HOW DOES YOUR SUBWAY LINE RATE?

Check out the State of the Subways Report from NYPIRG’s Straphanger’s Campaign. It’s a very interesting report. Here’s why the people at Straphangers do what they do:

First, riders are looking for information on the quality of their trips.
The MTA has, unfortunately, resisted putting detailed line-by-line
performance measures on their web site. In June 2003, the MTA did begin
posting its quarterly performance data on its website, www.mta.info.  However, none of this information is broken down by line.  Our profiles seek to fill this gap.

Second, our report cards provide a picture of where the subways are headed.  This
report card paints a picture of a stalled system:  Subway cars break
down a little more often, a troubling trend at a time when hundreds of
new technology subway cars have been coming on line.  The subways have
shown no improvement in regularity of arrivals or in making accurate
and understandable subway car announcements. On one measure we found
there was significant improvement: subway cars became cleaner.

Continued
progress will be a challenge.  The MTA is struggling to obtain all the
planned funding for its current rebuilding program, including rising
construction costs, a weak dollar and realizing $1 billion dollars from
the sale of its assets, such as its valuable Manhattan rail yards.

Lastly, we aim to give communities the information they need to win better service.  We
often hear from riders and neighborhood groups.  They will say, “Our
line has got to be worst.”  Or “We must be on the most crowded.”  Or
“Our line is much better than others.” 

For riders and
officials on lines receiving a poor level of service, our report will
help them make the case for improvements, ranging from increases in
service to major repairs.  That’s not just a hope.  In past years,
we’ve seen riders — including on some of the lines we found the worst —
win improvements, such as on the B, N and 5 lines.

For those
on better lines, the report can highlight areas for improvement.  For
example, riders on the 7 — once the best in the system — have pointed
to declines and won increased service.

This report is part
of a series of studies on subway and bus service.  For example, we
issue annual surveys on payphone service in the subways, subway car
cleanliness, and subway car announcements, as well as give out the
Pokey Awards for the slowest city bus routes.

Our reports can be found at www.straphangers.org/reports.html, as can our profiles.