So, the MTA offered some more information about the kinds of fare hikes they want to see. According to CityRoom, "Not only is it seeking an 8 percent increase in revenue from fares and tolls, to take effect July 2009, but also an additional 5 percent to take effect by January 2011 — for a cumulative increase of 13.4 percent over just 18 months." While MTA CEO Eliot Sander said, "I recognize that what we......

Photograph by unlisted sightings on Flickr On the day we learn the MTA wants to raise fares again, there's finally data to confirm what we all knew: NYC Transit offered up statistics that show on-time subway performance has gotten worse. The least on-time line is the 4--for the year ending with May 2008, the 4 was on-time only 79.7% of the time, compared with a systemwide average of 92.0%. And in May, the 4......

The Post has some fun stoking readers’ xenophobia with a story today about an upcoming subway ad campaign promoting Islam during Ramadan. Besides the predictable puns (“Train-ing Day for Jihadists,” “Allah board!” and “G-had train”), the story points to a connection between the “proselytizing” ad campaign and terrorism, an assertion based on a YouTube video intended to raise funds for the "You Deserve to Know" Subway Project. One of the talking heads in the......

One Bronx man’s entrepreneurial dream of bringing subs and strippers together under one roof has finally been crushed by a federal judge. It wasn’t the timeless “sandwiches and lapdances” concept that got owner Anthony "Cousin Vinny" Agnello in trouble, but rather his appropriation of Subway brand wrappers and menus for his hybrid venture on East Tremont Avenue, which he described in a flier published by Gawker in May: During the day, it is an extraordinary......

The Post has the latest "oh sweet Christ, what the hell is this thing in my food!?" story, and this one’s a keeper: 27-year-old John Agnesini plans to sue Subway after he found a large serrated knife baked into the bread of his 12-inch cold-cut sub. Agnesini bought it from a Subway on West 35th Street last month during his lunch break: After taking a few bites I could tell something didn't taste right. Then......

Would an anti-groping ad campaign provoke more frequent bad behavior in New York's pervy subway sleezes? Following last year's study by Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, transit officials began working on a public awareness campaign to stop the offenders; the study found 63% of respondents have been sexually harassed and 10% reported having been sexually assaulted in the subway system. The NY Post reports on concerns that have stalled the campaign.Anti-groping campaigns have been launched......

Due an "incident with a forklift at the Westchester Yard," the MTA says riders should be prepared for "extensive delays in service on the 4, 5 and 6 trains at this time." What kind of incident, you ask? Well, according to WNBC, "The forklift hit and damaged the third rail preventing trains from getting out of the yard for the afternoon rush hour." Oh, crap. Update: WABC 7 says everything's back to normal, but as......

“Crushed by crowds? Have to wait for more than one bus to go by? It’s not your imagination. Transit officials have never caught up to the waves of new bus riders,” says Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign. His group is reporting that despite an increase in average weekday bus ridership of 22 percent over the past ten years (to 2.45 million), weekday service on city buses increased less than 15 percent. In Brooklyn, the......

The latest happening from the pranksters at Improv Everywhere – masters at getting weird looks from people as they plug in big desktop computers at Starbucks, flood Abercrombie & Fitch with shirtless average Joes, and (the best) freeze in Grand Central – is all about twins. Organizers recruited nine sets of identical twins in matching outfits to ride the 6 train uptown, sit across from each other and mirror each other's gestures. It's not The......

Photograph of people waiting for the 6 train by Union Square by Unlisted Sightings on Flickr For everyone who waited too long for a subway in April--NYC Transit revealed that train delays were up 44% in April, which is the latest month with available data. The Post lists the top reasons: 1. Track work (delaying 4,117 trains; in April 2007, there were about half the number of delays due to track work) 2. Riders......

Photograph by shveckle on Flickr The MTA announced the long-expected news that its economic situation is grim. In fact, MTA CEO and Executive Director Elliot Sander told reporters, “Should riders be concerned? Absolutely. Am I concerned? Absolutely.” The depressing highlights: "Tax revenues are $120 million below projections" and will be $280 million under projections by the end of the year. Rising fuel prices means the MTA is $60 million over budget. All told, the......

Stand clear of the breaking water, please. A husband and wife were riding the subway to Bellevue so she could give birth but never quite made it to the hospital, settling for delivery on the F train platform at East Broadway. Yep, a husband relied on the MTA to get his wife to the hospital, despite the fact that entire generations of New Yorkers have grown old and died while waiting for the F. But......

The subway ad mash-up artist has been hard at work underground. Here's some of the latest creations, including a shot of a poster he was still working on when someone snapped a picture.......

Ever wonder what that mysterious delay on your subway line was caused by? It could have been MTA worker Michael Martin sneaking away from his duties to write down the latest line in his screenplay (or for the latest screenplay he was hired to write, New Jack City 2). NY1 reports on Martin's rise from the underground to the mainstream.Martin was a subway conductor, and after totaling his car in an accident, entered a screen-writing......

Toronto street artist, Posterchild, sent us the above photo of a piece he recently installed with the help of Jason Eppink (he of the Pixelator). He'll be installing three more ("tonight or soon!"), which will say "Fast," "Sell" and "Out". (The pictured one may look like it says "Bold" but it actually says "Hold.") No word on whether or not they'll be in the vicinity of the 14th and 8th station. If you aren't......

