The 6 Still Deserved Better

Pelham Bay Park bound 6 entering Parkchester during the Feb. 2006 blizzard.Pelham Bay Park bound 6 entering Parkchester during the Feb. 2006 blizzard. Resized photo courtesy of Eye On Transit.

In January 2008, I blogged about the 6 Train deserving a better grade for its 2007’s Rider Report Card. The line was considered average by 7.261 riders who helped give it a C. 14 months later & the story remains the same as the line finished with a C as part of the 2008 Rider Report Card series. The turnout was down from 2007 levels as 5,569 responded. Lets get straight to the breakdown.

6 Train Riders Top 10 Priorities; 2007 priority rank in ( ):

01. Adequate room on board at rush hour ( 1 )

02. Reasonable wait times for trains ( 2 )

03. Minimal delays during trips ( 3 )

04. Station announcements that are easy to hear ( 4 )

05. Cleanliness of stations ( 5 )

06. Sense of security on trains ( 6 )

07. Sense of security in stations ( 7 )

08. Train announcements that are easy to hear ( 9 )

09. Cleanliness of subway cars ( 12 )

10. Working elevators and escalators in stations ( 10 )

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Complete 6 train riders priorities 2007 priority rank in ( ):

01. Adequate room on board at rush hour ( 1 )

02. Reasonable wait times for trains ( 2 )

03. Minimal delays during trips ( 3 )

04. Station announcements that are easy to hear ( 4 )

05. Cleanliness of stations ( 5 )

06. Sense of security on trains ( 6 )

07. Sense of security in stations ( 7 )

08. Train announcements that are easy to hear ( 9 )

09. Cleanliness of subway cars ( 12 )

10. Working elevators and escalators in stations ( 10 )

11. Station announcements that are informative ( 8 )

12. Courtesy and helpfulness of station personnel ( 11 )

13. Comfortable temperature in subway cars ( 13 )

14. Train announcements that are informative ( 14 )

15. Availability of MetroCard Vending Machines ( 15 )

16. Ease of use of subway turnstiles ( 16 )

17. Signs in stations that help riders find their way ( 17 )

18. Signs in subway cars that help riders find their way ( 19 )

19. Lack of scratchitti in subway cars ( 18 )

20. Lack of graffiti in stations ( 20 )

21. Lack of graffiti in subway cars ( 21 )

Click here for the breakdown of votes in this section.

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Now here is the graded breakdown for all 21 categories; 2007 grade in ( ):

01. Minimal delays during trips C (C)

02. Reasonable wait times for trains C (C)

03. Adequate room on board at rush hour D (D)

04. Sense of security in stations C (C+)

05. Sense of security on trains C (C)

06. Working elevators and escalators in stations C- (C)

07. Signs in stations that help riders find their way C+ (C+)

08. Signs in subway cars that help riders find their way C+ (B-)

09. Cleanliness of stations C- (C-)

10. Cleanliness of subway cars C (C+)

11. Station announcements that are easy to hear D+ (C-)

12. Station announcements that are informative C- (C-)

13. Train announcements that are easy to hear C (C)

14. Train announcements that are informative C (C)

15. Lack of graffiti in stations C+ (B-)

16. Lack of graffiti in subway cars B- (B-)

17. Lack of scratchitti in subway cars C+ (C+)

18. Courtesy and helpfulness of station personnel C (C)

19. Comfortable temperature in subway cars C+ (C+)

20. Ease of use of subway turnstiles B- (B-)

21. Availability of MetroCard Vending Machines B- (B-)

Click here for the breakdown of votes in this section.

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In the last 14 months, things have changed for me in a number of ways. One of those happens to be that one of my residences is no longer along the 6 Train. I do not take the line daily like I did for the better part of a little under 3 years. However I ride the line often enough to know that I disagree with this grade again.

When I wrote about 2007’s results in January 2008, I stated that I felt the line deserved a B- at worst. I will once again echo that sentiment for 2008’s results. Click here for my analysis of 2007’s results which I feel still stand true today.

As far as the results go, the top 10 priorities were pretty identical to 2007’s results. The differences occurred in the bottom half of the top 10. For some reason “train announcements that are easy to hear” rose up a spot. The fleet of the 6 Train is filled with cars that feature crisp & loud announcements. I will strongly disagree with riders on this priority. The “cleanliness of subway cars” rose up 3 spots to take a place at #9 which can never be considered a good thing.

In terms of grades, most bounced up or down a tick if they did not remain the same from 2007. So the line was consistent for good or worse in pretty much all categories. Overall the grading was decent but I felt the riders could have done better with their accuracy of the line. I still feel this is the best line in the system & deserves a grade that matches that.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Comments

this line is boring!

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