Around these parts, we’ve known for a while that service changes were heading the G train’s way. Earlier this week, the MTA made it officially, and the changes are rather extensive to the much-maligned train.
Of course, as with anything MTA, the changes come with the good and the bad. The Daily News reported on these changes earlier this week. Peter Kadushin gives us the details:
The Transit Authority’s 2008 Service Enhancement Program trades increased frequency of G service – up to 50% on weekday evenings and 20% during afternoons – for the elimination of off-peak service to 13 stations across the borough.
The new plan means G service in Queens will end at Court Square in Long Island City, one stop shy of a key location – Queens Plaza on the E, R and V lines. That will force riders to make an extra transfer to get access to Queens Blvd. and Forest Hills.
Of note also is the Church Ave. extension. The G will now terminate at Chuch Ave., deep in the heart of Brooklyn. But why, oh, why is the train stopping at Court Square? (Yes, yes, I know. They can’t turn the train around at Queens Plaza. But still.)
Gene Russianoff, Straphangers Campaign guru, wasn’t too pleased. “The thrust of the G advocacy has been about building ridership,” he said. “But at every turn, they make it hard. These changes make the line less convenient for people.”
Less waiting; more transfers. That’s a questionable trade-off, but in the end, it’s one I would make.
First up are Neck Road and Avenue U, and the MTA’s plans should wreak havoc for commuters relying on the Q and B trains to ferry them to and from Homecrest or Sheepshead Bay and the rest of the city. The work on just those two stations is set to take 28 months, and there is, as yet, no timetable for work on the other five stations.
So you know that whole IKEA thing they’re building in Red Hook much to the chagrin of 
As we await news of the fare hike, let’s instead check in with some technology problems plaguing New York City Transit. Both concern flooding in the system; one’s about the water and the other, people.
Shuttle buses: A two-word phrase that is the bane of every subway rider’s existence. When you’re riding along in a nice air conditioned train during the dog days of summer nothing brings more dread to a straphanger than an announcement proclaiming an out-of-service train with the option to transfer to over-packed shuttle buses. For free!
Keeping momentum. That’s always the key to a successful public awareness campaign, and right now, that’s what 
Yesterday, I ventured out to Coney Island from Park Slope. To a subway expert, this trip can be a bit of a dilemma. Do I take the Q from 7th Ave. on the north side of the Slope? The F from 7th Ave. on the south side? Or maybe finagle a ride on the D or N?