A lot of news items happened this past week, let's get right into it.
1. The new 2/5 strip maps: MTA New York City Transit finally solved a problem on the 2 and 5 lines which uses the same car model (R142), those in-car strip maps. Unlike the R160 car counterparts which run on the lettered lines (E/F/N/Q/J/M) that have the interchangeable display, the R142 cars built in 2000-01 have a fixed strip map which can work on only one of the two IRT lines. A 10 car train can have all 2 line strip maps then suddenly that trainset is put into service (scheduled or not) on the 5 line instead, making the 2 strip map useless except a disclaimer on the lower left corner "Route Change, Map Not In Use". However, a train with 2 line maps may run on the 2 line then be rerouted on the 5 line between Bronx and Brooklyn. Well after 16 years, NYCT finally got it right with the new 2/5 strip maps which combine both lines together in a single map. The news release claims this is part of NY State Governor Cuomo's initiative in improving customer service and communication. Nor bad for Cuomo to take credit for something that took 16 years to solve. Additionally, the new strip maps won't solve the problem of wrong automated announcements, such as announcing "Transfer to the A/C" during a weekend closure at Fulton Street. or the Bx41SBS transfer when it's not running after 9 PM. More smokescreens by the MTA NYCT.
2. The W makes a comeback: The W line ran weekdays only between Ditmars Blvd-Astoria and Whitehall Street in Lower Manhattan and like some bus routes, it's making a comeback along with the rest of the pre June 2010 service pattern on the N/Q/R lines thanks to the impending opening of Phase 1 of the Second Ave subway line. The W line is the latest of subway and bus lines being undone from the infamous June, 2010 service cuts - - the B37 bus route in Brooklyn was restored while recently the M5 bus route is finally being shortened due to the length and poor on-time performance. Just don't look for the V train to come back anytime soon, the V line was replaced by an extended M train and that was the MTA's best move in 2010.
3. NYC Sanitation throws food away: Yesterday, Gary Schlesinger posted a Facebook video taken on Feb. 3 in Chinatown that shows two NYC Sanitation workers throwing out fruits and veggies from a produce store - - the video went viral with plenty of outrage across New Yorkers about all that food wasted. Mind you, the workers were ordered by their enforcement officer or supervisor to throw it out when the store was cited for illegally obstructing sidewalk space. However, it is disgusting when the food was thrown out instead of confiscating the produce then donating it to a church or a homeless shelter. There are thousands of hungry New Yorkers who desperately need good food like fruits and vegetables. Also if Sanitation has the gall to throw food out, why can't they throw away traffic cones and trash cans which residents use to illegally hold parking spaces?
4. Obama disses Scalia: Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia passed away last weekend and his funeral is set for tomorrow (2/20). Justice Scalia is one of the more conservative justices and well respected among his colleagues who spent nearly 30 years on the bench. President Obama chose not to attend Scalia's funeral tomorrow. All I can is that's disgraceful for any President not to attend a funeral of a Supreme Court Justice, liberal or conservative. It's only 11 months to go (as of tomorrow) until we get a new President in the White House.
Enjoy your weekend all.
Friday, February 19, 2016
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Saturday (2/6) observations in the subway and more NYCT website errors
Last weekend (2/6 through early morning of 2/8), two subway lines were not running in Manhattan due to trackwork, and another three were rerouted in both directions. The J and Q lines were not running in Manhattan while the A/C/E lines were diverted in both directions - - the A/C was running on the F in between West 4th Street and Jay Street-Metrotech and the E was running also on the F line between Queens and West 4th Street.
Unless you know to check the MTA website, consider yourself lost because conductors working on adjacent lines were giving wrong directions - - as well station platforms on the J which should never have been open in the first place. Here is a short timeline.
Prior to my Saturday outing, I took this picture at Fulton Street on the J - - with the wrong directions - there is no A/C at Fulton St on that same Feb 5-8 weekend. That was corrected with a new set of posters on my Saturday outing (see before and after photos, thanks to NYCT's Twitter account for getting this done)
Now for the timeline on Saturday 2/6
10:55 AM - - I arrived at Court Square and asked the conductor on the Manhattan-bound 7 train (Car #7848) if I could "transfer" to the E train here. The conductor pointed to the exit and told me "Yes, straight ahead and downstairs". These instructions are incorrect, Court Square on the E side is closed.
11:10 AM - - On a southbound 4 train (car #7704) as we arrived at 14th Street-Union Square "Transfer to the ....Q.... train" automated announcement was made - - there is no Q service in Manhattan
11:15 AM - - southbound 6 train (car 2151) at Canal Street, conductor announced only the N and R transfers. She is correct as there is no J and Q service at this complex. I walked over to the J platform via the N/Q lower level and saw plenty of posters - - and to no surprise at all, nobody reads them. Conductors on the N line were making clear announcements about no Q trains running so customers can hop on and change at Atlantic/Pacific for the Q shuttle bus or stay on to Coney Island for the Q shuttle train. I continued to the J platform where I saw things that are wrong, both by customers and NYC Transit planners - - I fault customers for not reading the paper signs about no J service and also take blame for NYCT brass not reassigning personnel to the J platform area at Canal St and Chamber Street (there is one direct exit to street from the J platform at Canal which remains open.)
