As the first rush hour in the post-service cut era dawned yesterday, riders throughout the city had to scope with a radically altered transit network. As the city’s commuters struggled to adjust to this new reality, service cuts coverage dominated the news. Reporters from various news outlets produced numerous pieces featuring exception reporting on various aspects of the changes, and I’d like to round them up here.
When signs get ost in translation
Although English remains New York’s dominant language, the city is filled with thousands of immigrants who are only just adjusting to life in the United States. Many of the subway and bus changes impact these non-English speaking communities. The M, for instance, ran through Hispanic communities in Brooklyn and Chinese communities in Manhattan while buses no longer serve Haitian neighborhoods.
To track these changes, WNYC’s Matthew Schuerman hit the streets and found signs only in English. The MTA urged those in need of translation services to call an 800 number, but communities were left to fend for themselves. Eventually, street-savvy New Yorkers found their ways to the proper train lines.
Queens residents protest residential bus routes
While many people were out in force protesting against the MTA’s cuts, one neighborhood association in Queens had a different gripe. Residents in Whitestone spoke out against what they saw as a poorly planned rerouting. Their target was the Q15A, an alternate route of the Q15 that was designed for passengers stranded by the elimination of the Q14.
When the MTA put this new line into service, they routed it down a few narrow residential streets, and local politicians requested a route change on the grounds that the streets were too narrow. Yesterday, with protesters watching from the sidelines, a new Q15A and a pick-up truck came to a stalemate as the street was not wide enough to let the two vehicles pass each other. The police had to clear the road, and neighborhood residents have renewed their calls for a better route.
Those who suffer the most
Times columnist Clyde Haberman tackled the service cuts in his latest NYC column this week. He says that the city’s poor are the ones hardest hit by the cuts. As I mentioned earlier today, Haberman’s charge is true because of the general disregard for buses found in American society, but otherwise, I think he misses the point. Everyone will suffer with these service cuts. Trains upon which people from all walks of life rely will be more crowded, and as the wealthiest opt to drive, congestion will slow down the city’s economy.
Union inspections slow down new routes
Over the past few days, I’ve received numerous reports of slower-than-normal commutes on the BMT lines in northern Brooklyn. While some of the delays are due to passengers adjusting to the new service patterns, amNew York says that union inspections have led to delayed service as well. TWU inspectors have done safety checks on the new M trains, and the lines should pick up speed as those inspections are wrapped up.
Fourth Avenue: The deepest cut, oft ignored
Finally, news on a topic I plan to cover more in depth later on: the R train along 4th Ave. is too crowded. When the MTA announced its subway service cuts, most of the attention focused on the new M routing. Lost in the coverage was the reality of longer waits and headways along the BMT 4th Ave. line in Brooklyn. Since the M would no longer be servicing the local stops here, those Manhattan-bound customers would have to wait for only the R train.
These eight-minute headways coupled with fewer trains has led to overcrowding on the R. Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign, a frequent R train rider himself, said, “One of our people reported heavy crowding on the R at DeKalb, where they got rid of the M. The R is picking up the slack, but waits are near doubling and crowding is significantly up.” I wonder how this line will hold up under the pressure of the new crowds.
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