Transit Blogger

Like George, The W Has Failed Miserably!

Whitehall Street bound W train pulling into Queensboro Plaza; Resized photo courtesy of Eye On Transit

The “Rider Report Card” updates continue with the train which failed miserably. The line serving as a weekday only backup to the between Astoria & Lower Manhattan earned a D+. Lets go straight to the horrendous results.

Top 10 priorities that 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. Train announcements that are easy to hear
05. Station announcements that are easy to hear
06. Cleanliness of subway cars
07. Station announcements that are informative
08. Cleanliness of stations
09. Sense of security in stations
10. Sense of security on trains

Now here is the entire order of train riders priorities:

01. Reasonable wait times for trains
02. Minimal delays during trips
03. Adequate room on board at rush hour
04. Train announcements that are easy to hear
05. Station announcements that are easy to hear
06. Cleanliness of subway cars
07. Station announcements that are informative
08. Cleanliness of stations
09. Sense of security in stations
10. Sense of security on trains
11. Train announcements that are informative
12. Lack of scratchitti in subway cars
13. Working elevators and escalators in stations
14. Courtesy and helpfulness of station personnel
15. Comfortable temperature in subway cars
16. Availability of MetroCard Vending Machines
17. Ease of use of subway turnstiles
18. Lack of graffiti in subway cars
19. Signs in subway cars that help riders find their way
20. Signs in stations that help riders find their way
21. Lack of graffiti in stations

Now here is the graded breakdown of all 21 categories:

Minimal delays during trips D+
Reasonable wait times for trains D+
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 C-
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 C+
Availability of MetroCard Vending Machines B-

This grade comes as no surprise to me as I am sure is the case for many others. The is clearly a secondary line & the service clearly reflects that. While many argue that the is underutilized, there is no arguing that it needs to do a much better job. Wait times for the line are unacceptable as it sometimes is a 3-1 ratio of trains to trains. While the service is primarily a backup, such a ratio does not provide assurance for the which is inconsistent to begin with.

The delays on the line are to be expected since it backups a line that is quite inconsistent. So when the usual delays pop up, what line do you really think will take priority? The answer is obvious, it will never be the . Quite frankly as much as extra service is warranted along the 31st Street corridor, the sure could be more effective if it had a better terminal. However I will leave that issue to another entry or you can poke around on “Rider Diaries” or “Subchat” for varying opinions on this issue.

I will say one thing, I usually have never had a problem getting a seat on the W even as inconsistent as it can be in arrival times. I think it is mainly due to the mental issue many people have with riding the “local”. I have seen many people pass up on the to wait for the to go to a stop that the serves. I guess they really needed the express run down Broadway to survive. I won’t complain about the mindset as it gives me a seat but I can’t help but question the intelligence & logic of riders who constantly do this.

The rest of the categories speak for themselves & the grades seem justified. You know that things are not going well when the only above average grade earned was the “Availability of MetroCard Vending Machines” freebie. Seriously that category needs to be removed for next year’s report cards.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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