If you look down and can't tell what those two red lights on the tracks mean, something is wrong with you. This is the customer' fault.
People waiting for the J - - good luck - - next J train will arrive within the next 36-40 hours. Note the posters are literally right in front of their faces.
Here is one of many posters at the Canal St complex.
When the J is not running at Canal Street, NYCT should close the Centre Street street level entrance to the J platform - it is a minor inconvenience as the entrances to the northbound 6 on Lafayette Street and the rest of the complex are just around the block, no more than 200 feet away. I went back to the southbound 6 platform where I saw the PA/CIS was showing the next 6 train was 13 minutes away. So I took a walk on Lafayette where I saw an old B51 bus Guide A Ride.at the Lafayette and Walker Street bus stop. The B51 bus route was discontinued in June, 2010
At Chambers Street on the J, there was no NYCT personnel telling customers about no J service - only tape and signs were present.
11:41 AM - - took a southbound 4 train (car #1226) one stop to Fulton - this is the ugliest part of the trip. Not only did the conductor allow the automated A/C/J transfer announcements at Fulton Street, a customer asked him how to get to Myrtle/Broadway on the J and M lines in Brooklyn. The conductor advised the customer to take uptown trains to Canal Street and "transfer" to the J - - that is soooo wrong so I told the customer to stay on the 4/5 express to 14th Street then take the L to the M (via. transfer at Myrtle/Wyckoff) instead. It feels good to come to the rescue of a lost customer when he was given bad directions by a NYCT employee - - many of these conductors should be cognizant in the major service disruptions happening on nights and weekends.
Oh and speaking about the Q not running in Manhattan and proofreading - - looks like NYCT needs to cross check better on their MTA website, This is from last weekend with information on the E diverted along the F line
This coming President's Day weekend (2/12 through early AM on 2/16) southbound F trains are running on the E line between Queens and Manhattan - - look at the directions to reach Lexington Ave and 63rd Street station from Queens - - you cannot transfer from Lexington/53 Street on the E/M to an Uptown 6 train (at 51st Street, through the transfer passage) because Uptown 6 trains are running express that same weekend - bypassing 51st Street. Proofread and cross-check, NYCT.
One big bright spot I must tell at Fulton, NYCT personnel at the 4/5 side of the A/C staircases were asking customers if they have Unlimited Metrocards and if they do, suggest going outside and walk one block over for the R to Jay Street for A/C. It's too bad the majority of times I observe are either wrong information or wrong announcements. As I made my way back to the 7 train, I got caught in the line suspension due to switch problems and there were announcements about no 7 trains between Manhattan and Queens. But guess what I heard right after that 7 suspension announcement? An automated announcement about the E line diversion which suggests to take the 7 between Queens and Manhattan. How confusing is that to hear two contradictory announcements within a minute apart?.
This coming weekend, the same J and Q sections of their respective lines will not run - - that means it's 3 days worth of wrong announcements and wrong directions by NYCT personnel. It's too bad supervisors and managers act like they never ride the subway on weekends because if they really did then I would not be catching as many mistakes as I currently do. Conductors will say or allow "transfer to the J ...Q lines" at Manhattan stations. Or maybe I should ask myself this question - - do customers ever listen to these announcements then complain when the information they rely on from the announcement is wrong?
Unless you know to check the MTA website, consider yourself lost because conductors working on adjacent lines were giving wrong directions - - as well station platforms on the J which should never have been open in the first place. Here is a short timeline.
Prior to my Saturday outing, I took this picture at Fulton Street on the J - - with the wrong directions - there is no A/C at Fulton St on that same Feb 5-8 weekend. That was corrected with a new set of posters on my Saturday outing (see before and after photos, thanks to NYCT's Twitter account for getting this done)
Now for the timeline on Saturday 2/6
10:55 AM - - I arrived at Court Square and asked the conductor on the Manhattan-bound 7 train (Car #7848) if I could "transfer" to the E train here. The conductor pointed to the exit and told me "Yes, straight ahead and downstairs". These instructions are incorrect, Court Square on the E side is closed.
11:10 AM - - On a southbound 4 train (car #7704) as we arrived at 14th Street-Union Square "Transfer to the ....Q.... train" automated announcement was made - - there is no Q service in Manhattan
11:15 AM - - southbound 6 train (car 2151) at Canal Street, conductor announced only the N and R transfers. She is correct as there is no J and Q service at this complex. I walked over to the J platform via the N/Q lower level and saw plenty of posters - - and to no surprise at all, nobody reads them. Conductors on the N line were making clear announcements about no Q trains running so customers can hop on and change at Atlantic/Pacific for the Q shuttle bus or stay on to Coney Island for the Q shuttle train. I continued to the J platform where I saw things that are wrong, both by customers and NYC Transit planners - - I fault customers for not reading the paper signs about no J service and also take blame for NYCT brass not reassigning personnel to the J platform area at Canal St and Chamber Street (there is one direct exit to street from the J platform at Canal which remains open.)
