The W Leaves Failure Behind
Astoria/Ditmars Blvd-bound W departing the 36th Ave station. Resized photo courtesy of Eye On Transit.
In January 2008, I tied the Rider Report Cards of the 
to our former President, George W. Bush. They both were failures according to the public. Fast forward a little over a year later & the overall grade showed an improvement just like our country has with a new leader in Barack Obama. However this is about the subway line so lets get straight to the details that led to an overall grade of a C.
W Train Riders Top 10 Priorities; 2007 priority rank in ( ):
01. Reasonable wait times for trains ( 1 )02. Minimal delays during trips ( 2 )
03. Adequate room on board at rush hour ( 3 )
04. Station announcements that are easy to hear ( 5 )
05. Cleanliness of stations ( 8 )
06. Train announcements that are easy to hear ( 4 )
07. Cleaniness of subway cars ( 6 )
08. Sense if security on stations ( 9 )
09. Sense of security on trains ( 10 )
10. Courtesy and helpfulness of station personnel ( 14 )
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Complete W train riders priorities 2007 priority rank in ( ):
01. Reasonable wait times for trains ( 1 )
02. Minimal delays during trips ( 2 )
03. Adequate room on board at rush hour ( 3 )
04. Station announcements that are easy to hear ( 5 )
05. Cleanliness of stations ( 8 )
06. Train announcements that are easy to hear ( 4 )
07. Cleaniness of subway cars ( 6 )
08. Sense if security on stations ( 9 )
09. Sense of security on trains ( 10 )
10. Courtesy and helpfulness of station personnel ( 14 )
11. Working elevators and escalators in stations ( 13 )
12. Station announcements that are informative ( 7 )
13. Comfortable temperature in subway cars ( 15 )
14. Train announcements that are informative ( 11 )
15. Ease of use of subway turnstiles ( 17 )
16. Lack of scratchitti in subway cars ( 11 )
17. Signs in subway cars that help riders find their way ( 19 )
18. Lack of graffiti in stations ( 21 )
19. Availability of MetroCard Vending Machines ( 16 )
20. Lack of graffiti in subway cars ( 18 )
21. Signs in stations that help riders find their way ( 20 )
Click here for the breakdown of votes in this section.
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Now here is the graded breakdown for all 21 categories; 2007 grade in ( ):
01. Minimal delays during trips C (D+)
02. Reasonable wait times for trains C (D+)
03. Adequate room on board at rush hour C (D+)
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 C+ (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- (C+)
21. Availability of MetroCard Vending Machines B- (B-)
Click here for the breakdown of votes in this section.
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The overall grade for the showed improvement, however the same issues remain. In my breakdown last year, I noted how I understood this was nothing more than a supplemental line. However this is not an excuse for the many occurrences of a lopsided arrival ratio of 
‘s to ‘s. Honestly, the analysis from last year still rings true. For how long remains to be seen. This might be the last time I ever do a Rider Report Card result for the W if the doomsday scenario officially kicks in.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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