The findings of the Straphangers 2008 Subway Report Card are in and there’s lots to read over at their website. Here’s an overview from the site:

–Our findings show the following picture of how New York City’s subways are doing:

–The best subway line in the city is the L with a MetroCard Rating of $1.40.
The L ranked highest because it performs best in the system on two
measures—regularity of service and announcements—and well above average
on three other measures: frequency of scheduled service, delays caused
by mechanical breakdowns and the percentage of dirty cars. The line did
not get a higher rating because it performed well below average on: a
chance of getting a seat during rush hour. The L runs between 14th
Street/Eighth Avenue in Manhattan and Canarsie in Brooklyn. The
previous top-rated line—the 1—dropped to a fourth-place tie.
 

–The
7 came in second behind the L with a MetroCard Rating of $1.30. Both
the 7 and L are in a pilot “Line General Managers” program, which
appears to be benefiting riders. According to New York City
Transit leadership: “the new positions will be responsible for
virtually all elements of the day-to-day operations on both of these
lines [and] will be given their own railroads and the responsibility
for running them to the satisfaction of our customers.”⁶
The 7 performed above average on four measures: frequency of scheduled
service, regularity of service, delays caused by mechanical breakdowns
and chance of getting a seat during rush hour. The line did not get a
higher rating because it performed below average on: the percentage of
dirty cars and adequate announcements. The 7 runs between Times Square
in Manhattan and Flushing, Queens.

–The W was ranked the worst subway line, with a MetroCard Rating of 70 cents. The
W line has a low level of scheduled service and performs below average
on four other measures: regularity of service, car breakdowns, car
cleanliness and announcements. The W did not receive a lower rating
because it performed above average on: a chance of getting a seat
during rush hour. The W line operates between Whitehall Street in lower
Manhattan and Astoria, Queens. In last year’s survey, the W tied for
the worst line with the C.
 

–Overall,
we found a weak showing for subway service. Car breakdowns worsened
from a mechanical failure every 156,624 miles in 2006 to one every
149,646 miles in 2007. Subway car announcements deteriorated from 90%
in the second half of 2006 to 85% in the second half of 2007. Two other
measures showed no sign of improvement: regularity of arriving trains
and car cleanliness. (We were unable to compare the      remaining two measures.)