If you look down and can't tell what those two red lights on the tracks mean, something is wrong with you. This is the customer' fault.
People waiting for the J - - good luck - - next J train will arrive within the next 36-40 hours. Note the posters are literally right in front of their faces.
Here is one of many posters at the Canal St complex.
When the J is not running at Canal Street, NYCT should close the Centre Street street level entrance to the J platform - it is a minor inconvenience as the entrances to the northbound 6 on Lafayette Street and the rest of the complex are just around the block, no more than 200 feet away. I went back to the southbound 6 platform where I saw the PA/CIS was showing the next 6 train was 13 minutes away. So I took a walk on Lafayette where I saw an old B51 bus Guide A Ride.at the Lafayette and Walker Street bus stop. The B51 bus route was discontinued in June, 2010
At Chambers Street on the J, there was no NYCT personnel telling customers about no J service - only tape and signs were present.
11:41 AM - - took a southbound 4 train (car #1226) one stop to Fulton - this is the ugliest part of the trip. Not only did the conductor allow the automated A/C/J transfer announcements at Fulton Street, a customer asked him how to get to Myrtle/Broadway on the J and M lines in Brooklyn. The conductor advised the customer to take uptown trains to Canal Street and "transfer" to the J - - that is soooo wrong so I told the customer to stay on the 4/5 express to 14th Street then take the L to the M (via. transfer at Myrtle/Wyckoff) instead. It feels good to come to the rescue of a lost customer when he was given bad directions by a NYCT employee - - many of these conductors should be cognizant in the major service disruptions happening on nights and weekends.
Oh and speaking about the Q not running in Manhattan and proofreading - - looks like NYCT needs to cross check better on their MTA website, This is from last weekend with information on the E diverted along the F line
This coming President's Day weekend (2/12 through early AM on 2/16) southbound F trains are running on the E line between Queens and Manhattan - - look at the directions to reach Lexington Ave and 63rd Street station from Queens - - you cannot transfer from Lexington/53 Street on the E/M to an Uptown 6 train (at 51st Street, through the transfer passage) because Uptown 6 trains are running express that same weekend - bypassing 51st Street. Proofread and cross-check, NYCT.
One big bright spot I must tell at Fulton, NYCT personnel at the 4/5 side of the A/C staircases were asking customers if they have Unlimited Metrocards and if they do, suggest going outside and walk one block over for the R to Jay Street for A/C. It's too bad the majority of times I observe are either wrong information or wrong announcements. As I made my way back to the 7 train, I got caught in the line suspension due to switch problems and there were announcements about no 7 trains between Manhattan and Queens. But guess what I heard right after that 7 suspension announcement? An automated announcement about the E line diversion which suggests to take the 7 between Queens and Manhattan. How confusing is that to hear two contradictory announcements within a minute apart?.
This coming weekend, the same J and Q sections of their respective lines will not run - - that means it's 3 days worth of wrong announcements and wrong directions by NYCT personnel. It's too bad supervisors and managers act like they never ride the subway on weekends because if they really did then I would not be catching as many mistakes as I currently do. Conductors will say or allow "transfer to the J ...Q lines" at Manhattan stations. Or maybe I should ask myself this question - - do customers ever listen to these announcements then complain when the information they rely on from the announcement is wrong?
Monday, February 8, 2016
Super Bowl 50 and those commercials
How about Super Bowl 50 at San Francisco yesterday? It's one for the books now with the AFC Champions Denver Broncos (led by Payton Manning in his 200th and final game of his Hall of Fame bound career) winning the game and the Vince Lombardi trophy over the NFC Champions, Carolina Panthers. 24-10 yesterday. This was Manning's second Super Bowl championship ring. Super Bowl 50 was the most watched TV broadcast ever with an estimated 161 million TV viewers who saw part or all of the game (not including live streaming).
Of course the game sometimes takes a backseat to those commercials and there were plenty of them, some good, a lot of bad and some that really stand out from the crowd. Here are my personal favorites of a select few which stand out, in no order of preference.
1. Kevin Hart Hyundai "First Date": Mr. Hart is very funny and this commercial is a howl. Hart plays an overprotective father who lends the family car for his daughter's first date then follows him all over the place. Clearly the best commercial is a mostly so-so crop
2. Doritos "Ultrasound Baby": Expectant wife has ultrasound procedure while her husband looks on as he is eating a bag of Doritos, He starts taunting the baby. I won't give away the ending of this ad but I can say I was floored when I first saw this. Doritos seems to produce the best SB commercials because they know two things that work all the time in the cuteness and laugh factors: babies and animals .
3. Doritos "Supermarket Dogs". Like the baby commercial, dogs bring the cuteness then the laughs. Watch as these three dogs try to elude the supermarket manager (who keeps chasing them out) in buying a bag of Doritos.
