individuals who ultimately joined us. Since many were similar in nature, we will categorize them and post answers on the MTA website (www.mta.info) later this week, along with a complete copy of the presentations that were given.

We also encourage you to review the details of the current fare and toll proposals at www.mta.info and to submit comments on those proposals by e-mail or by writing us at 347 Madison Ave, NY, NY 10017, prior to the MTA Board’s deliberations on this matter on December 19th.

Again, thank you for joining us today.

Sincerely,

Elliot G. Sander
Executive Director
and Chief Executive Officer

Unfortunately for many of us, this e-mail was the closest we got to communicating with the MTA yesterday.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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2

A Way Too Generous Grade If You Ask Me

Posted by
on December 11th, 2007 at 3:53 am


Uncoupled R trains laying up at the Parsons Boulevard station. Resized photo courtesy of Eye On Transit

The overall grade for the R train “Rider Report Card” grade is in & as usual we get another C-. However this grade was way too generous if you asked me. I am pretty sure there are a good number of others who would agree. Lets get straight to the breakdown before I offer my analysis.

Top 10 priorities that null train riders’ would like to see improvement on:

01. Reasonable wait times for trains
02. Minimal delays during trips
03. Station announcements that are easy to hear
04. Train announcements that are easy to hear
05. Cleanliness of stations
06. Adequate room on board at rush hour
07. Sense of security in stations
08. Sense of security on trains
09. Cleanliness of subway cars
10. Station announcements that are informative

Now here is the entire order of null train riders’ priorities:

01. Reasonable wait times for trains
02. Minimal delays during trips
03. Adequate room on board at rush hour
04. Station announcements that are easy to hear
05. Train announcements that are easy to hear
06. Cleanliness of stations
07. Cleanliness of subway cars
08. Sense of security in stations
09. Sense of security on trains
10. Station announcements that are informative
11. Train announcements that are informative
12. Working elevators and escalators in stations
13. Comfortable temperature in subway cars
14. Courtesy and helpfulness of station personnel
15. Lack of scratchitti in subway cars
16. Signs in stations that help riders find their way
17. Ease of use of subway turnstiles
18. Signs in subway cars that help riders find their way
19. Availability of MetroCard Vending Machines
20. Lack of graffiti in stations
21. Lack of graffiti in subway cars

Now here is the graded breakdown of all 21 categories:

Minimal delays during trips C-
Reasonable wait times for trains D+
Adequate room on board at rush hour C-
Sense of security in stations C
Sense of security on trains C
Working elevators and escalators in stations C-
Signs in stations that help riders find their way C
Signs in subway cars that help riders find their way C
Cleanliness of stations D+
Cleanliness of subway cars C-
Station announcements that are easy to hear D
Station announcements that are informative D
Train announcements that are easy to hear D
Train announcements that are informative D+
Lack of graffiti in stations C
Lack of graffiti in subway cars C
Lack of scratchitti in subway cars C-
Courtesy and helpfulness of station personnel C
Comfortable temperature in subway cars C
Ease of use of subway turnstiles C+
Availability of MetroCard Vending Machines B-

As I said, this grade was way too generous. While I feel the 7.821 riders accurately ordered the 3 top priorities, I feel they were generous in their grades. In my honest opinion, the R deserved a big fat F in the top 3 priority categories. While the D+ earned for “Reasonable wait times for trains” was close to a F, it failed to earn the grade it deserves. There is a good reason why many transit buffs & riders say the R stands for “rarely” as that describes the R train to a tee!

I have spent many times riding the R all over its long route between Forest Hills/71st Avenue & Bay Ridge/95 Street. Every time I have ridden that line with the exception of one time, I was waiting for at least 10 minutes for a R to arrive. The lone time was that infamous Saturday when I went to go see my friends The Pervs play at Matchless in Greenpoint. I shall refer to that commute as “The Miracle On Pervs St.” from now on! On that night, the longest wait I had on my 3 train ride was 5 minutes. As one would guess, the longest wait was for the R train!

The R is a line that is slow as molasses & unfortunately for the riders who depend on it, this is a feeling they are definitely used to dealing with. I feel the biggest problem that leads to delays on the R is the fact it shares trackage on just about every part of its long route between Forest Hills/71st Avenue & Bay Ridge/95 Street. The only part of the line where it can spread its wings is between the 59th Street & Bay Ridge/95th Street stations. Unfortunately by time the R gets to that portion of the line, it has usually been delayed beyond belief. This is what happens when you share trackage with the , , , & at some point along your route.

The “adequate room on board at rush hour” issue which seems to have order inconsistencies based on the information the MTA posted on their site clearly stems from the delays & wait times I just described. Many straphangers have the mentality that the train they see is the last one that will ever come so they must squeeze on even when there is no room for them. Now take that mentality & couple it with the typical performance of the R train & you can clearly understand why the line does not have “adequate room on board at rush hour”.

