Increases in 6 and 7 service April 2019

[Union Tpke]

Screen Shot 2018-09-21 at 6.37.06 PM by Union Turnpike, on Flickr

Screen Shot 2018-09-21 at 6.37.19 PM by Union Turnpike, on Flickr

Screen Shot 2018-09-21 at 6.37.37 PM by Union Turnpike, on Flickr

Screen Shot 2018-09-21 at 6.38.04 PM by Union Turnpike, on Flickr

Screen Shot 2018-09-21 at 6.38.18 PM by Union Turnpike, on Flickr

[LGA Link N Train]

So from what I can understand, the and are getting an increase in service?

[VIP]

Yeah

[Lawrence St]

Isn't Westchester short on sets though?

[QM1to6Ave]

Oh boy, 1 additional roundtrip on the 6 in the mornings, and 1 in the afternoons. That will really fix all of the 's problems (eye roll)

[Mysterious2train]

So the agency projects that even after these trips are added, Queens-bound  trains on weekday evenings between 8:30 and 9:00 PM will continue to be overcrowded, and they can't increase service further because of the "need to maintain even rampdown of service during transition from PM peak period to evening". Can somebody who knows more about operations shed some light on this and why this is an obstacle? Unrelated, I'm not a regular  rider, but isn't there regularly congestion between Willets Point and Main Street during parts of the PM Rush partially caused by some trainsets going out of service and returning to Corona Yard? Couldn't having a couple of trainsets remain on the road longer to provide additional service in the evening help reduce those delays somewhat?

[Calvin]

1 hour ago, Mysterious2train said:

So the agency projects that even after these trips are added, Queens-bound  trains on weekday evenings between 8:30 and 9:00 PM will continue to be overcrowded, and they can't increase service further because of the "need to maintain even rampdown of service during transition from PM peak period to evening". Can somebody who knows more about operations shed some light on this and why this is an obstacle? Unrelated, I'm not a regular  rider, but isn't there regularly congestion between Willets Point and Main Street during parts of the PM Rush partially caused by some trainsets going out of service and returning to Corona Yard? Couldn't having a couple of trainsets remain on the road longer to provide additional service in the evening help reduce those delays somewhat?

Yes, that choice is made from the Wilets Point trains terminating at 111 St. That depends on the traffic on the local service. 

[Calvin]

On 9/22/2018 at 10:00 AM, Lawrence St said:

Isn't Westchester short on sets though?

Not as of now, but next year: who knows. 

[Italianstallion]

1 hour ago, Mysterious2train said:

So the agency projects that even after these trips are added, Queens-bound  trains on weekday evenings between 8:30 and 9:00 PM will continue to be overcrowded, and they can't increase service further because of the "need to maintain even rampdown of service during transition from PM peak period to evening". Can somebody who knows more about operations shed some light on this and why this is an obstacle? Unrelated, I'm not a regular  rider, but isn't there regularly congestion between Willets Point and Main Street during parts of the PM Rush partially caused by some trainsets going out of service and returning to Corona Yard? Couldn't having a couple of trainsets remain on the road longer to provide additional service in the evening help reduce those delays somewhat?

It depends on what you mean by overcrowded. It appears that "guideline" for crowding changes depending in the time of day. How else to explain that at 5:30 pm, 66 riders per car equals 60% of guideline, while at 8:30, 53 riders equals 111% of guideline? The guideline number at 5:30 is 110 per car, but at 8:30 it's 48. So the 111% "overcrowding" at 8:30 means that there will be 53 passengers instead of 48. Not a big deal.

[RR503]

3 hours ago, Mysterious2train said:

So the agency projects that even after these trips are added, Queens-bound  trains on weekday evenings between 8:30 and 9:00 PM will continue to be overcrowded, and they can't increase service further because of the "need to maintain even rampdown of service during transition from PM peak period to evening". Can somebody who knows more about operations shed some light on this and why this is an obstacle?

There is honestly no good reason for this. A wise planner would push any rampdown out 1/2 an hour, but alas... 

Shoulder service is notoriously bad in this city -- indeed, it has been in the 'evening' period that some of the largest ridership losses have taken place. Of course, I believe that the loading guidelines themselves are partially at fault here (what sort of agency determines demand by looking at ridership on its objectively substandard services) but I believe that battle isn't being won any time soon. 

1 hour ago, Italianstallion said:

It depends on what you mean by overcrowded. It appears that "guideline" for crowding changes depending in the time of day. How else to explain that at 5:30 pm, 66 riders per car equals 60% of guideline, while at 8:30, 53 riders equals 111% of guideline? The guideline number at 5:30 is 110 per car, but at 8:30 it's 48. So the 111% "overcrowding" at 8:30 means that there will be 53 passengers instead of 48. Not a big deal.

Rush hour guidelines are about 3sq ft per standee + seated capacity. Off peak guideline is 125% seated capacity (not that that one matters at all, given the sheer volume of work and therefore frequency cuts that take place). 

[bobtehpanda]

2 hours ago, RR503 said:

There is honestly no good reason for this. A wise planner would push any rampdown out 1/2 an hour, but alas... 

Shoulder service is notoriously bad in this city -- indeed, it has been in the 'evening' period that some of the largest ridership losses have taken place. Of course, I believe that the loading guidelines themselves are partially at fault here (what sort of agency determines demand by looking at ridership on its objectively substandard services) but I believe that battle isn't being won any time soon. 

Rush hour guidelines are about 3sq ft per standee + seated capacity. Off peak guideline is 125% seated capacity (not that that one matters at all, given the sheer volume of work and therefore frequency cuts that take place). 

This is what happens when you put bean counters in charge of things with a warrant to "cut costs" but without any political backing for hard things. Kalikow was the last chairman to serve out a full term; Lhota might make it to the end this time (lol) but Lhota is a lackey with multiple conflicts of interest. And the whole appointed at will by the governor and Senate thing is really stupid.

Honestly, MTA board and chairman picking should be entirely devolved to the counties, boroughs, and city. We've seen that the one-man show doesn't work at both the city and the state level. I think this is really unlikely, but Corey Johnson somehow managed to pull congestion pricing out of his ass, so we'll see if anyone else locally is good at the sausage making.

[RR503]

1 hour ago, bobtehpanda said:

This is what happens when you put bean counters in charge of things with a warrant to "cut costs" but without any political backing for hard things. Kalikow was the last chairman to serve out a full term; Lhota might make it to the end this time (lol) but Lhota is a lackey with multiple conflicts of interest. And the whole appointed at will by the governor and Senate thing is really stupid.

 Honestly, MTA board and chairman picking should be entirely devolved to the counties, boroughs, and city. We've seen that the one-man show doesn't work at both the city and the state level. I think this is really unlikely, but Corey Johnson somehow managed to pull congestion pricing out of his ass, so we'll see if anyone else locally is good at the sausage making.

For better or for worse, the board and chairman serve largely as rubber stamps in scheme of operations (capex is a whole different matter). It's the agency functionaries that really set the tone, and it's there where change needs to/is happening. Byford is a start, absolutely. But I'd imagine that there are still many holdovers from the 'old' culture at NYCT populating the upper echelons of Subways/Surface ops -- and if I had to guess, it's those folks who remain the largest roadblocks to meaningful change. Put differently, you can have the best and the brightest at the top of anything, but if the mid-level folks and front line troops don't share in some vision, then jack sh*t will come to pass.