M Shows Slight Improvement Supposedly!
Middle Village/Metropolitan Ave. bound M train leaving the Myrtle-Wyckoff Aves. station. Resized photo courtesy of Eye On Transit.
So continuing with the updates, 2 new grades came out as part of the 2008 “Rider Report Cards“. The two lines in question are the 
& 
. In this entry, I will focus on the which showed a slight improvement in its overall grade from 2007. Last year the line graded out as a C- but this year finished with a C. Lets get straight to the breakdown starting with:
M Train Riders’ Top 10 Priorities; 2007 priority rank will be in ( ):
01. Reasonable wait times for trains (01)
02. Minimal delays during trips (02)
03. Cleanliness of stations (05)
04. Sense of security in stations (07)
05. Adequate room on board at rush hour (06)
06. Station announcements that are easy to hear (03)
07. Sense of security on trains (08)
08. Courtesy and helpfulness of station personnel (15)
09. Cleanliness of subway cars (09)
10. Comfortable temperature in subway cars (14)
—-
Now here is the entire order of M train riders’ priorities 2007 priority rank will be in ( ):
01. Reasonable wait times for trains (1)
02. Minimal delays during trips (2)
03. Cleanliness of stations (5)
04. Sense of security in stations (7)
05. Adequate room on board at rush hour (06)
06. Station announcements that are easy to hear (3)
07. Sense of security on trains (8)
08. Courtesy and helpfulness of station personnel (15)
09. Cleanliness of subway cars (9)
10. Comfortable temperature in subway cars (14)
11. Station announcements that are informative (10)
12. Working elevators and escalators in stations (11)
13. Train announcements that are easy to hear (4)
14. Lack of graffiti in stations (17)
15. Ease of use of subway turnstiles (20)
16. Train announcements that are informative (13)
17. Availability of MetroCard Vending Machines (18)
18. Signs in stations that help riders find their way (19)
19. Lack of scratchitti in subway car (12)
20. Signs in subway cars that help riders find their way (21)
21. Lack of graffiti in subway cars (16)
—-
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- (D+)
03. Adequate room on board at rush hour C (C)
04. Sense of security in stations C (C)
05. Sense of security on trains C (C)
06. Working elevators and escalators in stations C (C-)
07. Signs in stations that help riders find their way C+ (C)
08. Signs in subway cars that help riders find their way B- (C)
09. Cleanliness of stations C- (C-)
10. Cleanliness of subway cars C+ (C-)
11. Station announcements that are easy to hear C- (D)
12. Station announcements that are informative C- (D+)
13. Train announcements that are easy to hear C+ (D)
14. Train announcements that are informative C (D+)
15. Lack of graffiti in stations C (C)
16. Lack of graffiti in subway cars B- (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 C+ (C+)
20. Ease of use of subway turnstiles B- (B-)
21. Availability of MetroCard Vending Machines B- (B-)
Well not much as changed on the M if you really look at things. The line graded out better in 2008 but when you examine the major categories, the line either stayed status quo or showed a lower performance. This is mixed in with a few improvements but nothing worth writing home about.
The biggest gainer in terms of ranking was “Courtesy and helpfulness of station personnel” which rose 7 spots. Thankfully this is more of a customer service issue that would not take money to fix. Hopefully the personnel who caused these sentiments from riders will improve in 2009. The biggest decline in ranking was “Train announcements that are easy to hear” which fell 9 spots. This should come as no surprise considering the M does have quality stock rolling up & down the tracks.
I am a bit concerned about both security categories rising in ranks along with cleanliness. One can argue that those categories go hand in hand. I hope the MTA takes a look at what it can do to improve in these areas.
Overall I feel the grade should have remained at a C- as the data does not show much improvement to have earned a half grade increase. I also must say I am disappointed by the total responses received by the MTA. I thought last year’s total of 1,360+ was pitiful but that looks like a ton compared to the 900 received this time around. The MTA needs to do a better job of promoting these things if they ever expect it to take off.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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