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A & C Train Service Alert

Posted by
on September 30th, 2007 at 10:21 am

The MTA has posted a service alert for the A & C lines. The service alert reads:

Due to a police investigation at the Rockaway Avenue Station, Euclid-bound C Train trains are running express between the Hoyt-Schermerhorn Street Station and the Broadway Junction Station.

Stations being bypassed: Lafayette Avenue, Clinton-Washington Avenue, Franklin Avenue, Kingston-Throop Avenues, Ralph Avenue and Rockaway Avenue.

As an alternate, for service to the bypassed stations, customers are advised to take the 168th Street-bound C Train train at the Broadway-Junction Station, Utica Avenue Station, Nostrand Avenue Station or the Hoyt Schermerhorn Station.

Please expect delays in service on the A Train and C Train trains at this time.

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Lock Them Up Already….

Posted by
on September 30th, 2007 at 9:01 am

I admit I was dead tired for most of Friday. I did not get any sleep Thursday night (by choice) & knew that was a bad idea since I had plans. I intended to go pick up an item from the east side during the late morning to early afternoon hours. However since I got no sleep, I eventually crashed for a few hours. So now I woke up & had to run to the east side before heading down to the L.E.S. to see my friend Kim Garrison play.

I am in the solo seat in the last car of a southbound 6 train enjoying my music when I noticed a bunch of teenagers boarded in Harlem. I took one look at them & just knew they would annoy me early & often. My assumption was spot on as within minutes of them boarding, they showed off the typical juvenile antics. A couple of the women got on & immediately sat on the bench & put their legs on the seat. They decided to sit down & put their full body on the seat. The last female sat across from me in the other solo seat.en

A few minutes later some of the group would randomly go up to another member & crowd around them as they were seated. Who knows what this was for but they all found it hilarious. After this a couple of them decide to lift & drag the female who had her full body on the seat. She tried to resist but they eventually got her off. Next it was time for them to crowd around the female sitting across from me. When this was over they too picked her off of the seat & dragged her. While this was happening, one of the dumb broads steps on my foot as we approached 77th Street.. She did apologize but I gave her & the rest of her friends the nastiest look as I prepared to get off at 68th Street-Hunter College. After I did this, they all moved down to the other side of the car.

One might ask why did I give a nasty look if I got an apology which seemed sincere. The reason is because the incident would have never happened if they acted like humans instead of caged animals. I wish their were more cops on board to prevent people acting like animals. I used to be a teen so I know how it is to act a little nutty around your friends. However I can say with confidence I never acted like an animal especially within some form of mass transit. I think someone should donate a “Romper Room” for these morons so we can be done with them!

When I got off the train, I thought of two things. The first is how I was glad to finally get off. Lastly I could only help but remember the encounter that led to this entry.

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1

L Train Rider Report Card Breakdown

Posted by
on September 30th, 2007 at 8:21 am

Let me first apologize for my tardiness. I intended to write this entry soon after the MTA released the breakdown of the entire report card. However I have been a mixture of busy & tired these last few days. Anyhow lets get back to the main point at hand. As I posted earlier, the L train received an overall C average from the rider report card.

Here is the top 10 priorities according to L train riders:

    1. Adequate room on board at rush hour
    2. Minimal delays during trips
    3. Reasonable wait times for trains
    4. Cleanliness of stations
    5. Sense of security in stations
    6. Sense of security on trains
    7. Station announcements that are easy to hear
    8. Station announcements that are informative
    9. Courtesy and helpfulness of station personnel
    10. Train announcements that are easy to hear

Now here is the graded breakdown for all 21 categories:

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

Based on my experiences riding the L, I would say most of the grades seem accurate. The line has big crush load issues although some of it comes from bunching in spots. However as a whole, the L reminds me of the Lexington Avenue lines a lot. The big difference between the two is the Lexington Avenue lines have much more consistency in their service.

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2

A Slight Improvement But…..

Posted by
on September 28th, 2007 at 1:18 am

So the MTA saw a slight improvement in the results from their latest rider report card but it is nothing to brag about considering the money invested so far.

Later today, the MTA will release the full results of the rider report card for the L train. However some sources such as AMNY & the NY Times’ City Room blog have released some of the details.

The L train’s overall grade was a C which is a slight improvement from the C- grade the 7 train received earlier this month. So far here are the details we know about the L train’s grade:

    The lowest grade was a D for “adequate room at rush hour”
    The highest grade was a B which was achieved in 5 different categories including helpful subway car signs and station personnel courteousness
    A C grade was given out for station announcement clarity & a C- for the announcements being informative

One would think just looking at some of these grades must be very sad for the MTA who has invested $17.6 million dollars on the line’s customer information system. However you might find New York City Transit President Howard H. Roberts Jr. singing a different tune. According to him he is “not totally surprised” by the C grade mainly due to the L having “seen more than its fair share of service interruptions over the past few years”. He also noted that the L “has also seen unprecedented ridership growth, growth we didn’t fully anticipate and have been unable to respond to as quickly as we would have liked.”

This growth is mainly contributed to the continued gentrification in neighborhoods such as Williamsburg, Greenpoint, & Bushwick. The gentrification has contributed to a 20% increase in L train ridership since 2000 compared to the average of 9% system wide. The increase being over double the average says a lot & I expect that number to grow as Bushwick continues to grow.

The Straphangers Campaign offered their opinion on the results. Straphangers lawyer & main spokesperson Gene Russianoff had this to say:

Getting a C overall means there’s lots of room for improvement. Riders give the line a D on ‘adequate room at rush hour.’ That mirrors the chief complaint of L riders: taking the line during the rush turns you into a sardine. This is the key area in which they are looking for relief. The L has mostly modern new technology cars, which riders appreciate.

The main 3 points that L train straphangers want to see improvements on are more room on board during peak hours, fewer delays during trips, & shorter wait times for trains. The MTA still plans on implementing extra trains on the L as this had already been in place. The results of the report card will most likely speed up the process though.

As far as actual numbers go, the MTA shared statistics on the number of graders. According to the MTA, they handed out 42,000 report cards to to riders over a 3 day period last month. During the grading reply period they received 4003 cards back (2,762 via postal mail & 1,241 online).

Personally these numbers seem disappointing as I expected a bigger turnout. Quite frankly how can straphangers expect changes to be made if they don’t take the time to make their opinions heard? Hypocrisy at its finest…………….

Get with it people or keep your mouth shut about anything that involves your commute. You have the choice so which will you choose??????

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LIRR Construction Cancellation

Posted by
on September 28th, 2007 at 12:28 am

The Long Island Railroad has canceled a planned construction project for this weekend. The project was to interrupt service for westbound trains to & from the St. Albans station. The LIRR had planned to offer alternative service via vans. However with the project being canceled for this weekend, trains will operate on their normal weekend schedule.

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