You know the R is bad when the only good grade it could get was the “free square B or B-” earned for the “Availability of Metrocard Vending Machines”. I will say that I was somewhat surprised by the amount of report cards received by the MTA for the R. However……

Realistically speaking the major issues the R faces are ones that do not have an easy fix. There is no band-aid solution for the R’s problems. You have a line trapped on trackage that is quite full to begin with coupled with being susceptible to any little delay on a few select lines & this is what you get! Unless additional trackage magically becomes available, look for the R to continue to under perform in the most important categories.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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2

Yawn…… Yet Another C-

Posted by
on December 11th, 2007 at 2:23 am


Jamaica/179th St. bound F train departing the 2nd Avenue station. Resized photo courtesy of Eye On Transit

The grade for the partner in crime to the F train comes as no surprise to anyone who has been following the 2007 Rider Report Cards. The V train earned a C- from the 1,636 people who sent in their report cards. Lets go straight to the full breakdown shall we….

Top 10 priorities that null train riders’ would like to see improvement on:

01. Reasonable wait times for trains
02. Minimal delays during trips
03. Station announcements that are easy to hear
04. Adequate room on board at rush hour
05. Train announcements that are easy to hear
06. Cleanliness of stations
07. Station announcements that are informative
08. Cleanliness of subway cars
09. Sense of security in stations
10. Working elevators and escalators in stations

Now here is the entire order of null train riders’ priorities:

01. Reasonable wait times for trains
02. Minimal delays during trips
03. Station announcements that are easy to hear
04. Adequate room on board at rush hour
05. Train announcements that are easy to hear
06. Cleanliness of stations
07. Station announcements that are informative
08. Cleanliness of subway cars
09. Sense of security in stations
10. Working elevators and escalators in stations
11. Sense of security on trains
12. Comfortable temperature in subway cars
13. Train announcements that are informative
14. Courtesy and helpfulness of station personnel
15. Ease of use of subway turnstiles
16. Lack of scratchitti in subway cars
17. Availability of MetroCard Vending Machines
18. Signs in subway cars that help riders find their way
19. Signs in stations that help riders find their way
20. Lack of graffiti in stations
21. Lack of graffiti in subway cars

Now here is the graded breakdown of all 21 categories:

Minimal delays during trips C-
Reasonable wait times for trains C-
Adequate room on board at rush hour C
Sense of security in stations C
Sense of security on trains C
Working elevators and escalators in stations C-
Signs in stations that help riders find their way C
Signs in subway cars that help riders find their way C
Cleanliness of stations C-
Cleanliness of subway cars C-
Station announcements that are easy to hear D
Station announcements that are informative D+
Train announcements that are easy to hear D+
Train announcements that are informative D+
Lack of graffiti in stations C+
Lack of graffiti in subway cars C+
Lack of scratchitti in subway cars C-
Courtesy and helpfulness of station personnel C-
Comfortable temperature in subway cars C
Ease of use of subway turnstiles C+
Availability of MetroCard Vending Machines B

Personally I think this line got what I & many others expected it to get. In reality, it is hard to imagine a part time line that only runs during the week to score very high. I am sure it does not help that many see the V as being the evil choice that took away F service from the extremely busy 53rd Street corridor. Lets look at a few of these grades more closely.

Let me start with the #1 priority of “reasonable wait times for trains”. This priority ending up at #1 does not surprise me as when one waits for the V, you get the feeling the service is consistently sub par. I have had many adventures on the V & it seems to be one of many lines that seem to have riders waiting forever until the next one arrives. I usually tend to hop the V in Manhattan & when I just miss one, I expect to wait a minimum of 10 minutes for the next one to arrive. Depending on my location, I expect to see either multiple E or F trains to arrive before the next V.

The main issue I see with the V is the amount of trains per hour. One look at the V’s schedule which is so minuscule it shares the page with the F, shows that it usually only has 6 trains per hour excluding a couple of hours here & there. The most trains per hour you will see on the V is 9 which is accomplished 4 times a day, 2 times in each direction. The V has 9 trains per hour traveling to Lower East Side/2nd Avenue between the hours of 7 am – 8 am & 4 pm – 5 pm. The V has 9 trains per hour traveling to Forest Hills/71st Avenue between the hours of 8 am – 9 am & 5 pm – 6pm.

As far as delays are concerned, I have always noticed consistent delays in certain areas. From my experiences, I have noticed a lot of delays while traveling in Queens between the Steinway Street & 23rd Street/Ely Avenue stations as well as between Broadway/Lafayette Street & its terminal at Lower East Side/2nd Avenue. The delays while approaching the Lower East Side/2nd Avenue terminal are not shocking to me as one can usually expect delays when approaching terminals. However I think the delays in between the Steinway Street & 23rd Street/Ely Avenue stations need some attention.