4. Toyota Prius "Longest Police chase": It takes a lot of imagination to produce a commercial about a bunch of bank robbers who use their Toyota Prius as their "getaway" vehicle and go all out in eluding police on a long chase that captures the world. And if you wondered who played the bad guys - - the corrupt Sobokta family from the critically acclaimed (and IMHO, the best police procedural show ever made in the history of television), The Wire. Not only we have a well made commercial, but we also have a mini-reunion of a family from The Wire.
5. Steve Harvey's T-Mobile redux: Gotta hand it to Steve Harvey - - he can make an embarassing mistake in announcing the wrong winner in the 2015 Miss Universe pageant into a funny T-Mobile commercial tat takes aim at Verizon;s colored balls.
6. Baldwin, Marino and Missy's Amazon Echo: The in-jokes and sarcasm go big time as NFL Hall of Fame player Dan Marino trades verbal shots with Alec Baldwin while Missy Elliot chimes in, Really cool stuff to watch.
Of course the game sometimes takes a backseat to those commercials and there were plenty of them, some good, a lot of bad and some that really stand out from the crowd. Here are my personal favorites of a select few which stand out, in no order of preference.
1. Kevin Hart Hyundai "First Date": Mr. Hart is very funny and this commercial is a howl. Hart plays an overprotective father who lends the family car for his daughter's first date then follows him all over the place. Clearly the best commercial is a mostly so-so crop
2. Doritos "Ultrasound Baby": Expectant wife has ultrasound procedure while her husband looks on as he is eating a bag of Doritos, He starts taunting the baby. I won't give away the ending of this ad but I can say I was floored when I first saw this. Doritos seems to produce the best SB commercials because they know two things that work all the time in the cuteness and laugh factors: babies and animals .
3. Doritos "Supermarket Dogs". Like the baby commercial, dogs bring the cuteness then the laughs. Watch as these three dogs try to elude the supermarket manager (who keeps chasing them out) in buying a bag of Doritos.
4. Toyota Prius "Longest Police chase": It takes a lot of imagination to produce a commercial about a bunch of bank robbers who use their Toyota Prius as their "getaway" vehicle and go all out in eluding police on a long chase that captures the world. And if you wondered who played the bad guys - - the corrupt Sobokta family from the critically acclaimed (and IMHO, the best police procedural show ever made in the history of television), The Wire. Not only we have a well made commercial, but we also have a mini-reunion of a family from The Wire.
5. Steve Harvey's T-Mobile redux: Gotta hand it to Steve Harvey - - he can make an embarassing mistake in announcing the wrong winner in the 2015 Miss Universe pageant into a funny T-Mobile commercial tat takes aim at Verizon;s colored balls.
6. Baldwin, Marino and Missy's Amazon Echo: The in-jokes and sarcasm go big time as NFL Hall of Fame player Dan Marino trades verbal shots with Alec Baldwin while Missy Elliot chimes in, Really cool stuff to watch.
7. Bud Light Amy Schumer/Seth Rogen party: I don't watch these two comedians but I was impressed at the way this commercial was handled - with a direct reference to Bill Pullman's famous speech in the original blockbuster Independence Day,
8. Mountain Dew PuppyMonkeyBaby.: Another howl - - just watch this and see the head of a puppy, the tail/midsection of a monkey and legs of a baby - - hence PuppyMonkeyBaby
There were others which were either good or bad. You can watch all of them on You Tube - - but the highlights of yesterdays game was Lady singing the best National Anthem ever while Beyonce, Chris Martin and Bruno Mars put on an excellent halftime show with flashbacks from old shows of previous halftime Super Bowls, including Michael and Whitney - - two artists whose lives ended too short. It was a good night for football and some entertainment.
Sunday, January 31, 2016
NYC Transit's storm response last weekend - an A for storm response and a D for miscommunication at 145th Street.
How about the storm response from the MTA last weekend? Except for a hiccup on the Long Island Railroad, most everything else went back to normal by Monday morning (1/25). The Jonas blizzard saw the east cost from North Carolina to Connecticut blanketed with snow - - surprisingly Boston only had a dusting compared to the storms of 2015.
Let's face it, I could go on about how NYC Transit didn't inform customers about some service changes on Friday night and Monday/Tuesday nights. But I can say that their performance in handling the storm outweighs the negatives. Well almost, as I was stuck waiting for a D train on Sunday morning, more on that later.
The highlight of MTA and NYC Transit's decision making was to allow underground-only subway service to continue throughout the storm, allowing about 40 percent of the subway network to run, mostly within Manhattan. (You can see the rush job on the underground map, it shows the D stopping at 36th Street in Brooklyn when it was running only in Manhattan and the Bronx.) Rather than shutting down the entire subway system or to let the trains run until they are stranded from a snowbank, the suspension of almost all above ground service was a solid, smart, and sensible plan to keep some amount of public transportation running. The problem was communication - - which even the MTA admitted they faltered in the communication process. The MTA's bus/train tracking application data was not working, making it harder to track buses and some subway lines during the storm.
