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The first conductorless L trains were up and running yesterday, as the MTA moves to a more modern (and cost cutting - so they think) form of subway service. The One Person Train Operation is only for weekends and nights, and L riders have mixed opinions.
"Frankly, with a bicycle you don’t really get much help from operators anyway. It’s pretty much up to you. But it’s not good in terms of security." - Subway rider to NY1Of course, the NY Post details how a bunch of kids stormed the a conductor's booth and "pressed buttons for several minutes." Luckily, a key is needed for the buttons to work, but still, Gothamist imagines they were 20 minutes away from figuring out how to hotwire it. The Times also notes that the new signaling technology in the L ("radio frequencies and micro processors to communicate train movements") won't be rolled out until the end of this year, because the MTA doesn't want to get to futuristic...and because it's behind schedule, natch.
"Once the door is closed, no one can get in again. Usually New Yorkers hold the door for the next person and the next person, and I think this will help people to work faster." - Another subway rider to NY1
"If somebody was being robbed or was sick, I wouldn't know it." - Anonymous motorman to the Daily News
"[I'm a] little nervous." - The L train's sole operator to the NY Post
"I very rarely even see a conductor on this train." - Subway rider to the NY Times
The MTA on OPTO; their brochure tries to reassure hipsters by saying, "One-Person Trains are already operating successfully on the G, Dyre Avenue 5 Shuttle, the Rockaway Park Shuttle, and in Chicago, Philadelphia, Paris and London." And Newsday has more details. Did you ride an OPTO L train? Notice any differences?
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i was on one of these trains sunday night. when i got off at my stop, i saw the driver looking out the window down along the length of the train to determine when people had exited.
hello?!, isn't that why the video monitors were installed with cameras at the front, middle and rear of the trains, so the driver could see when passengers had finished entering and exiting the train? isn't that why the conductor is in the middle of the train, because its hard to see all the way down the length of the train, especially with stops where the train is slightly curved?
I wonder about the MTA's Timing...
After that woman getting Raped at 21st street, is it really wise to put Only ONE MTA employee on the train? I know the MTA guy's safety is a 2ndary concern, but Suppose someone attacks the guy? Does the police just wait to find his/her unconscious/dead body??
Seriously, how often do people even seen conductors on a train? How is one guy in a closet with a noisy door going do do anything for you when you're 6 cars down? Remember the last time someone got sick on the train? Who got the train to stop? Was it the conductor? No. It was you.
I think all this fear over the robotrains is silly. One difference I did notice was that the train was slower and the doors took longer to open. That sluggishness might have been b/c train operators now have to get used to more tasks. I'm just hoping that now that the robotrains are operational, there won't be anymore shutting down of the L on nights and weekends. That was horrible.
Erm--why do people with bikes ride the train?
Its not fair to compare OPTO L trains to OPTO G trains.... G trains are only four cars long.
Whats wrong with OPTO?!?! So many other metro systems in the world only use it, including London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Paris... True, those cities are safer than NY, but face it, a conductor lost here can be used to drive additional trains for more service elsewhere or man token booths.
Also, the reason why the driver has to look out is b/c there aren't TVs in the front of the platform yet.
Also, when the MTA installs the tech used in other systems that can open the door automatically after stopping at a station or closing it auto, then the driver will not hv to worry as much. CHANGE takes TIME.