I recently lost my monthly MetroCard only one week into my purchase. Luckily I had the receipt and was able to call the service line and speak to a representative. Needless to say, I was dreading the experience of speaking to someone over the phone and possibly dealing with an attitude from someone who quite frankly couldn’t care less about my lost MetroCard. While I explained what had happened and gave the MTA worker my reference code, I realized I was having one of the most professional and enjoyable customer service experiences ever. So much so, I asked to speak to her manager once we were done so I could let her supervisor know just how much I appreciated the professionalism and ease at which my problem was solved. I could not believe it. I usually spend about 15 percent of my day railing against the MTA. After that experience, I realized I need to be much more intentional as to how and where I place my complaints.
Lately I have been furious at the quality of service delivered by the MTA. I leave my house early because I never know if I am going to spend 15 minutes in between stations just sitting on the train with no explanation as to why there are delays. Anyone who has taken the subway recently has dealt with delays, dirty trains, intercom systems that are indecipherable and therefore useless when the conductor tells a packed train that they’ve decided to switch tracks and go express just as the doors are closing. My list of gripes could honestly fill my column for the entire year.
What is actually the most egregious offense is the recent excuse of the MTA that essentially boils down to the MTA has poor service because poor people (read Black and Latinx folks) evade fares. When I heard this excuse last week I could have scaled the walls of the MTA building myself and stormed into the board room and flipped over their mahogany table. How dare the MTA try to pass the buck and blame their mismanagement and incompetence on less wealthy New Yorkers of color? It is so trite and predictable, I am almost mad at myself for being surprised they would stoop to this tired stereotype. Anyone who has ever been to subway stations near Lincoln Center or Carnegie Hall has seen blue haired ladies walk through the emergency exit without paying and without a care in the world.
The MTA has a lot of work to do, and I will continue to put pressure on them when and where I can. However, it is also imperative to remember that there are hardworking New Yorkers at the MTA who work tirelessly to make our lives a bit better, and for that I am thankful.
Christina Greer, Ph.D., is an associate professor at Fordham University, the author of “Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream,” the co-host of the new podcast FAQ-NYC and the host of The Aftermath on Ozy.com.