Today, I hopped onto a J train at Chambers St. and took it to Broad St. to run an errand at lunch time. Even though the cavernous Chambers St. is in bad need of a rehab, I thought nothing of waiting on a mostly empty platform for a train I wouldn’t have dared ride alone (were I old enough) 20 years ago. The subways, as long-time New Yorkers are wont to say, have come a long way in a few decades and are no longer as closely associated with crime and a lack of safety as they once were.
New York’s subway renaissance has had two driving factors: capital investment pushing the system toward a state of better repair and more fare-payment and unlimited ride options that encourage ridership at all hours. By making the subways relatively cheaper for everyone and improving travel conditions and safety, suddenly, mass transit saw its ridership in New York City climb to near-record heights. Although a recent recession has slowed the ridership growth, the subways are safer and generally more reliable today than they have been in decades.
Yet, a storm is brewing as the MTA wants to scale back on unlimited ride MetroCards. While we don’t yet know how a 90-ride cap on 30-day cards will change ridership, the move hearkens back to another era, one when people weren’t keen on paying for every ride. At their Metropolis blog, the Wall Street Journal
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