Now for the Sunday morning debacle (on 1/24 ), which happened on the D line at 145th Street. I arrived at 8:50 AM waiting for an Uptown D train. At that time, the D was running only between Broadway-Lafayette Street in Manhattan and 205th Street-Norwood in the Bronx, however service to Coney Island was in the process of bring restored. The 145th Street station was one of a select few IND station which uses a makeshift PA/CIS (Customer Information System) setup using block signals to determine a train's position relative to the station you are at. Unlike the full fledged PA/CIS system used on the IRT lines (except for the 7), the L line and the Staten Island Railway which are commonly called "countdown clocks" and are tied to mobile phone applications, these electronic signs only tell whether a train is arriving or up to two stations away - - it does not identify the line and final destination, nor how many minutes away. At 145th Street, the electronic signs (along with the appropriate audio recording) will identify the arriving train will be an express or local, as well as the level where it will arrive (upper or Bronx bound/Lower). So, my uptown D train (where it normally arrives) would have the message "The next Bronx bound train is now arriving on the (pause) lower level. Please stand clear.....".
That message was played twice and twice the D train never arrived at 145th lower level. The first "arrival" message was at 9:10 AM, about 20 minutes after I first entered the lower level. That uptown D train never showed up. At 9:25 AM, I placed my first non-emergency call through the Help Point intercom and spoke to Charles who said he has no way of knowing when the next Bronx-bound D train will arrive. At 9:35, another message and announcement indicated that a "Bronx bound train is now arriving on the lower level" (indicating the Bronx bound D train was arriving at 145 lower). Nothing showed up so I went back to the Help Point intercom again and spoke to Starks at 9:35. Again, same answer as Charles, they have no answers as to when the next train will arrive but only stated that there are delays of up to 30 minutes (and I was waiting since 850 AM). At 9:55 AM, over an hour since I and now over a hundred people were waiting to get to the Bronx, an manual announcement came over the PA system "There are delays in Uptown D service, the next Uptown D train is at (drum roll)....West 4th Street", I immediately gave up and went outside where an arriving Bx19 bus would carry me over the 145th Street bridge and to the Bronx Terminal Market/Gateway Mall area where my garaged vehicle is waiting. (Best 25 dollars I ever spent on keeping my car out of the storm)
Now that's really stupid to have people wait for over an hour for an Uptown D train with no announcements - - and the makeshift next train indicators were not giving right information by teasing us customers twice that the D train was arriving when it wasn't - - , only to tell them over an hour later that the next D train is at West 4th Street which was another 30 minutes away (D trains were running local between West 4th to 34th Street and again from 59th Street to 145th Street due to necessary train storage on the express tracks). If it involved the D trains which were going to Broadway-Lafayette be extended to Coney Island then return back, I could be speculating on this. However when people are waiting up to 90 minutes for a D train to arrive at 145 when the normal running time is 1 hour and 28-32 minutes between Coney Island and 205th Street, end to end, then there is something really wrong with the communication process by NYC Transit. While MTA NYC Transit's storm response has been excellent, the act of ignoring and dumping customers who end up waiting over 90 minutes for a D train to the Bronx with two false announcements over the CIS indicators and no manual announcement until over an hour after the last D train left 145 before I arrived, is totally unacceptable and reeks of ignorance and incompetence in the communication process by MTA NYC Transit.
Let's face it, I could go on about how NYC Transit didn't inform customers about some service changes on Friday night and Monday/Tuesday nights. But I can say that their performance in handling the storm outweighs the negatives. Well almost, as I was stuck waiting for a D train on Sunday morning, more on that later.
The highlight of MTA and NYC Transit's decision making was to allow underground-only subway service to continue throughout the storm, allowing about 40 percent of the subway network to run, mostly within Manhattan. (You can see the rush job on the underground map, it shows the D stopping at 36th Street in Brooklyn when it was running only in Manhattan and the Bronx.) Rather than shutting down the entire subway system or to let the trains run until they are stranded from a snowbank, the suspension of almost all above ground service was a solid, smart, and sensible plan to keep some amount of public transportation running. The problem was communication - - which even the MTA admitted they faltered in the communication process. The MTA's bus/train tracking application data was not working, making it harder to track buses and some subway lines during the storm.
Now for the Sunday morning debacle (on 1/24 ), which happened on the D line at 145th Street. I arrived at 8:50 AM waiting for an Uptown D train. At that time, the D was running only between Broadway-Lafayette Street in Manhattan and 205th Street-Norwood in the Bronx, however service to Coney Island was in the process of bring restored. The 145th Street station was one of a select few IND station which uses a makeshift PA/CIS (Customer Information System) setup using block signals to determine a train's position relative to the station you are at. Unlike the full fledged PA/CIS system used on the IRT lines (except for the 7), the L line and the Staten Island Railway which are commonly called "countdown clocks" and are tied to mobile phone applications, these electronic signs only tell whether a train is arriving or up to two stations away - - it does not identify the line and final destination, nor how many minutes away. At 145th Street, the electronic signs (along with the appropriate audio recording) will identify the arriving train will be an express or local, as well as the level where it will arrive (upper or Bronx bound/Lower). So, my uptown D train (where it normally arrives) would have the message "The next Bronx bound train is now arriving on the (pause) lower level. Please stand clear.....".
