D Train Is Below Average, Where Have We Read That One Before??????
205th St. bound D train approaching Bay 50th St. station; Resized photo courtesy of Eye On Transit
With the fear of sounding repetitive, the D train is below average! As you probably figured out, the D train earned a C- overall in its 2007 rider report card. The D’s report card was littered with grades in the C & D range with its lowest being a D for “Station announcements that are easy to hear”. The highest grade earned was a B- which it earned in 2 categories, “Availability of MetroCard Vending Machines” & “Ease of use of subway turnstiles”. Lets breakdown the entire report card:
Top 10 priorities that D train riders’ would like to see improvement on:
01. Reasonable wait times for trains
02. Minimal delays during trips
03. Adequate room on board at rush hour
04. Station announcements that are easy to hear
05. Train announcements that are easy to hear
06. Cleanliness of stations
07. Sense of security on trains
08. Sense of security in stations
09. Cleanliness of subway cars
10. Comfortable temperature in subway cars
Now here is the entire order of D train riders’ priorities:
01. Reasonable wait times for trains
02. Minimal delays during trips
03. Adequate room on board at rush hour
04. Station announcements that are easy to hear
05. Train announcements that are easy to hear
06. Cleanliness of stations
07. Sense of security on trains
08. Sense of security in stations
09. Cleanliness of subway cars
10. Comfortable temperature in subway cars
11. Station announcements that are informative
12. Working elevators and escalators in stations
13. Courtesy and helpfulness of station personnel
14. Train announcements that are informative
15. Lack of scratchitti in subway cars
16. Availability of MetroCard Vending Machines
17. Signs in subway cars that help riders find their way
18. Ease of use of subway turnstiles
19. Signs in stations that help riders find their way
20. Lack of graffiti in subway cars
21. Lack of graffiti in stations
Now here is the graded breakdown of all 21 categories:
Minimal delays during trips C-
Reasonable wait times for trains C-
Adequate room on board at rush hour D+
Sense of security in stations C
Sense of security on trains C-
Working elevators and escalators in stations C
Signs in stations that help riders find their way C+
Signs in subway cars that help riders find their way C
Cleanliness of stations D+
Cleanliness of subway cars C-
Station announcements that are easy to hear D
Station announcements that are informative D+
Train announcements that are easy to hear D+
Train announcements that are informative D+
Lack of graffiti in stations C
Lack of graffiti in subway cars C+
Lack of scratchitti in subway cars C-
Courtesy and helpfulness of station personnel C
Comfortable temperature in subway cars C
Ease of use of subway turnstiles B-
Availability of MetroCard Vending Machines B-
I think that the D riders nailed this report card with deadly precision. I have used the D a lot over the years & always felt it needed a lot of improvement. The biggest issues I always had with the line were the wait times & having adequate room on board at just about any time of the day. To be honest, choice #3 in the priority list could easily be #1 & I am sure many would agree.
Personally I have always found the west side express trains to be inferior to those on the east side. For some reason I always seem to be waiting for way too long for an express train on the west side especially during rush hour. I like many others find it inexcusable when one has to wait for almost or over 10 minutes for a train during the rush hour! It has gotten to the point where I purposely use the local if I can as I feel it will get me to my destination faster. If anything I feel the D should have earned an F in both wait times & having room on board especially during rush hour.
As far as the response is concerned, the MTA only received 4,084 report cards. I am so sick of the lack of passion from riders who want things to change. If you want changes made, do everything in your power to facilitate such actions! I can only hope that the turnout will be better overall for next year’s report cards.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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You mention something very interesting that the report card doesn’t ask about… you say that you don’t think that the wait time and crowding are reasonable at almost any time. Yet the report card only asks about rush hour.
For the D, and for the F as well, wait times and crowding are a problem during most hours, not just rush hours. Things are especially bad during the unrecognized rush hours that New York has. For example, between 11:30 pm and 2 am, people are coming home from bars in this city. This is, after all, a party city. There’s no excuse for people to be standing at 1:30 a.m. They simply aren’t running enough trains to deal with what is another rush hour. A “rush hour” shouldn’t only be when people go to and from work. When plays and concerts and sports events let out should count too. The subway is supposed to get you where you want to go, not just to and from work.
And, lest I sound too into partying — these trains are crowded on weekends too. Lots of New Yorkers work on the weekends, or at night, or work odd hours during the day.
The focus shouldn’t just be on rush hour but on wait times and overcrowding in general.