Amsterdam News Staff
Delays, shut downs, crowds and accidents. Is public perception correct that subway service and local train service in general have gotten worse over the past several years? With the upcoming increase in fares, many commuters are unhappy with the service provided by public transportation. But is the perception reality?
When asked to comment on the recent issues with the subway system, a spokesperson from the MTA told the AmNews about the recent improvements made and what the MTA is working on for the future.
“We’ve added $157 million back into service and service-quality enhancements since 2012,” the spokesperson said. “Over the past 30 years, we’ve invested more than $100 billion through the Capital Program—in all the vital infrastructure that keeps New York moving. These investments have done so much more than revitalize our transit system. They’ve revitalized our region, enabling improvements that have brought customers back to our system in droves. Today’s ridership is at all-time high levels. Before October 2013, we’d never recorded 6 million daily subway riders. Last year, we exceeded that number on 21 days.”
The spokesperson also mentioned that the 2015 to 2019 Capital Program would “continue to renew our system to keep it safe and reliable with projects that include track replacement, structural repairs, signal system improvements and replacement fleets.”
The spokesperson added, “We will begin installing communications-based train control on the E, F, M and R lines in Queens, and the B, D, F and M lines in Manhattan. This system—which is fully in place on the L line and under construction on the 7 line—allows us to run more trains, move far more people, ease crowding and provide better service.” The MTA plans to replace 86 miles of subway track with “safer, smoother track.”
But what about now? New Yorkers can be impatient. TWU Local 100 spokesperson Jim Gannon understands the frustration, but he wishes his constituents didn’t have to take so much abuse.
“The workers who interact most with the public are bus operators and station agents” Gannon told the AmNews. “Train operators and commuters have little interaction. They try to be courteous, but dealing with angry or impatient passengers is part of the job. And not a delightful part. Most incidents between a rider and a transit worker usually starts with a passenger angry about the MTA, poor service. But they take it out on the shield.”
One person who some New Yorkers might not expect to be on the side of the train operators is Gene Russianoff, staff attorney and chief spokesperson for the Straphangers Campaign. In speaking to the AmNews, Russianoff wanted to remind New Yorkers of how train service used to be and how things have improved over the years.
“People get more demanding, and rightfully so, expecting the trains to run better, and when they don’t, they get ticked off,” said Russianoff. “But there’s a reason why we didn’t raise a fight over the fare hike that’s coming down. The reason is that we didn’t think it was outrageous, given the enormous financial problems the MTA faces. Also, there are 20 subway lines in New York, and 11 of them are overcapacity. You don’t look forward to a daily commute.”
But what about other train lines? An LIRR spokesperson said there were no problems with overcrowding on that line and that the LIRR has done well with adapting to the new normal weatherwise.
“Generally, the LIRR does not have an overcrowding problem and most likely did not experience much overcrowding during the storm because, although there may have been fewer trains available in the hours after the system was shut down, there were also fewer customers using the trains,” said the spokesperson. “As far as weather-related issues are concerned, the LIRR has adopted many new protocols over the last five years that we believe has improved our service during weather emergencies.” He then advised the AmNews to go to the LIRR’s website, which explains their storm monitoring, service and train protocols during inclement weather.
But what about the longer commutes? Many New Yorkers that the AmNews talked to complained of longer commutes on the subway than they’re used to. Russianoff said they’re not wrong about the longer commutes, but chalked them up to the season rather than put blame on those providing the service.
“I don’t think it’s anyone’s imagination,” Russianoff said. “I take the R from Brooklyn, and sometimes it takes 20 minutes for a train, but it’s usually because of the winter and the snow. It’s not like that during the spring or fall.
“I think it’s less the equipment, which used to be the big problem, and more the stress of the cold weather and then the crowding that makes the performance not so hot this time of year. Hopefully, it’ll get better as the weather gets better. People feel like they’re getting a raw deal.”
If that’s the case, for many New Yorkers, spring can’t come fast enough. But until then, it might help to remember that the workers underground are just doing their jobs.
“Most people who verbally abuse transit workers or physically try to abuse transit workers … there’s stuff going on in their own lives that have nothing to do with a bus or taking the train,” said Gannon. “Service can be the best, but it doesn’t matter in that moment.”
