New York Subway’s On-Time Performance Hits New Low

[GojiMet86]

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/19/nyregion/new-york-subways-on-time-performance-hits-new-low.html

 

Quote

 

New York Subway’s On-Time Performance Hits New Low

By WINNIE HUMARCH 19, 2018

 

Despite months of turnaround efforts, New York City’s subway system slid to a new low point in January, with just 58.1 percent of all weekday trains arriving at stations on time, according to a new report.

The increasing delays were largely the result of bad weather that damaged equipment and caused widespread problems, including 25 days of below-freezing temperatures, according to officials of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which presented the report at a committee meeting on Monday.

Additional subway delays were caused by more people trespassing on the tracks, some of whom may have been homeless and seeking shelter from the cold, officials said. The continuing emergency repair work on the subway system also caused trains to slow down to go around work crews.

On 10 subway lines — the 2, 4, 5, 6, A, B, C, D, E and F — fewer than half of the trains arrived on time that month. The worst offender was the F, with just 32.2 percent of trains arriving on time; followed by the C, 34.7 percent; the 2, 37.3 percent; and the A, 38.1 percent.

Over all, the delays were worse than a year ago, when on-time arrival for weekday trains was 64.1 percent. In addition, on-time arrivals for weekend trains in January fell to 64.7 percent, from 74.2 percent the year before.

“I’m not happy about it, I’m not proud of it,” said Andy Byford, who took over in mid-January as president of New York City Transit, which runs the subway and public buses. But he added that, based on 29 years of working on and running transit systems, “You need to look at the long-term game.”

Mr. Byford pointed out that subway performance improved in February, though it has struggled again in March with back-to-back storms. Although on-time arrival statistics for February are not yet available, there were 56 major incidents that disrupted weekday service that month, compared with 105 incidents in January.

Mr. Byford also said he would review longtime safety regulations that restrict the speed of trains when they are approaching signals with timers, which some transit advocates have said may be unnecessary in some cases and slow down the system too much.

Even before the latest problems, the New York City subway system had one of the worst records for on-time performance among the nation’s cities, though it is by far the biggest system. For instance, in January, on-time performance was 85.7 percent for Washington’s Metro system, 95 percent for Chicago’s L-train system and 96.7 percent for Atlanta’s Marta rail system.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo declared a state of emergency for the city’s subway system last year and has helped promote an $800 million emergency rescue plan. But the continuing delays and breakdowns have exasperated many riders. On Monday, the actress Cynthia Nixon officially announced that she would challenge Mr. Cuomo to be the Democratic nominee in November’s election for governor, making the subway one of her priorities.

John Raskin, the executive director of the Riders Alliance, an advocacy group, said Mr. Cuomo had not made much progress in fixing the subways. “We’ve seen what the governor can do when he prioritizes an issue, and it’s time for the transit system to merit that intensity of focus,” Mr. Raskin said. “The subway system is at the breaking point, and honestly, subway riders are too.”

Mr. Raskin added that the governor and state lawmakers needed to pass a congestion plan for Manhattan, which would charge drivers for driving into Manhattan at peak traffic hours to help fund the subway system.

In January, there were 76,287 delayed weekday trains, up from 60,455 the year before, according to the new report. Of those, 27,249 were the result of overcrowding or insufficient capacity.

In addition, there were 18,931 delayed weekend trains, up from 14,182 the year before.

Blaming overcrowding for delays has become contentious after an investigation by The New York Times in December found that officials had been citing that to mask delays caused by breakdowns or signal problems that forced people onto fewer trains. Mr. Byford has acknowledged that overcrowding is not a meaningful measurement and that officials need to provide more specific information.

M.T.A. officials said that January was particularly hard on the subway system because of a two-day snowstorm early in the month that blanketed the city, and extreme swings in temperature from cold to warm during the month that caused snow to melt faster and seep into equipment. Also, trains were stored on some express tracks instead of outside in yards to protect them from the cold, but that resulted in some delays in service while they were moved out of the way. In addition, a burst water pipe knocked out service to many trains at the subway station at Seventh Avenue and 53rd Street in Manhattan.

While there are other indicators of subway performance besides on-time arrivals, many advocates and others say that it remains an important measure because consistent delays can mean fewer trains and more crowding.

Still, Bill Henderson, executive director of a citizen’s advisory committee to the M.T.A., said that he was not overly concerned based on January’s performance alone. “One exceptional month would not necessarily trigger an alarm for me,” he said.

Several subway riders said they felt that train service was improving. Matt Albala, 29, a brokerage manager who takes the subway three or four times a day, said he had been delayed only once or twice in the past month. “That’s pretty good, I think,” he said. “Before, I would get delayed 5 or 10 minutes here and there, and that doesn’t happen much anymore.”

But many other subway riders said the subways were still making them late as they tried to get to work, go home or just get around the city.