Photo via gmpicket's flickr. In one of life's crueler ironies, it's usually either extreme heat or extreme rain that forces people to stand sweltering on a subway platform or out into the drenching elements. Today it's the former: subway service is still a disaster on several of the city's lines. Residual delays still exist on the F, G, and 7, but the MTA has sorted out the trouble on those lines with the help......

Photograph of a makeshift stop sign, since traffic lights were out, at Bergen St. and Flatbush Ave. by steuben on Flickr Yesterday afternoon, a few manhole fires caused a load of problems for Brooklyn residents in the middle of a sweltering weekend. One fire, at Smith and Dean Streets in Boerum Hill, seriously compromised subway service for the G, F, and 4 lines, not to mention affected the 2 and 3 lines. WNBC explained......

Photo, by ultraclay! at flickr Pity the poor tourist who comes upon this ad hoc weekend subway service advisory message scribbled on a series of dry erase boards at the Fulton St. station in Manhattan. Actually, pity any subway rider who pauses at great length to try to determine the meaning behind this advisory and then comprehends what it ultimately means for them to get to where they need to go. The above photo......

Streetfilms had five camera operators covering yesterday’s suspenseful rush hour race between a cyclist, driver and MTA commuter, and they’ve quickly edited together a video of the competition, which takes a bit of inspiration from Mike Figgis’s split-screen movie Time Code, sometimes showing the contestants battling it out simultaneously. And Streetsblog also points us to today’s New York Sun, which is reporting on a sudden bike shortage at shops around town. Some bike shop owners......

The 7th Annual “Great NYC Commuter Race” went down this morning, with three commuters racing to see who could get from Fort Greene to Union Square during rush hour in the least amount of time. Social worker Jamie Favaro traveled by bicycle; April Green, who works at an art foundation, took a foolish bus/subway combo; and photographer Emmanuel Fuentebella made irresponsible carbon footprints with his car. And like the story of John Henry, the......

A 55-year-old man fell onto the subway tracks at Delancey Street yesterday just as the F train was pulling into the station – and survived by lying down in the disgusting shallow trough between the rails. The unidentified man became suddenly ill and fell onto the tracks at 1:34 p.m, but this time there was no hero to jump in and pull him out. The motorman on the incoming train hit the emergency brakes when......

Jim O'Connor, the author of a book titled Cuss Control, visited New York last week in an effort to educate people on how they can curb their cursing. O'Connor is not a complete scold--his book states that its purpose is to simply reduce swearing to situations that actually call for it, like when you hit your thumb with a hammer. In NYC, perhaps that situation would be more like when you accidentally bump into a......

A man suspected of a series of subway platform purse snatchings was arrested and charged yesterday. Mark McIntosh was "led away handcuffed by police near Union Square" and he offered these words to the public--and his six victims, "I'm sorry for what I did. I apologize, deeply." According to police, MacIntoch was targeting women waiting for morning subways to feed his drug habit. He would grab their purses and then run into the subway tunnels......

Some subway riders and transit advocates are upset about NYC Transit closing subway bathrooms between midnight and 5 a.m. for cleaning. As AMNY puts it, "Subway toilets are the pit stop of last resort," but many New Yorkers, whether they are "leaving bars, clubs, or their work shift," rely on them. One ironworker said, "Where do I go now? Wet my pants?" Others suggest the closings will mean worse things--one station agent says, "If......

The police believe the same man who has robbed four female subway commuters last week stole the purse of another woman yesterday morning. A 24-year-old woman had been waiting on the Rector Street subway platform when, according to WABC 7, "the suspect grabbed her purse just before 10 a.m." She was knocked down and the suspect ran into the subway tracks, threw the purse on the ground after taking the cash, and ran into......

A violent scene unfolded on the platform of the 23rd Street and 6th Avenue F train yesterday afternoon when a person was stabbed by a homeless man. Clarence Carter Cochran had a steak knife plunged into his chest when he tried to stop the homeless man from bothering a pregnant friend. According to the Post, Cochran and his friend were talking when Herron Wilson, "who was screaming wildly, lunged at the woman and spit on......

The police are searching for a man who robs subway passengers during their morning commutes. He targets his victims on the subway platform, grabs their purses and then runs into the subway tunnels. The suspect has committed four robberies in the past five days, all during the morning rush hour, all with female victims. Here's a list of the robberies, via WNBC:The man first struck at approximately 8:30 a.m. Sunday on the L subway at......

Photograph of the crowd waiting for a 1, 2 or 3 train at Times Square by ianqui on Flickr New data supports what everyone's been thinking: Ridership for the subway--and almost every other mass transit option--is up versus last year. So far, subway ridership is up almost 5% for the first three months of 2008 versus same period last year, and bus ridership is up 1.1%. Metro-North and LIRR both have seen ridership increases......

This morning, New York Water Taxi introduced their new commuter ferry route for residents of the Rockaways in Queens. While it's not a straight shot--it stops once at the Brooklyn Army Terminal--it will move up to 400 commuters from Riis Landing to Wall St.'s Pier 11. The ferry service can almost guarantee a commute time of 60 minutes--there's not a lot of traffic on the water that can't be avoided. The return trips depart Manhattan......

Photograph by Sacha Lecca, which Gothamist published in 2006. Today it’s on the cover of amNY. Flooding. Crowding. Filth. These are just a few of the “ten plagues” being visited daily upon New York commuters, according to transit activists at the Straphangers Campaign. Unlike the ten plagues that cursed the commute of ancient Egyptians, New Yorkers have – so far – been spared swarms of locusts on the L; though bed bugs have been......