While news of the fare hike dominated the papers this morning, another big story concerning train service made the front pages as well. According to MTA’s own metrics, train delays are up significantly this year with the IRT lines bearing the brunt of the problems. More concerning, though, are reports suggesting that there is no quick fix to this problem.
For the numbers, check out the graphic at right. Ray Rivera, reporting on this story for The Times, provides some context:
The No. 4, which runs from Woodlawn in the Bronx to Crown Heights and Utica Avenue in Brooklyn, reached its destination on time in only 70.1 percent of its runs in May, the new figures show. That was nearly a 12 percent decline from the same month the previous year.
The average on-time performance for the rest of the system was 91.5 percent that same month, a 1.62 percent decline from the previous May, according to the agency.
The No. 4’s average on-time performance for the year was slightly better, at 79.7 percent, a 4.8 percent decrease from the previous 12 months. Over all, the system had a 12-month on-time average of 92 percent, a 1.64 percent decrease from the previous cycle.
According to Rivera, the MTA has dispatched workers along the route to figure out why the IRT trains are suffering a disproportionate number of delays. Straphangers Campaign lawyer Gene Russianoff, as he is wont to do, questioned the MTA’s methodology, noting that the MTA counts trains as late if they reach their terminus stations after the scheduled time. How these trains behave en route is a different story and one that could make these numbers look bad.
While, as Rivera writes, “transit officials cite track work, customers holding doors, sick and unruly riders and signal trouble as the leading causes for the delays,” these reports come from train crews and based on guidelines handed out by the MTA. They are, in essence, subject to the whims of the train crew.
I think the biggest culprit in delays these days originate from passengers. Irate straphangers try to cram onto over-crowded trains during rush hour, and those driving the train can’t close the doors. While track-work delays and other non-human delays (mechanical problems, signal issues) cause their fair shares of delays, if the MTA could combat the door-holding craze plaguing the trains, I’m sure service would improve. It’s a better solution than reviving the dormant skip-stop service.
The graphic on the side charting delays comes to us via The New York Times.
7 comments
I wonder how agressive the conductors are allowed to be in trying to control passengers’ behavior. At a time, I had the same conductor every afternoon on the #3 train. He would shout things like: “If you cannot fit on this train, wait for the next one!” “Stop being inconsiderate – people need to get to where they’re going!” “By holding the doors you’re just making it worse for everyone!” “There’s a #2 train right behind me. If you don’t believe me, look back – you can see the lights!” And my favorite, “This is a rush-hour train, not a crush-hour train!”.
And you know what? It worked. That train didn’t sit in stations as long as some of the other trains. Although I’m sure the MTA didn’t appreciate the aggression.
Meanwhile, on other trains, particularly the R142’s (think #4 train), you rarely hear a conductor address unruly passengers. The conductor hides behind his automated announcement panel, and we hear the same repetitive voice: “Stand clear of the closing doors, please”. If he gets really upset, he might cue up the sincere yet ineffective “please do not block the doors” announcement – after the train finally starts moving.
Aggression may cast a bad image, but if conductors are encouraged to at least speak up, I wonder if it would make a difference.
So, the Lexington Avenue line has the most delays.
Gee, who’d have guessed?
Curious how there is no mention of the second avenue line’s construction. The sooner they build it, the sooner the delays on the Lex Line go down. DUH!!!!!!
My commute is on the Lexington line. First, I agree with Russianoff that the statistics make the situation seem somewhat better than it is, though they are still useful for line by line comparisons. The 70% on time rate is the rate at which the 4 and 5 arrive at the terminus stations on time, which during rush hour are deep in Brooklyn and the Bronx. Drivers can make up for delays in Manhattan to some extent once they get to Brooklyn and the Bronx, particularly as the 4,5, and 6 separate and the tracks are less congested.
I disagree that the main problem is people holding the doors. My experience is that during rush hour, the 4 and 5 just go really slowly once they leave the station, about half as fast as they go duing non-rush hour. This seems to add about ten minutes to get between uptown and downtown compared to non-rush hour times. There seem to be just too many trains on the line. If one is delayed or slow all the others will be delayed.
The second biggest source of delays are track problems, stopped trains, “sick passengers” and the like that might shut down the line entirely for five minutes or more. These are frequent enough, and unpredictable enough, that you really can’t deal with the delays by leaving earlier for work. Its not like there is a consistent delay every day you can plan for.
People holding the doors, and even worse stopping once they get into the car and blocking other people from entering, are annoying enough that I think the MTA should employ “pushers” like in Japan at a few stations. But I think the bureaucrats here are just trying to deflect blame to the passengers.
The bottom line is that some lines, mainly the 4,5, and 6 are just over capacity. On the East Side the situation is made worse by the fact that the 6 stops at City Hall, so its not really feasible as an alternate train to get to the financial district. The only real way I can think of remedying the situation is real express bus service (via the FDR drive) with only a half dozen stops between the UES, and parts of East Midtown, and the Financial District.
Ah, the G. It’s easy to have a 98% on-time record by the MTA’s distorted metrics when you cancel virtually all the service.
The 4/5 is insane at rush-hour. There are just way too many people who ride those trains at those times.
I was in London recently and the biggest difference between the London Underground and the NYC Subway is that in London, no one holds the doors on the trains, ever. During my time there, I didn’t see a single person hold the train doors, and I asked my friend who now lives there (a transplant from NYC) and she said she had never seen anyone hold train doors either. We also asked her English boyfriend what would happen if someone held the train doors open, and he said “you’d probably lose your hand.”
I think the difference may be due to the fact that London has displays telling people when the next train is due in the station, and its always 2-3 minutes (and the displays are accurate, unlike some of those along the L line). People see these and likely think “ok, only 2 minutes until the next train” while in NYC, people make a mad dash for the train and cram in because nobody knows when the next train will come. It could be 2 minutes, or it could be 20 minutes.
I see two solutions to the door-holding problem here in NYC. One, get displays in the stations that say when the next train will arrive (this is the best solution). Two, instruct the conductors to close the doors once and once only. Once the doors are closed, the train will wait in the station until people pull their hands, feet, strollers, etc. out of the train and wait for the next. But under no circumstances will the doors re-open for these people who are the bane of the daily commuter’s existence. Eventually, people will learn to quit holding the damn doors, because they will not re-open.
Anyway, it was very nice to be sitting on a train and have the doors close ONCE instead of 3-5 times or more at every stop, even during rush hour. The biggest downside in London? No express service.