Transit Blogger

Sorry B, Straphangers Will C You Later…

Bedford Park Blvd. bound B train speeding by Neck Rd. Resized photo courtesy of Eye On Transit

***BREAKING NEWS***

The MTA has had one of their subway lines earn an average or just below average grade in their respective 2007 Rider Report Card. Please work with me here folks as one can only say the same thing in so many ways. As with many of its peers, today’s culprit is considered average or just below average. Today’s culprit which happens to be the B train, earned a C- for its overall grade. Now lets get straight to the full breakdown.

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

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

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

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

I will be the first to admit the B is not a line I ride often. However based on my experiences riding the line over the years, I feel this report card is pretty accurate. When I have ridden the B the train seems to always have at least one snag that seems to take forever. I’ve noticed this usually takes place in either midtown or as it is going over the Manhattan Bridge.

I also have noticed that for as nice of an express run the B provides along the Brighton Line, the Q is much more consistent. I would always see people get off to catch the express but we would usually always beat them as the B took more than 2-4 minutes to show up. So the express advantage definitely tends to be negated when comparing it to the local Q train.

The only shock to me in regards to this report card is the placement of station announcements at #10. I happen to agree with Benjamin Kabak of Second Avenue Sagas a 100% in regards to the quality of the announcements & its rank on the list. I would have thought this would have been in the top 5 at most as far as priorities are concerned. I suggest you check out Benjamin’s breakdown of the B’s “Rider Report Card” since he has much more experience with the line especially being a daily rider. He brings up excellent points as to why it will be hard if not impossible to improve parts of B service.

I will end this by saying the number of responses received was quite low. I guess I am not as surprised especially considering this is a part time line.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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