Second Ave. Sagas

At least the D did better than its line letter

Written by

Benjamin Kabak

in

Five of the New York City subways up for grading could land a letter grade on its Rider Report Card that corresponds with its line letter. While riders can currently submit grades for the A, C and F trains, the B and the D saw their grades collected a few weeks past. Today, the D received its grade, and it exceeded the D bullet that adorns all the trains.

That’s the good news. The bad news: 4084 riders gave the D line – which runs from the north Bronx, past Yankee Stadium, down Eighth Ave. and Central Park West, over the Manhattan Bridge and all the way out to Coney Island along the West End line – another C-minus grade.

And what did these riders say were the D’s biggest problem areas? Take a look:

  1. Reasonable wait times for trains
  2. Minimal delays during trips
  3. Adequate room on board at rush hour
  4. Station announcements that are easy to hear
  5. Train announcements that are easy to hear
  6. Cleanliness of stations
  7. Sense of security on trains
  8. Sense of security in stations
  9. Cleanliness of subway cars
  10. Comfortable temperature of subway cars

Now, I’m a veteran of the D train. For more then twenty years, I’ve ridden it up to the Bronx for Yankee games, and these days, I often take it home from West 4th St. to the Brooklyn. I can attest that those top problems are pretty much dead-on accurate.

For a train as popular as the D, wait times are most unreasonable. It’s not rare to stand around for 10 minutes at rush hour until an overly crowded train with inadequate room shows up. The trains creep through tunnels at certain points, mysteriously delayed when there is no train in front of them.

And forget about the announcement. With D trains sometimes stopping at Yankee Stadium and sometimes running express from 145th St. past 161th St., listening for announcements requires Superman-type hearing abilities. I’d also say the cars are a mess and run either too hot or too cold.

While I’ve questioned some of the previous C-range grades, I’d say this one is spot on. Complete grades after the jump.

Rider Ratings of 4 Service 2007 Grade
Minimal delays during trips C-
Reasonable wait times for trains C-
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 D+
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 B-
Availability of MetroCard Vending Machines B-
Overall performance C-

Comments

5 responses to “At least the D did better than its line letter”

  1. Animadversor

    “[o]verly crowded train with inadequate room….” As opposed to an overly crowded train with enough room?

    Reply
  2. Benjamin Kabak

    The inadequate room phrase is lifted right off the Report Card. Hence, the reference.

    Reply
  3. Todd

    Yes, because the solution is obviously bigger cars.

    Reply
  4. Genie

    I just think people love doggin the transit system. Hard to read signs on trains? Ease of use of turnstyles? Adequate room on the train during rush hour???

    LOL

    Seriously, what exactly do you get for 4 dollars round trip (4.50 with this increase they are talking about). 4 dollars!!!! You can’t get a real meal for 4 bucks.

    I think the real problem is that NYC is getting expensive all around. 4 dollars a day does add up so you know 4.50 will. But asking for room during rush hour and personally heated seats… lux items seems odd. The real issues is station security, announcements, cleaness of cars (think about the employees to have to work in that everyday)

    I think we need to keep this real. We need a comprehensive transit plan for NYC. PlaNYC has something with the congestion planning. Transit fare will end up going up but they really shouldn’t go up anymore afterward. Also better trained employees in customer service will also help. Station Agents are getting better but where are the maps and why don’t people assigned to a station don’t know what is outside right up stairs? lol

    With real estate going up everywhere the new trains go, it is clear that the transit system needs investment, lets actually put something into it.

    Reply
  5. kris

    it’s nice site

    Reply

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