Transit Blogger

The C Did Not C A Passing Grade….

Brooklyn bound C train entering 2nd Avenue station during a G.O.; Resized photo courtesy of Eye On Transit

So the title is not the catchiest, it is the best I could come up with at 3:21 p.m.! Anyhow, the MTA has seen yet another line get a failing grade. The culprit is the dreaded C train which serves as the 8th Avenue local & runs from 168 St./Washington Heights to Euclid Avenue in Brooklyn. The C earned a pitiful but deserved D+ from the 3,967 people who responded. The number of responses is what I expected so no surprise there. Lets go straight to the breakdown shall we.

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

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. Station announcements that are easy to hear
05. Cleanliness of stations
06. Train announcements that are easy to hear
07. Sense of security in stations
08. Sense of security on trains
09. Cleanliness of subway cars
10. Station announcements that are informative
11. Train announcements that are informative
12. Comfortable temperature in subway cars
13. Courtesy and helpfulness of station personnel
14. Working elevators and escalators in stations
15. Availability of MetroCard Vending Machines
16. Signs in stations that help riders find their way
17. Ease of use of subway turnstiles
18. Signs in subway cars that help riders find their way
19. Lack of scratchitti in subway cars
20. Lack of graffiti in stations
21. Lack of graffiti in subway cars

Now here is the graded breakdown of all 21 categories:

Minimal delays during trips C-
Reasonable wait times for trains D
Adequate room on board at rush hour C-
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 D+
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-

Here is a report card that I feel the riders were accurate with their grades. The only argument that could be made is that the line deserved a lower overall grade & a lower grade in certain categories. Let me say for starters I try to avoid the Eighth Avenue lines as much as possible. The wait times are consistently poor, the trips are usually slow, & the crowds are horrific. To put it bluntly what I describe is an accurate vision of what it is like to ride the A or the C. However I will get to the A’s report card next so for now I will focus on the C.

For starters the C gets what I & other straphangers like to call the “stepchild” treatment. This sort of treatment is usually reserved for lines that clearly are not a priority in the eyes of the MTA. The C joins the family with such lines as the 3, 5, & G for starters. The C from end to end on a good day takes forever, however throw in the fact that most days are usually not good & you can see why the line got a D+ as its overall grade.

The times I have ridden the C, I wanted to pull my hair out. Every time I need to take the C, I feel like I am waiting at least 10-12 minutes before one shows up. Do you know how frustrating it is to see one A after another whiz by or stop on the express platform while I just stand & wait. Sometimes the ratio is 3-1 of A trains to C trains. Then when the train does arrive it is usually ridiculously crowded. This is not the kind of exacta people look forward too! Who wants to wait forever for a train to show up just for it to be packed. Lets not get started with the shady individuals who frequent this line especially in Brooklyn. I am always prepared for the worst riding any of the Eighth Avenue lines.

When you do finally get on the C, we now have to get used to the delays during the trip. The infamous line I would hear is the train is being delayed due to train traffic ahead of us. I don’t know if I should laugh uncontrollably or hit someone after hearing that one especially when we are in Brooklyn. I & others waited for what seemed like ages for this train to come, what the hell kind of train traffic are you facing? We are not sharing the local track with anyone & I know damn well we didn’t catch up with the previous C that arrived in the last decade!

The MTA needs to realize how pitiful this line is which is a shame as it has potential to be so much more. They have to realize why this line earned C’s & D’s in every category except one. Yes, the one B- came from the “Availability of MetroCard Vending Machines” category. I need to look back but I could swear every line has earned at least a B in that category. One could look at that category as the free square. Unfortunately for the C & the straphangers who depend on it, the reality is the free square is as good as it gets on this line.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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