The R’s Grade Is Still Too Generous

R TrainUncoupled R trains laying up at the Parsons Boulevard station. Resized photo courtesy of Eye On Transit

Well it is time for things to get back to normal in regards to the 2008 Rider Report Cards. Who has time for lines showing a grade improvement? I know that I love to write about lines who once again earned the same exact grade from the initial 2007 results. The subject this time is the train affectionately known as “Rarely”, the R Train. The line once again earned an overall grade of C- which I once again find way too generous. Lets go straight to the breakdown:

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

01. Reasonable wait times for trains ( 1 )

02. Minimal delays during trips ( 2 )

03. Adequate room on board at rush hour ( 3 )

04. Train announcements that are easy to hear ( 5 )

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

06. Cleanliness of stations ( 6 )

07. Cleanliness of subway cars ( 7 )

08. Sense of security in stations ( 8 )

09. Sense of security on trains ( 9 )

10. Working elevators and escalators in stations ( 12 )

—-

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

01. Reasonable wait times for trains ( 1 )

02. Minimal delays during trips ( 2 )

03. Adequate room on board at rush hour ( 3 )

04. Train announcements that are easy to hear ( 5 )

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

06. Cleanliness of stations ( 6 )

07. Cleanliness of subway cars ( 7 )

08. Sense of security in stations ( 8 )

09. Sense of security on trains ( 9 )

10. Working elevators and escalators in stations ( 12 )

11. Station announcements that are informative ( 10 )

12. Comfortable temperature in subway cars ( 13 )

13. Courtesy and helpfulness of station personnel ( 14 )

14. Train announcements that are informative ( 11 )

15. Lack of scratchitti in subway cars ( 15 )

16. Signs in stations that help riders find their way ( 16 )

17. Ease of use of subway turnstiles ( 17 )

18. Availability of MetroCard Vending Machines ( 19 )

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

20. Lack of graffiti in stations ( 20 )

21. Lack of graffiti in subway cars ( 21 )

Click here for the breakdown of votes for this category.

—-

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 D+ (D+)

03. Adequate room on board at rush hour C- (C-)

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 (C)

09. Cleanliness of stations D+ (D+)

10. Cleanliness of subway cars C- (C-)

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

12. Station announcements that are informative D+ (D)

13. Train announcements that are easy to hear D+ (D)

14. Train announcements that are informative D+ (D+)

15. Lack of graffiti in stations C (C)

16. Lack of graffiti in subway cars C+ (C)

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 C+ (C+)

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

Click here for the breakdown of votes for this category.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

I once again will stand by my statement from last year that this overall grade was way too generous. The R has not shows much improvement if any at all in the last year. This line does not even deserve to be considered just below average.

This is one line I try to avoid at all costs. The ride is painfully slow which I can understand since it shares tracks nearly its entire run. However my main complaint continues to be the wait times. There is a very good reason why many say the R stands for “Rarely”.

The top 10 priorities are pretty identical from 2007’s results. The same can be said for all priorities as there were no big jumps in either direction in terms of placing. The amount of responders was 4,267 which was down 3,554 from 2007’s results.

I would read my thoughts from last year as they still ring true today.

xoxo Transit Blogger

If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.

Comments

No comments yet.

Leave a comment

(required)

(required)