InsideTransit

The transit management in NYC, known as the MTA, has posted a press release noting that they will be terminating more than 1,000 positions. The MTA says this is more than 15% of the administrative payroll. Over 500 transit station agent positions will also begin to be cut – at my station. I’ve often wondered what the station agent does but sit there or stand outside and talk on their cell phone all day. Why not give them a broom and some bleach and let them clean the stations.

“The State’s economic crisis demands that the MTA move quickly and decisively to cut costs, and that is exactly what we are doing,” said Jay H. Walder, MTA Chairman and CEO. “These layoffs are extremely painful, but we must live within our means and make the tough decisions that businesses and families across New York are making.” Walder continues, “We will be reducing overtime, consolidating redundant functions and working with suppliers to lower costs. We will not stop until I can say that every dollar the MTA receives is spent wisely.”

I’m just wondering how long before we hear that the prices will be increasing – I say somewhere around mid-April.

Over my many years riding the NYC subway, I like to think I’ve seen it all. From having a gun pointed at me, to watching a man take a pee off the edge of the platform, to a woman changing her clothes between two cars as we crossed the Manhattan Bridge, nearly nothing could shock me.

But today I have a video that I never thought I would see. Below is a video of a man playing with his chicken on a Bronx-bound 6 subway train. The video shows a man on the floor playing with his chicken (yes a clucking chicken) while others look on. You see, most people probably weren’t pissed that a chicken was on the subway, but that they were missing some seats!

So leave a comment, what’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen on the subway or bus? Make sure to note your city as well.

Everyone moans and complains about how late the subways are here in NYC. But are the subway lines really that late? Subchat has posted the latest stats for on-time performance in the New York City subway system by line.

Here’s the breakdown:

1 Line: 91.7%
2 Line: 81.9%
3 Line: 85.2%
4 Line: 82.5%
5 Line: 89.2%
6 Line: 92.0%
7 Line: 96.3%

A Line: 84.5%
B Line: 91.8%
C Line: 94.6%
D Line: 89.2%
E Line: 87.0%
F Line: 76.2%
G Line: 95.6%
J/Z Line: 98.6%
L Line: 97.0%
M Line: 99.1%
N Line 91.0%
Q Line: 95.8%
R Line: 92.4%
V Line: 91.7%
W Line: 96.6%

Grand Central Shuttle: 99.6%
Franklin Shuttle: 99.8%
Rockaway Shuttle: 98.6%

It looks like the longer the line, the more often the train is late. Also, lines that share the track with other lines also seem to have poor on-time performance. Sorry to those F train riders! For reference, a train is considered late if it arrives or departs more than 5 minutes 59 seconds past the scheduled time.

The woman in the video below is VERY lucky to be alive this morning. The woman stumbles and falls onto the tracks at a subway station in Boston.  She fell at the worst possible point – the entry point for trains into the station. Other passengers waved for the oncoming train to stop. Luckily the train operator was able to stop the train just a second before it would run over the passenger. The train operator and other fast-reacting passengers saved this woman’s life.

Please note that this video is very dramatic and could be considered frightening.
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Last year Google got cozy with the MTA with the launch of transit directions inside of Google Maps. Last week the Google Maps team has announced the launch of a new layer on Google Maps that displays all of the NYC subway routes directly on the map.

There have been many mashups that created something similar in the past but now the subway lines are displayed directly on the map. So far I haven’t been able to find any errors in the lines and/or stations. I am sure my fellow railfans will find any errors this weekend.

The new subway map lines also work on the mobile version of Google Maps. Google notes that they provide transit directions for 436 transit agencies around the world.

While the subway lines on the map are nice, nothing beats the Swiss Rail mashup that shows the trains in real-time and they actually move on the map!

Ewan also reports that the subway layer works in London as well. He calls it a mess and notes how wonderful the Harry Beck London Tube map still is today.

The new NYC MTA Chairman, Jay H. Walder, is considering looking at off-peak pricing for public transportation in NYC.  The off-peak pricing is already in place in London where Walder formerly ran the system.

I can’t decide if I am a fan of off-peak pricing. While some I spoke with today believe it will increase usage which will make up for the lower price overall, I am not sure that more people will use the system. If you need to use transit, you do. If you don’t, you won’t. A 25 or 50 cent discount is not going ot make people run out and take transit when they have no reason to be going somewhere.

If they increased service on buses and trains on the weekend, then we would have something to talk about.

More on 1010Wins.

Vodkaster has put together a subway map that includes the best movies of all time. Subway lines on the map are organized by film type. Some of the movies on the map include: Godfather, Casablanca, To Kill a Mockingbird and Die Hard.

Download the full movies map here.

The public transportation system in Atlanta is called “MARTA”. This week MARTA decided to change the name of their subway lines and has moved to colors for the rail line names. The updates are as follows:

• Red Line = former North line
• Yellow Line =- former Northeast line
• Green Line = former Proctor Creek line
• Blue Line = former East-West line

MARTA officials say the change is to follow many of the other rail systems that use colors like Chicago, Dallas and Washington, D.C. They also say it will minimize confusion – not sure about that because now all websites and content materials will point to the old names for years to come. Even our Atlanta pages will need to be changed.

If you are traveling to Atlanta, check out our Atlanta Airport Travel page to learn about using MARTA from the airport.

Here’s something from the NYC subway wayback machine courtesy Subchat. Many years ago, there was a special “train to the plane” that operated in NYC. It made only a few stops in Manhattan and one in Brooklyn then ended at the Howard Beach subway stop. From there passengers boarded a shuttle bus which took them to JFK airport. The train ran every 20 minutes and there was an additional fare of $3.50-4.00 which was collected on board.

If you are traveling to/from the NYC airports and want to try using transit (you should!), check out our NYC airport guide. I find that using the subway and the LIRR is much faster and way cheaper than taking a taxi from JFK airport.

Here’s a video with 2 commercials from the Train to the Plane – both look like they were created by the people who made the Brady Bunch tv show.
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This is exciting except if you are one of the riders of the BART subway in San Francisco. As of Sunday night, the Amalgamated Transit Union has decided to strike. A strike would basically completely suspend service across the entire system.

The BART website has lots of suggestions on how to handle a strike if it happens. They include (sarcasm is mine):

• adjusting your hours – yeap that’s certainly possible for most
• telecommute – sure if you work a cash register or make coffee at a starbucks you can do that from home
• carpool – i wonder if those with vans will start gypsy service similar to that in some parts of nyc
• alternate routes – yep, you could walk all the way – wonder if they will let you walk through the bay tunnel
• ride a charter bus – this might be the best option but will still be massively overpacked with people
• bicycle – yep, another great option for 12-20 miles lol
• take other transportation

The San Francisco Chronicle has put together a forum where BART riders can express their thoughts and get help on how to commute in the event of a strike. Here’s their full post where they also note that over 340,000 daily riders use BART.

Best of luck to our bay area friends – just remember to breathe and don’t do anything that will put you on Alcatraz!