Is Six Minutes Late "On Time"? The MTA Thinks So

greyrain's Flickr

According to the MTA (and the commuter railroad industry), a train that arrives within five minutes and 59 seconds of its scheduled arrival time is still not late. But an official advisory council says the MTA should set a higher standard than that, and change to a two minute window for the commuter trains. In a new report [pdf], the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA [PCAC] looks at the MTA's online metrics, and finds them wanting:

The problem for riders of both railroads [LIRR and Metro North] is that the standard OTP [On Time Performance] measurement is still unable to capture the true passenger experience. It does not reflect the number of passengers that were delayed each day, or how long they were delayed. It does not reveal how frequently passengers were asked to disembark from a terminated train midway during a trip, nor does it describe the crowding and discomfort they experience as a result. The LIRR, percentage-wise, has more terminated and canceled trains and more trains over 15 minutes late compared to Metro North.

The report concludes that the MTA does provide "some of the most transparent and detailed operational metrics among U.S. transit agencies; and this information is readily available on the MTA website... No major commuter railroad comes close to their level of operational performance disclosure, especially with the recent addition of metrics on delayed and canceled trains in Board materials and on the website... Yet, a true passenger based on-time metric still eludes the MTA." After reviewing the report, MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan told us, "We are continually working to improve our metrics to provide the most transparent and helpful information for our customers."

But today some LIRR customers want more than just transparency—they want a refund for yesterday morning's ice storm service. WCBS reports that there was "nearly a revolt on the LIRR, as express trains passed right by many passengers-in-waiting without stopping, and many local trains were packed so full that people couldn’t squeeze in." The problem was that the LIRR ran on a weekend schedule, running half the usual number of trains during the morning rush hour, so that the anti-freeze de-icing trains could keep the third rail from freezing. But despite the weekend schedule, commuters still paid the peak fares. "We hate the Long Island Railroad," one commuter declared in no uncertain terms.

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By John Del Signore in News on February 3, 2011 3:04 PM

Comments [rss]

cmdrogogov

There is not a day that goes by when I don't wake up and thank life, the universe and everything for not having to waste nearly three hours of my life PER DAY on the LIRR.

The MTA in general is still utterly terrible, and needs a complete and comprehensive restructuring from the ground up as a fully city-run agency.

nvk

It doesn't help that the backbone of the subway is 100+ years old, and hardly anything has been done to improve it. (The MTA claims to have done stuff, but all they have done is made the problem worse by extending already congested lines, adding more riders)

You can't make a funnel put out more by lengthening the pipe at the bottom. Or by increasing the amount of crap you can toss in at the top.

Rod

please note that THERE is the MTA logo that cost you $5 million to design.

they thought they were losing customers in the 80s / 90s because they didn't have a hip modern logo!

nevermind the tens of millions to remove the old logo and post the new one.

and how much did we spend after 9/11 buying / posting those pointless flags and pride logos??

money sure is tight in govt

TeddyNYC

So if I arrive 4-6 minutes late at the station, my train should still be there since I'm not really late.

nicemarmot

Even by that loose definition, the LIRR is rarely on time. I took the same train to Fire Island every time last summer, and not once did it show up at Jamaica less than 10 minutes late. It was usually more like 20-30. Which is really great when you're trying to make a ferry connection.

candide08

The MTA is so out of touch on this. Their OTP measures (poorly) what happens to the TRAINS - not what happens to PASSENGERS.

A real On Time Performance measure would measure passenger experience - passenger hours delayed for example.

schmeep

Agreed- there are so many times that the local train runs express, making everyone get off, just so it can 'catch up' to the OTP.

Mordicai

Depends. Is six minutes late "on time" at YOUR job? Nobody would sweat it at mine, for instance. Not that I am ever late, because I am a disgustingly model employee.

Rod

but this is just the umpteenth example of govt cheating stats for PR purproses.

and people just keep believeing whatever the govt says

Mordicai

A plus or minus margin of error isn't really comparable to the falsification & under reporting of criminal statistics...but I take your meaning. I just feel like the MTA is disproportionately dumped on. Do I wish it was better? Of course. Do I think it is as bad as people like to pretend it is? Not a chance.

Gotham2002

I'll accept that as soon as the L.I.R.R go's back to accepting the old 2010 monthly fare $$

Dan

it doesnt happen THAT often, but it's super frustrating when the "on time" LIRR train is still late enough that the scheduled connecting train at jamaica decides to leave before the first arrives.

sluggita

I have to ride the B61 bus everyday, and 6 minutes late sounds like HEAVEN! How about waiting 45 minutes in the cold, then three or 4 buses come at once? Only 6 minutes late... shut up you wussies.

Steven Harris

3 of those buses were early, thus canceling out the first buses 40 minute delay.

Stevennnn

Apples to Oranges. Cannot compare a bus to a train.

Look at the train schedules. At the terminal stations there is using another 5-10 minutes of padding. In order for a train to actually be late it needs to be running about 10-15 past the schedule time.