That message was played twice and twice the D train never arrived at 145th lower level. The first "arrival" message was at 9:10 AM, about 20 minutes after I first entered the lower level. That uptown D train never showed up. At 9:25 AM, I placed my first non-emergency call through the Help Point intercom and spoke to Charles who said he has no way of knowing when the next Bronx-bound D train will arrive. At 9:35, another message and announcement indicated that a "Bronx bound train is now arriving on the lower level" (indicating the Bronx bound D train was arriving at 145 lower). Nothing showed up so I went back to the Help Point intercom again and spoke to Starks at 9:35. Again, same answer as Charles, they have no answers as to when the next train will arrive but only stated that there are delays of up to 30 minutes (and I was waiting since 850 AM). At 9:55 AM, over an hour since I and now over a hundred people were waiting to get to the Bronx, an manual announcement came over the PA system "There are delays in Uptown D service, the next Uptown D train is at (drum roll)....West 4th Street", I immediately gave up and went outside where an arriving Bx19 bus would carry me over the 145th Street bridge and to the Bronx Terminal Market/Gateway Mall area where my garaged vehicle is waiting. (Best 25 dollars I ever spent on keeping my car out of the storm)
Now that's really stupid to have people wait for over an hour for an Uptown D train with no announcements - - and the makeshift next train indicators were not giving right information by teasing us customers twice that the D train was arriving when it wasn't - - , only to tell them over an hour later that the next D train is at West 4th Street which was another 30 minutes away (D trains were running local between West 4th to 34th Street and again from 59th Street to 145th Street due to necessary train storage on the express tracks). If it involved the D trains which were going to Broadway-Lafayette be extended to Coney Island then return back, I could be speculating on this. However when people are waiting up to 90 minutes for a D train to arrive at 145 when the normal running time is 1 hour and 28-32 minutes between Coney Island and 205th Street, end to end, then there is something really wrong with the communication process by NYC Transit. While MTA NYC Transit's storm response has been excellent, the act of ignoring and dumping customers who end up waiting over 90 minutes for a D train to the Bronx with two false announcements over the CIS indicators and no manual announcement until over an hour after the last D train left 145 before I arrived, is totally unacceptable and reeks of ignorance and incompetence in the communication process by MTA NYC Transit.
Thursday, January 21, 2016
Your real, undiluted guide to NYC Transit weekend subway service during Jonas storm.
NOTE: This information is posted as of Thursday 1/21 at 10 PM and may be subject to change due to an ordered partial or full suspension of subway service on Saturday 1/23 due to the track of Winter Storm Jonas as ordered by NY Governor Andrew Cuomo.
That said, let's get on with the known details (by me) and some probabilities happening this weekend. Here is a line by line breakdown, note that it's either definite or probable - - and unless otherwise noted each affected area applies to both directions of travel.
A - Definite: Local in Brooklyn between Euclid and Hoyt from about 9 PM Friday until 6 AM Monday
Probable: Local 168-Canal Street
B - Suspended after 7 PM. Last northbound B train leaves Brighton Beach at around 7 PM, last southbound train leaves 145th Street at around 7:30 PM. NOTE: After 6:45 PM, all scheduled northbound B trains that normally terminate at 145th Street will be extended to Bedford Park Blvd instead until end of service at 8:30 PM.
D - Definite: Local in Brooklyn between 36th Street and Grand Street (Manhattan) and also West 4th Street to 34th Street in Manhattan from 8 PM Friday to 6 AM Monday (all D train will also stop at Dekalb Ave). Probable: Local in Manhattan between 59th Street-Columbus Circle and 145th Street
E - Definite: Local in Queens 71st Ave/Forest Hills and Queens Plaza from 9 PM Friday to 5 AM Monday
F - Definite: Local in Queens between 71st Ave/Forest Hills and 36th Street/Northern Blvd from 9 PM Friday to 5 AM Monday
J - Probable: Limited service between Jamaica Center and 111th Street - all trains will operate on a single track in both directions - - times I don't know.
M - Not confirmed but M service in Manhattan north of Essex Street to northern Queens at Forest Hills may end early on Friday evening (and run to Chambers Street on the J because they cannot turn trains south of Essex St, bad switch needs to be replaced)..
N - Definite: Local in Brooklyn between 59th Street and Canal Street (Manhattan), stopping at Dekalb Ave and also local service in Manhattan between 34th Street and Canal Street from 7 PM Friday to 6 AM Monday. All N local trains will use either the Manhattan Bridge (Friday evening and all day Sat/Sun) or via. the R Montague Street tunnel line (late nights) between Dekalb Ave and Canal Street as regularly scheduled.
