Home Rider Report Cards J/Z trains get C to the mizz-inus

J/Z trains get C to the mizz-inus

by Benjamin Kabak

So with apologies to Shawn Carter for that headline, I come bearing bad news for the J and Z trains. The rider report card results are out, and the BMT Nassau Street Lines pulled down the MTA’s first C-.

For the MTA, this is their third grade of the year. Last week, the L received a C, and at the end of August, the 7 also received a C-. With these three grades in the books, the MTA is pulling down a 1.78 GPA. Clearly the agency has lots of room for improvement.

But for the J and Z — a rush-hour skip-stop train running on the same tracks — the news is worse than it seems. These lines are soon to be on the receiving end of some fancy R160 cars, and the MTA thought things were going well. Not quite, reports Metro’s Michael Rundle:

Overall the J/Z line scored a C- grade, with eight grades at a D+ or lower and only one grade above a C+, in the NYC Transit’s latest Rider Report Card. In comparison, the L train, graded last month, scored an overall C and received only one D…

“The news [riders] are giving us doesn’t reconcile with the statistical performance standards we are currently using,” said NYC Transit President Howard Roberts, in a statement. “Clearly we need to take a harder look at not only what we’re doing but how we’re doing it.”

Similar to results released for the L and 7 trains, no attribute scored higher than a B-, and none scored lower than a D. On no attribute was there more than a one letter grade distinction between any of the three lines.

At this point, we’re still waiting for the final results of the report card. But based on the previous results, the subways on the J/Z line are overcrowded, unreliable and dirty. That’s no surprise. How the MTA is going to fix a system that riders seem intent to grade in the C/C- minus range is up for debate.

Meanwhile, I’m getting reports that, despite having completed the survey, folks on the 7 line are still receiving report cards. Um, that’s just a huge waste of paper and people’s time. But, hey, it could be worse. At least the subways didn’t lose to the Indians 12-3 last night.

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5 comments

Gary October 5, 2007 - 12:06 pm

Call me sophomoric, but that reads disturbingly like jizz train without the M in there to keep things clean.

Has the MTA no decency? At long last, have they no decency?!

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Victoria October 5, 2007 - 1:16 pm

I wish the subways had lost to the Indians and the Yankees had gotten a C-.

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Lex October 5, 2007 - 1:22 pm

Ahem: “The news [riders] are giving us doesn’t reconcile with the statistical performance standards we are currently using,” said NYC Transit President Howard Roberts, in a statement. “Clearly we need to take a harder look at not only what we’re doing but how we’re doing it.

Really guys (them)? My mom and I (who are 2nd and 3rd gen NYers) have been saying for YEARS that if only the MTA officials AND employees would take the trains and buses like average NYers that they’d have things running smooth all the time. It’s time they put the Town Car away and hoof it like we do.

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OMG! The subways are crowded and not running well this weekend « Second Ave. Sagas | Blogging the NYC Subways October 5, 2007 - 4:17 pm

[…] 2nd Ave. Subway History « J/Z trains get C to the mizz-inus […]

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Dingdong October 5, 2007 - 4:55 pm

So which of you is the third-generation one and which is the second?

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