September 19, 2005
MTA Mind Games
With a century-old subway, we expect track work and construction to cause some issues with our travels. But when the subway's service advisories (via email and in-station signage) fail to communicate changes, what are riders supposed to do? Gothamist Weather's Joe Schumacher encountered the insane and inane "handling" of the diverted 2/3 service over the weekend, surmising that "All the MTA had to say was the 3 isn't running and the 2 is replaced by a local-running 5," but instead "put up three posters that contradict each other, are incomplete, or are just plain wrong." That last part seems to describe the MTA to a T at times. When Gothamist attempted to take the 2/3 from Chambers yesterday, an MTA employee had to personally tell the people waiting on the platform about the changes - the only sign that mentioned the 5 train was running was handwritten and not as noticeable. What good are the emailed service advisories from the MTA when one line runs on another's tracks isn't mentioned?
Do you get service advisories from the MTA? We're pretty glad that they decided to roll up all the advisories into one email, versus emailing a separate email for each line. You can sign up for MTA emails here and you can also get them from the Straphangers (right column).
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I grew up in NYC, took the 2/3 and 4/5 to school for 6 years, English is my native language, and I have degrees from a couple of the most famous universities in the world....and I was completely confused by the "2/3 not running, take the 5" thing a couple weekends ago. I ended up just thinking "f#ck it -- I'll just walk across town in Manhattan" rather than figuring it out.
It wasn't just that the 5 was running on the 2 line or the 2 was making local stops--the whole downtown thing was f*cked up. The 5 was running on the 2 line only uptown, and the 2 was running locally on the 1 line downtown, but EXPRESS on the 5 line UPTOWN.
Trying to get to Fulton Street yesterday, I took the 1 local to Chambers, then switched to the 2, which made the rest of the local stops to South Ferry, then on a super-secret track wound up on the uptown-bound 5 line. This upset people to no end, because we took a track that wasn't actually noted on the map. The conductor was no help and obviously the signs weren't. We had a near riot at South Ferry when people in the rear cars couldn't get off. They got that the car wasn't turning around and heading uptown again, but couldn't wrap their minds around the fact that there might be more tracks than are displayed on the map--so I guess they thought we were going to drive off into the river.
Crazy. Remind me to stay off the subways this weekend.
Well, at least the L train service advisories don't lie anymore. I missed last train on countless occasions when the signage said trains stopped running at midnight. Ha! Try 11:30, like the posters now say.
for once the F doesn't seem like such a bad line...
who am i kidding! next time i get on it will surely run express past my station with no warning.
does anyone think the reason why the MTA system is so messed up is because the staff is composed mostly of blacks. I do!
I have zero sympathy here. While I agree that the MTA is very screwed up, this is something you can become accustomed to just by being alert, tenacious and resourceful.
The thing is, if you've lived here long enough, you've come to expect things like this. And if this catches you by surprise, then you're woefully unaware of your surroundings. It's true that it sucks when this happens, but those are the breaks. If you plan well, you can transfer trains at various stations where connecting service is adequate. And this thing between the 2/3 and the 4/5 - this is the third time in two months that they made this switchup, and it's not that difficult to grasp if you know that the 2/3/4/5 connect (as do the J/M and R/W at their own junction) at the south part of the island.
In this particular case, I don't even know what the complaint is. Every line was served adequately, it seems; minor redirections (including reverse-direction local stops) are a pain in the ass but a minor inconvenience for work that would otherwise shut the entire line down. Plus, I go through the Chambers St. 1/2/3 station every day, and the conductor on the South Ferry-bound trains never fails to make a very clear announcement about the last 5 cars not letting off at South Ferry. Furthermore, with a service redirection like you mentioned, they'd surely announce it frequently and clearly. There's an small chance that you had a bad conductor who said NOTHING - should be fired if that was the case - but that announcement has never failed to happen when I'm on a South Ferry-bound train. Then again, I can see all these 20-something kids sitting their on their iPods, choosing to tune out of their surroundings, ignoring every bulletin and announcement out of laziness, flipping out when they end up unexpectedly at South Ferry.
