The annual “State of the Subways" subway report card from the Straphangers is out for 2003. Subways are rated on six things: Mechanical breakdowns; Cleanliness; Chance of getting a seat; Amount of scheduled service; Regularity of service; In-car announcements.
The top-rated subway? The L (report card - PDF; route). The worst? The 5 (report card - PDF; route). Gothamist thinks the L is easier to maintain, since the route isn't as long as others and there aren't other trains running on its tracks, like, say, the 5, but what do we know. The report also finds that while subways are more reliable, they are dirtier. Well, even so, New Yorkers will take takes subway availability over dirt any day, especially during rush hour when they push 100 people into a 2 foot by 2 foot space.
A topline of the report from the Straphangers. More from the Daily News, Times, NY1




the L train is now the best train? that's a little bit like being the tallest midget in the world. i remember back in 1990, riding the L train for the first time. it was like taking the metro in sarajevo- bullet riddled windows, lots of homeless people having knife fights between the cars, a couple of stray dogs. not to mention all the washington irving kids mugging the short asian and jewish kids riding down to stuyvesant.
I'm so glad I didn't go to Stuyvesant. I'd have been such an easy target.
But about the subways, I think the real measures of a subway is how it deals with going through at least goes through at least two major arteries, like Times Square, Penn Station, West 4th, Grand Central, Columbus Circle, Canal Street, City Hall, etc. The L only has Union Square.
Hmm. Also it's frequency of arrival and number of times it's held between stations without explanation. Though my F experience has been better than my years on the 6, it's been losing my faith this month. And, of course, the C sucks. I miss the days when the B/D/Q stopped with the F, and at least some of them stopped at the West 4th Street station. The V is useless for anyone that lives below 2nd Ave...why didn't they just make it an express train into Brooklyn?
i think they need to subtract points for new trains. i mean, half the things that cause the l to be "good" are because of the trains. i mean, put new trains on any line and their ratings will be sky high.
i also agree that the l has a really light workload in comparison to many of the other lines.
Am I the only one who thinks the new trains aren't so great? When you sit in the seats, they've been intentionally made to be uncomfortable--there's a bump that rests right in the middle of your back. And the white walls and florescent lighting are brutal. The new L trains seem to have been modified a bit, but the first round of newbies on the 2/4/5 line are not plesant.