Q - Definite: Local in Manhattan between 57th Street/7th Ave and Canal Street from 8 PM Friday to 6 AM Monday
2 and 3 - Definite: Local in Manhattan between 96th Street and Chambers Street from 9 PM Friday to 6 AM Monday.
4 and 5 - Definite Local in Manhattan (between 125th Street and Brooklyn Bridge) and Brooklyn (Between Atlantic Ave and Utica Ave) from 9 PM Friday to 6 AM Monday. Probable: AM 5 Express service from Nereid Ave may be limited or suspended.
6 - Definite: < 6 > Pelham Express service will stop running after 6 PM, all Pelham Bay Park bound trains will run local in the Bronx.
7 - Definite - reduced 7 train service late nights from 11 PM to 7 AM (6 AM on Monday) with trains running in two sections; Between Main Street-Flushing and Times Square - - and shuttle train between Times Square and 34th Street-Hudson Yards.
S- (Rockaway Park) Probable: Shuttle extended to Euclid Ave.
That's all I know.. Again, the service plan could change on Friday with a possible systemwide shutdown on Saturday through Sunday, however the B suspension and all express service ending early will still take effect on Friday evening. I wll let you know how well or poorly NYC Transit did over the weekend.
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Subway observations on Saturday 1/16
When Andrew Cuomo announced new customer friendly initiatives for MTA New York City Transit, such as Wi-Fi and charging ports on board trains and buses, a 30 station renewal blitz involving full closures as selected stations, and more On-To-Go kiosks, I was excited to see great things happening in the subways and buses. Unfortunately as far as informing customers about service diversions on weekends, it's the same old story in certain areas.
Last weekend was a most interesting one if you ride the lettered lines withing Manhattan, particularly the IND 6th Ave and 8 Ave lines where it was a mess. The A and C lines were running on the F line in both directions between West 4th Street and Jay Street-Metrotech. The D line was running on the A express line in both directions between 59th Street-Columbus Circle and Chambers Street. The E line was rerouted on the F line between Roosevelt Ave/Jackson Heights and West 4th Street. These diversions made for some interesting observations, including a full station closure at 7th Ave and 53rd Street on the D and E lines since they were both rerouted. That and West 4th Street station was a game of cat and mouse in catching your train - the D stops on the upper level express tracks where the A/C/E lines normally stop while the E stops on the lower level local tracks where the D and F lines normally stop there on weekends. Here are a few photos on that rare D at Chambers and Canal Street stations:
That said, I tool a ride into Manhattan for a few hours worth of observations around the subway system and saw some good things going on, as well as some bad things. Let's look at the good things first:
THE GOOD: The announcements at station platforms have been consistent, even at the IRT stations - - frequent announcements on the A/C/D?E diversions were made here. Another good thing was the information regarding the elevators at 125th Street On my 6 train into Manhattan, the conductor announced the elevators were not operational but advised to check the MTA website for alternatives.
THE BAD: The wrong information given by conductors is still present - - and I wonder why most of these conductors are not aware of these service changes. Additionally, some of the temporary signage installed along columns at subway stations are wrong.
34th Street-Penn Station (8th Ave) has an island express platform - - the signs wrongly indicate that no trains are stopping there and all trains are stopping at the local platforms
Likewise, signs can be correct in a way, however another option would be helpful. These signs are at Chambers on the A and C - - normally when A and C lines are running on the F line between Manhattan and Brooklyn then Chambers Street is closed. However the D was running to Chambers Street - therefore this platform was open so anyone could take the D Uptown. In fact, the D train was a better option than the E train as the E would stop at the lower level (rerouted on the F line) while the D stops at the upper level, then same level as the A/C lines.
n
Let's look at the announcements now - - my first observations were on the 6 line at 51st Street where there's no E service at the connecting Lexington Ave/53rd Street station. As before, a Pass means the announcement about the E station closure was made while a Fail indicated there was no announcement on the E closure, other than "Transfer to the E train" heard over the train's PA system. All times are in the afternoon on Saturday 1/16
Next stop was Fulton Street for the A/C closure. I rode back and forth on the 2/3 lines. A few of the announcements I herd were correct - - all of the on the 3 line where older cars from the 1980s are used. The so-called "new technology" trains (NTTs) on the 2 line all failed because none of the conductors bothered to make the announcement about the A/C suspension.
Last weekend was a most interesting one if you ride the lettered lines withing Manhattan, particularly the IND 6th Ave and 8 Ave lines where it was a mess. The A and C lines were running on the F line in both directions between West 4th Street and Jay Street-Metrotech. The D line was running on the A express line in both directions between 59th Street-Columbus Circle and Chambers Street. The E line was rerouted on the F line between Roosevelt Ave/Jackson Heights and West 4th Street. These diversions made for some interesting observations, including a full station closure at 7th Ave and 53rd Street on the D and E lines since they were both rerouted. That and West 4th Street station was a game of cat and mouse in catching your train - the D stops on the upper level express tracks where the A/C/E lines normally stop while the E stops on the lower level local tracks where the D and F lines normally stop there on weekends. Here are a few photos on that rare D at Chambers and Canal Street stations:
That said, I tool a ride into Manhattan for a few hours worth of observations around the subway system and saw some good things going on, as well as some bad things. Let's look at the good things first:
THE GOOD: The announcements at station platforms have been consistent, even at the IRT stations - - frequent announcements on the A/C/D?E diversions were made here. Another good thing was the information regarding the elevators at 125th Street On my 6 train into Manhattan, the conductor announced the elevators were not operational but advised to check the MTA website for alternatives.
