More New Yorkers are satisfied with the overall comfort and convenience of using the subway, according to a survey conducted by the people who run the subway. In a press release sent out today, the MTA announced the results of its annual rider survey, which covers all the agency's operations. 84% of subway customers reported being satisfied with the overall comfort and convenience of using the subway, up six percentage points from last year. Of course, this means 16% were not satisfied, but these Negative Nancys probably just need to get over their fear of rats crawling across their faces.
The survey says the Countdown Clocks are a big hit, with 96% of customers declaring satisfaction with the clocks. Overall satisfaction with local bus service increased to 70% from 62% last year, and 76% were satisfied with information about planned service changes. But this survey isn't a total pat on the back for the MTA: customer satisfaction declined on both the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North. Of course, there's an explanation for that, says the MTA.
While it's true that customer satisfaction with the LIRR as a whole decreased to 78% from 89%, the MTA notes that the survey was distributed a few weeks after train cancellations and standing-room-only conditions resulting from a May 7 Amtrak derailment occurred. (That was a nightmare.) And customer satisfaction with Metro North as a whole decreased to 89%, from 93% last year, but the MTA blames that on "issues particular to the New Haven Line, including winter weather challenges, an aging car fleet and track outages." Excuses, excuses. If the MTA really wants to boost satisfaction on Metro North, they need to stop blaming Mother Nature and start adding more bar cars.
