Yawn…… Yet Another C-
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 
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 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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The V train does not nothing for me because My stop is 179 street Jamaica.The V train is failure because the E train is crowed.