New York Subway Gets a Poor Report Card

by Jordan Yerman | January 21, 2009 at 09:38 am

847 views | 4 Recommendations | 11 comments

The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) compiles "report cards" on the various subway lines that circulate commuters thought the massive beast that is New York freakin' City, and that beast has circulation problems, according to these results.

I notice that the G and the F trains are not listed... perhaps they need to come up with a grade lower than F...

The report cards represent an effort by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s largest subsidiary to increase transparency and to quantify just what people like and don’t like about their subway service.

Overall, straphangers handed out a lot of C's, with the "winners" (B, M, J, Z, and 2) garnering a C, and the losers (L, 4, 5, 7, A) walking off with a C-.

If I had gotten all C's, I'd have been grounded, like, forever. As of this post, there are no results for the N, R, Q, D, C, E, F, V, G, 3, or 6 trains (Not sure if they count the one-stop S-services)... C'mon, trains, bring home at least one B-.

Also, does the smell of a station affect the rating of the subway lines that pass through that station? If so, Canal Street (Q,R,W,4,5,6,J.M.z) will be most unpopular, since it smells like a poop monster that choked to death on poop and then pooped itself as it died.

According to mta.info, a predictably large number of people use the subway, with Times Square Station alone seeing over 58 million riders per year.

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Karenke4

at 10:28 on January 21st, 2009

I've always been really impressed with the metro. Much more efficient than the T in Boston.

amirocks

at 11:04 on January 21st, 2009

Frustrating at many times, but much better than the 80s.

amirocks has contributed a photo to this story.

Richartpix

at 12:23 on January 21st, 2009

The New York City Subway still remains the fastest way to get from one part of the city to the next. Taxi's deal with unpredictable traffic problems, and busses meander through the island at a snail's pace. Yes, I've read that the MTA is broke, and that service has been cut-back. Taking this into consideration, one can only have praise for the transit workers who are working hard keep to schedule. As far as cleanliness and safety are concerned? I moved to NYC in the '70's. It would take decades for the MTA to deteriorate to the conditions of those times. My favorite feature of the NYC Subway system? Great picture taking!

Richartpix has contributed a photo to this story.

benwagar

at 12:35 on January 21st, 2009

I recently found the world of photography, and even more recently, moved to New York. I love the subway system, and have taken quite a lot of photos down there. This one jumped at me when I looked at it a little closer; something about the colors, the seats inside the train, and the reflection of myself in the lower right hand corner. You can see through the entire train to the other side. You can also see into the train, and you can see the reflection on the outside of the train. There is depth when you originally don't think there is any. I am very happy with how it turned out, unlike most of my photos, and I'm happy to share it with all of you.

-Ben Wagar

benwagar has contributed a photo to this story.

nyctuber

at 13:05 on January 21st, 2009

The cars have improved, they used to be covered wih grafitti for oene thing. They also introduced redesigned cars a few years ago which are used on the 6 line and a few others. They have clear prerecorded station announcements, digital display of time/ next station and a lighted progress bar.

broma / pezz (not verified)

at 13:07 on January 21st, 2009

The Z just died (some are trying to revive it), and the M service was drastically reduced.. but at least they received good grades before they departed?

The J probably did well because they have been testing newer trains on the J line. There are occasional older trains that run on the J as well, but its looking like the J service might actually get to keep some of the trains (as they are already getting scratchiti, have been programmed, etc.)

That's me at the Chauncey stop (in the last picture above). Aka I frequent those three trains a lot. Well, just the J now.

jag9889

at 13:15 on January 21st, 2009

Really appreciate that the MTA allows BIKES (even without surcharge) on their subway trains.

amirocks

at 14:23 on January 21st, 2009

i do a lot of drawing in the subway system - http://amiunderground.blogspot.com

nowhere else do you get the mix of characters you find down there

kewllewk

at 14:52 on January 21st, 2009

The NY subway system is fantastic, diverse and utilized, but one thing that struck me is why doesn't the system connect directly to LGA (LaGuardia Airport) instead of requiring a bus transfer. International airports abroad do this far better.

kewllewk has contributed a photo to this story.

angelamor

at 21:11 on January 21st, 2009

nonetheless, subways are still the best form of transportation for me.

angelamor has contributed a photo to this story.

vicky johnson-brown

at 02:03 on January 31st, 2009

From the Uk I am always intrigued by the people on the Subways of New York. Studying Photography Degree at Blackburn these images were shot from the hip.

vicky johnson-brown has contributed a photo to this story.