I know the MTA service announcements are hard to read; that's why I don't skim past them carelessly, like I see most people do.
That is if you can even hear the announcements. The train I was on had long announcements there were so garbled that simply could not be heard or understood.
Question: if the new 4/5/6 and 2/3 trains have digital displays, why can't they simply change the displays ON THE TRAIN to show what's happening? The display on the outside of the train is digital, so why not change that to flash both numbers if one train is running on a different track?
Maybe the MTA's left Hand is not properly tlking to each other? It wouldn't be the first time...
brianvan, allow me to clarify. The people who wanted to started the riot at South Ferry did not do so because they wanted to get out at South Ferry, but because they didn't know where the train was going next. The conductor made extremely poor announcements regarding service changes, and got into a number of verbal arguments with customers in which he swore at them. One of these arguments happened at South Ferry, so the train sat there for 15 minutes, while people in the rear cars, not knowing what was going on, began to wonder if the train was going to go anywhere, and if so, where. I only know that because I was sitting in the conductor car, in the first seat next to his booth.
Service was most definitely NOT adequate, as the average wait for a train the middle of the day was more than 30 minutes. The trains were packed like rush hour and people were shut out when the doors closed because they were too full.
Yes, those of us interested in subway (I've read numerous books about it and been down into the tracks myself) know that there are many tracks which can get trains from one published track to another with no problem, but it certainly isn't clear from looking at a map that that is the case. And as I said, the conductor didn't announce anything about a "next stop" after South Ferry. I asked him point-blank before I got on if he was stopping at Fulton St., he said yes, and I figured I'd just hang tight until I either got there or it was apparent it wouldn't happen.
I think most commuter's main frustration is that the service change signs are almost impossible to figure out, conductors and other MTA employees are rude and unhelpful, and other commuters make things no easier. If we could speak with our dollars and go elsewhere, we would, but most of us can't afford to take cabs everywhere and don't have the time to walk across the island.
You also say "if you've lived here long enough, you come to expect things like this." Well, yes. But what if you haven't? What if you're relatively new to the city, or what if you're a tourist (since most tourist traffic comes on the weekends). These people paid their $2 just like you (perhaps more than you, since they might be riding on a pay-per-ride card, and you're using a month-long pass that provides you with a discounted rate), and they deserve adequate service, service changes that are easy to comprehend, and staff that provide them with answers and directions rather than cursing them out. Why should ANYONE have to figure out cryptic service change notices or put up with "service" that would get anyone else fired in a minute?
Right on straphanger! I've never understood the MTA apologists; we're not insulting your mother here, people. The MTA deserves to be called out for what it really is- an expensive, sorry sack of shit that is outdone by pretty much every other mass transit system in the world. Mexico City's subway is cleaner. Employees at Moscow's subway are more helpful and informative. And don't even start the "but its runs 24 hours" BS defense...
I never really rely on anything the MTA has to say anymore. They’re usually inconsistent, contradicting, overpaid, rude, and generally disappointing when it comes to life saving vs. handbook protocol. The "there's a train in front of us, this is why we're moving so slow" BS is tiresome, I was waiting on the platform for 30 minutes, how is there a train in front of us, unless, it too was waiting in the tunnel for 29 minutes, which by handbook protocol I believe deserves an announcement on the platform... back to inconsistencies... it's a friggin' perfect circle of constant BS. Btw, when are fares going up again?
Anyone over 40 remembers the old South Ferry-Bowling Green shuttle, which ended in 1977. That was the "super-secret track" you were on. Why be so concerned for the tourists? It's an unexpected adventurous ride, better than anything at the Disneyfied Times Square. Something to tell their friends when they get home.
The IND 6th Avenue line can also be routed onto the Williamsburg Bridge, by another top secret switch track...
www.forgotten-ny.com