Horace Medley, 34, a contractor from Canarsie, Brooklyn, said that in his experience, the 4 train is delayed by 15 to 20 minutes almost every day when he takes it going home. “It makes you upset,” he said. “They keep on raising the fare, and the service is not getting any better.”

 

 

[P3F]

Not too surprised regarding the  and ... When waiting at West 4th Street it seems like those lines just show up whenever, at no consistent frequency. Trains could be 3 minutes apart, or 11.

[Lance]

I love how the agency is blaming the weather for their complete failure to provide adequate service. Last I checked, this is New York, not Atlanta. It's not beyond the realm of possibility for the temperatures to fall below freezing for days on end in the middle of the winter. The agency should be better equipped to handle normal climate conditions beyond throwing up their hands and saying "too cold, can't run trains."

[biGC323232]

41 minutes ago, Lance said:

I love how the agency is blaming the weather for their complete failure to provide adequate service. Last I checked, this is New York, not Atlanta. It's not beyond the realm of possibility for the temperatures to fall below freezing for days on end in the middle of the winter. The agency should be better equipped to handle normal climate conditions beyond throwing up their hands and saying "too cold, can't run trains."

I agree....To cold to run trains........So what they gonna do about tommorrow..We expecting 8-12 inches...Might not be no service by his logic...

[Via Garibaldi 8]

13 minutes ago, biGC323232 said:

I agree....To cold to run trains........So what they gonna do about tommorrow..We expecting 8-12 inches...Might not be no service by his logic...

This is what infuriates me.... Take a look at Chicago and Boston.  They run systems that may not be as big as ours, but it sure as hell is cold in both locations, and yet their on-time performance is almost TRIPLE what some of our lines are doing.  On-time performance in the 80s and 90s.  I don't care that our system is bigger.  Obviously they're investing in maintenance of their fleet and spending the money to get the job done, while this board makes BS excuses about why they can't do this and that.  If I can get some of my commuting time back from sitting on a subway or a bus, I'd go to one of these meetings and ask this board the questions that need to be asked because this BS about equipment failing is just absurd.  We've always had cold weather, but now when there is a cold spell, rain or snow, the whole damn system falls apart.  Some of worst lines are barely around 30% in terms of on-time performance.  Are we really blaming all of this on weather and poor equipment? How about better dispatch?  

The  train has always been horrendous but God, that train has made me late more times than none just in the last few weeks.  Almost 15 minute waits between trains on weekends during mid days, and, then when they finally come, they crawl from stop to stop.  How when you're waiting that long between trains?  In my experience my commute on any subway line is smooth about 30% of the time, otherwise I'm either waiting for a train to come that I can get on, or crawling between stations.  

[R68OnBroadway]

If I'm correct, the  is the only line with a "C" or above (I think it has like a 70-something percent on-time rating). 

[biGC323232]

36 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

This is what infuriates me.... Take a look at Chicago and Boston.  They run systems that may not be as big as ours, but it sure as hell is cold in both locations, and yet their on-time performance is almost TRIPLE what some of our lines are doing.  On-time performance in the 80s and 90s.  I don't care that our system is bigger.  Obviously they're investing in maintenance of their fleet and spending the money to get the job done, while this board makes BS excuses about why they can't do this and that.  If I can get some of my commuting time back from sitting on a subway or a bus, I'd go to one of these meetings and ask this board the questions that need to be asked because this BS about equipment failing is just absurd.  We've always had cold weather, but now when there is a cold spell, rain or snow, the whole damn system falls apart.  Some of worst lines are barely around 30% in terms of on-time performance.  Are we really blaming all of this on weather and poor equipment? How about better dispatch?  

The  train has always been horrendous but God, that train has made me late more times than none just in the last few weeks.  Almost 15 minute waits between trains on weekends during mid days, and, then when they finally come, they crawl from stop to stop.  How when you're waiting that long between trains?  In my experience my commute on any subway line is smooth about 30% of the time, otherwise I'm either waiting for a train to come that I can get on, or crawling between stations.  

Word up....Chi and bos at times get worst weather than us and their on time is nearly perfect...I know exactly what you mean about the  on wkends...In both bklyn and upper manhattan...Waiting times can be a little long than your normal line...I even try timing the train for the most part by seeing what time it arrives on my phone  before going into the station and 9 out of 10 it still dont come...or come like 10-15 mins after....  service needs to return on wkends again...

[Via Garibaldi 8]

3 minutes ago, biGC323232 said:

Word up....Chi and bos at times get worst weather than us and their on time is nearly perfect...I know exactly what you mean about the  on wkends...In both bklyn and upper manhattan...Waiting times can be a little long than your normal line...I even try timing the train for the most part by seeing what time it arrives on my phone  before going into the station and 9 out of 10 it still dont come...or come like 10-15 mins after....  service needs to return on wkends again...

I use most of the lines in the system and I find that, overall the waits are longer than what they should be.