I know I sound like a broken record but I will say this anyway. The amount of report cards received was way too low but maybe it matches the amount of people who use this line daily. I am used to seeing pretty empty V trains, what can I say! Also can the MTA remove the free B or B- square category for the “Availability of MetroCard machines”. The joke grade is getting old now!

When I think of the V, I can’t help but feel this line fails to live up to its potential. If the MTA felt the V was necessary, it sure needs to come up with a better terminal as Lower East Side/2nd Avenue is not going to cut it. While there are plans for the V to see life in Brooklyn full time in the near future, as opposed to emergency runs like this one, it sure can’t come fast enough!

I personally would love to see this line run later if not 24×7 as it could benefit many riders. I for one would definitely use the line if it was available after my many late nights/early mornings of hanging out with friends in the Lower East Side. The hopping of the F one stop to Broadway Lafayette to ride a downtown 6 to Brooklyn Bridge just to turn back around & head home got old real quick! I also am not thrilled with walking back to the Astor Place or Bleecker Street station after drinking as that seems to take forever even for a fast walker such as myself!

So in the end until changes can be made such as the completion of construction on the Gowanus Viaduct, the V will always be a line carrying around the dreaded “P” label known to many as “Potential”.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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0

Striphangers Spread Holiday Cheer In A Unique Way!

Posted by
on December 11th, 2007 at 12:46 am

The L now stands for “lucky” & the N “nice” after 3 women transformed themselves from straphangers into striphangers! The story which was an exclusive to the New York Daily News goes like this. 3 women; Laura Lee Anderson, Marissa Lupp, & Jessica Wu have gone from unknowns to internet celebrities due to a video that is all the rage on the internet.

The 3 ladies decided to take a dare from DareJunkies.com promising $10,000 for the best pole dancing routine in public. They decided to just go for it since they admittedly were all broke, in between jobs & desperate for cash. So this past March the 3 ladies joined by their pal Isis Masoud took their routine along with their boom box blasting Prince’s “Erotic City” for the ride of their life.

The MTA was not thrilled about the ladies routine. Playing the role of the “party pooper” is NYC Transit spokesman Paul Fleuranges who issued this statement on behalf of the MTA New York City Transit:

The last thing we want is for anyone to turn our subways into roving burlesque stages for crude exhibitionists. While the rules don’t specifically state lap or pole dancing, what is depicted here is disorderly conduct.

Wow talk about having sour grapes! I admit that a pole routine is not really the type of activity that should be taking place in a subway. However there was no nudity involved & it was just a temporary shoot for a contest. If you are going to come down hard about this, why not come down just the same on the daily activities of panhandling, dangerous dance routines, & much more? I don’t see the snotty comment for those activities which are worse than harmless pole dancing!

In case you were wondering, the ladies did win the contest & are $10,000 richer. If you want to see the video, click here.
The facial reactions alone make it worth watching over & over!

xoxo Transit Blogger

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MTA Issues A Press Release On The NYC Para-Transit Drivers Strike

Posted by
on December 10th, 2007 at 9:47 pm

As I wrote about earlier this morning, NYC Para Transit drivers officially went on strike. Earlier today, the MTA issued a press release about the strike along with details about their performance so far during the strike. Here is that press release courtesy of the MTA:

Amalgamated Transport Union Local 1181-1061 has called a strike against four Access-A-Ride carriers. Three of the carriers are: Atlantic Paratrans, Inc.; Maggie’s Paratransit Corp., and Transit Facility Mgmt Corp. However, the fourth, MV Transportation, was still able to support about 70% of its routes.

These carriers, under contract with MTA New York City Transit provide approximately 50% of Paratransit daily scheduled services. However, this is a private labor dispute between the ATU and the carriers. NYC Transit is not a party to these negotiations.

During this morning’s pull-out period, 65% of the scheduled routes were served. Figures for this afternoon were slightly higher with 70% of the routes being served. Access-A-Ride has authorized five times the daily number of taxi authorizations and twice the number of vouchers for car service. The preliminary estimate for tomorrows’ service is 14,000 trips, which is approximately 75% of the current daily weekday average.

As part of the contingency plan developed to minimize the effects of this job action, NYC Transit will continue to reassign affected subscription trips, especially medically essential trips (i.e. dialysis treatment, chemotherapy, etc.). NYC Transit will also continue to utilize supplemental service provided by private ambulette carriers.

As I said earlier, lets hope this strike ends as soon as possible!

xoxo Transit Blogger

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