Hey, what’s the only subway line that doesn’t make it into Manhattan (and isn’t a shuttle you cheaters), is annoyingly truncated and has a tendency to not run just about any time?
Yup, you guessed it, the G train. You’re smarter than you look!
But seriously: NYCTracks decided to chart the course of this ghost-like train for those who haven’t had the distinct pleasure of traveling between Brooklyn and Queens on the G. It’s an underground adventure for sure. So sit back, relax and get ready for the G train in under three minutes.
Posted in CommutersComments Off on NYCTracks honors the G train
Brooklyn comedian Tom Sibley talks to NYCTracks.com about his popular, but controversial, blog Subway Douchery.
The site exposes riders who violate the subway courtesy code. Sibley’s iPhone has captured people clipping their toenails, dropping food on the train floor, and even lounging shoeless across the train benches.
For many New Yorkers, it has become an outlet for their public transit frustrations. But some take issue with the site, calling it an invasion of subway riders’ privacy.
Ipods, MP3 players, cellphones and other portable music devices allow straphangers to have their own personal soundtrack while riding on the subway. Do you ever wonder what your fellow commuter is listening to? The NYCTracks.com team caught up with a few commuters to see what they were listening to.
As part of the recently announced cuts to services, the MTA will be completely eliminating the last two local bus lines to connect the city’s most populous borough with its most popular one (at least for tourists). The B51 and B39 lines, which run over the Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges, respectively, are scheduled to make their last runs on June 25, 2010. Some 900 commuters a day will be affected just by the closure of the B51 alone, some more than others. The buses on the lines provide transportation to a relatively large number of disabled and elderly passengers who can’t or won’t use the subway to move between boroughs. Guest reporter Chika Moses talks to affected commuters and union officials.
— Christopher F. Schuetze
Posted in Commuters, FeatureComments Off on Video — Brooklyn Bus Cuts
A woman 32 weeks pregnant was fined $75 for moving between cars on a No. 1 train stopped at a Times Square station earlier this month. She told the New York Post that she was looking for a seat on a jam-packed train during her afternoon commute. Her story begged the question: why is a pregnant woman looking for a seat?
NYCTracks.com braved the crowds of the Times Square evening commute to find out who subway riders will and won’t stand up for. Do young children get precedence overly elderly train riders? What about pregnant women? Do they get the seat instead of the guy carrying two fists full of shopping bags? And should a young man give his seat up to a woman in heels at the end of the work day?
Almost everyone we talked to said they regularly stood up for fellow subway riders in need. But those needy travelers tell a different story. When they board the train, suddenly everyone is sleeping. Hmmmm….
– Simone Sebastian
Posted in Commuters, Feature, NewsComments Off on New Yorkers Answer: Who Gets Your Seat on a Crowded Train?
Two things struck me: 1) it’s obviously outdated and 2) it compares the 1986 standard fare to the reduced fare offered by the 2008 monthly MetroCard, which doesn’t seem fair. It made me wonder how cheap is it, really, to ride the subway these days?
Using the MTA’s comparison, a single ride is actually more expensive today than it was in 1986. One dollar back then is equal to $1.98 today, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s 27 cents less than the cost of a single ride now.
Of course, the MetroCard is a big help — if you are a commuter. To bring a ride back down to the 1986 price, you have to take 45 subway or bus trips per month.
* graph is based on standard adult single-ride rail fares
It’s difficult to compare New York’s mass transit fares to the other metro rails around the world. It’s one of few that do not have distance-based fares. But it is in line with Chicago and Paris, which also have set rates.
Take our poll and let us know what you think about New York City’s mass transit fares.
The City Council’s transportation and education committees held a joint hearing to question the MTA on the elimination of free student MetroCards. The audience was surprisingly sparse, considering the passion witnessed at previous hearings on the MTA cuts. But some of the council members were riled up. We have a three-minute video summary of the two-hour meeting.
The S60 bus claims the lowest ridership in the city’s system. For MTA officials, it’s too small to justify the cost. But for some students, it’s the only mass transit option for commuting to school. The route also carries senior citizens up and down a hill that turns treacherous in the winter.
Our intrepid bloggers will be live blogging from two MTA public meetings tonight. The meetings – held simultaneously – will take place in the Bronx and in Brooklyn.
Hey, what’s the only subway line that doesn’t make it into Manhattan (and isn’t a shuttle you cheaters), is annoyingly truncated and has a tendency to not run just about any time?