THE BAD: The wrong information given by conductors is still present - - and I wonder why most of these conductors are not aware of these service changes. Additionally, some of the temporary signage installed along columns at subway stations are wrong.
34th Street-Penn Station (8th Ave) has an island express platform - - the signs wrongly indicate that no trains are stopping there and all trains are stopping at the local platforms
If anyone read this sign at at 34th Street and wanted to get to 7th Ave/53rd Street, they would be lost as the D does not go to 7th Ave station. Lack of proofreading and quality control exists when you make signs for a 2 week period when the second week has a different set of directions due to another line being detoured.
Likewise, signs can be correct in a way, however another option would be helpful. These signs are at Chambers on the A and C - - normally when A and C lines are running on the F line between Manhattan and Brooklyn then Chambers Street is closed. However the D was running to Chambers Street - therefore this platform was open so anyone could take the D Uptown. In fact, the D train was a better option than the E train as the E would stop at the lower level (rerouted on the F line) while the D stops at the upper level, then same level as the A/C lines.
Let's look at the announcements now - - my first observations were on the 6 line at 51st Street where there's no E service at the connecting Lexington Ave/53rd Street station. As before, a Pass means the announcement about the E station closure was made while a Fail indicated there was no announcement on the E closure, other than "Transfer to the E train" heard over the train's PA system. All times are in the afternoon on Saturday 1/16
Time
|
Line
|
Direction
|
Car #
|
Result
|
12:29 PM
|
6
|
SB
|
2096
|
Fail (E and M)
|
12:37
|
6
|
NB
|
7096
|
Pass
|
12:42
|
6
|
SB
|
7649
|
Pass
|
1:00
|
6
|
SB
|
1781
|
Fail
|
Then I headed over to the 7 line for observations about the D - a transfer point between 5th - all of them failed as the "Transfer to the D (and F) lines" were made. Because NYC Transit uses railroad North-South directions (never east-west) for all subway lines, trains heading towards 34th Street-Hudson Yards were traveling southbound (SB) while Main St-Flushing bound trains were going northbound (NB). On the 1:35 PM train, I heard the B/D/F/M weekday announcement. On all of the southbound trains I rode on, I also heard the incorrect E transfer at Times Square. And these are the retrofitted newer cars.
Time
|
Line
|
Direction
|
Car
#
|
Result
|
1:07
|
7
|
SB
|
7315
|
Fail
|
1:12
|
7
|
NB
|
7367
|
Fail
|
1:16
|
7
|
SB
|
7859
|
Fail
|
1:20
|
7
|
NB
|
7892
|
Fail
|
1:35
|
7
|
SB
|
7326
|
Fail
(BDFM)
|
1:36
|
7
|
NB
|
7872
|
Fail
|
1:47
|
7
|
SB
|
7218
|
Fail
|
Time
|
Line
|
Direction
|
Car
#
|
Result
|
2:07
|
2
|
SB
|
6351
|
Fail
|
2:13
|
2
|
NB
|
6630
|
Fail
|
2:18
|
3
|
SB
|
1397
|
No announcement
|
2:23
|
2
|
NB
|
6316
|
Fail
|
2:38
|
2
|
SB
|
6636
|
Fail
|
2:49
|
2
|
NB
|
6401
|
Fail
|
2:53
|
3
|
SB
|
1321
|
Pass
|
2:58
|
2
|
NB
|
6451
|
Fail
|
3:21
|
3
|
NB
|
No car #
|
Pass
|
Finally, my last set of observations were the N/Q/R lines at 34th Street/Herald Square (no D at the 6th Ave side of this complex). Although I made only 4 observations, the only one that passed was on an R train where subway cars are over 40 years old.
Time
|
Line
|
Direction
|
Car #
|
Result
|
4:18
|
N
|
SB
|
8826
|
Fail
|
4:24
|
R
|
NB
|
5760
|
Passed
|
4:32
|
Q
|
SB
|
8653
|
Fail
|
4:44
|
Q
|
NB
|
9088
|
Fail
|
Oh and other things to note - - those wrong signs at Hunts Point Ave on the 6 line were never changed. Bx45 and Bx54, respectively.
That's all folks. Brace yourselves for the first winter storm of 2016 this coming weekend and I will be on top of things when NYCT and MTA implement their winter plans, including suspension of B service and all other express service on Friday evening. Oh, while at Times Square, I saw ads for one of my favorite mobile games, Clash of Clans - - and here are the pictures.
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