Home: Spring Street/SoHo
Work: 34th Street/Penn Station
4 Stops/15 minutes

I admit I have a relatively easy commute, especially in comparison to some of my colleagues who face long delays and torturous rides. I can take either the C or E train from Spring Street, though as Ryan noted in his report card, the E train runs much more frequently.

Because the E originates downtown, there are usually plenty of seats on my way to work, at least until we get to West 4th Street and pick up the flood of commuters from the F/V/B/D lines. Still, I listed “adequate room on board at rush hour” as my top priority, maybe as a show of solidarity to the riders who pack in the train at West 4th and 14th Street. And my return trip is usually standing-room-only, even after the bursting trains empty out at Penn Station.

My other primary complaints are about the poor communication to riders. Sometimes it seems as if the station managers maliciously wait until a train is pulling into the station to make an important announcement. You can almost see them laughing as they do it. But even when the announcements are audible, they are often not remotely helpful. I don’t think anyone really cares about the cause of a delay, whether it be a signal malfunction, a sick passenger, or police activity. Riders just want to know how long they will have to wait until the next train arrives so they can decide if they need to find an alternate way to get to work.

The rush hour station manager, at least at Spring Street, often seems as poorly informed as his passengers. I recall a grueling commute over the summer in which he repeatedly assured us that a train would be coming in 10 minutes. Thirty minutes later, even he wasn’t buying that line, and he finally herded us out of the station with transfer tickets and directions to walk over to the 1 train.

At least he was apologetic and courteous. I’ve had plenty of frustrating experiences with station managers. Last month, after a MetroCard machine ate my $20 (after refusing my credit card), the station manager I complained to told me the machines were not his job. He wouldn’t even post a sign warning people away from that particular thieving machine.

I’ve become keenly aware of the state of subway elevators in the last two and half years since becoming a mother. Elevators seem to be out of service just as often as they’re in service. And fixing them apparently isn’t a priority, with posted signs saying the repair will take months if not longer. Carrying a child in a stroller up and down stairs is just no fun. But at least I have that option. I can’t imagine what it must be like for people using a wheelchair or otherwise unable to climb the stairs.

Overall, I give the E train a C grade.

Home: Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum

Work: 34th Street/Penn Station

14 stops/ average 40 minutes

At the onset, I must say that my subway commute is relatively painless. Having read others accounts, in these virtual pages and elsewhere, I feel pretty fortunate. A couple of caveats: I bike to work nearly as often as I take the train and I’ve only lived on this line for 3 months. So, with grains of salt near at hand:

With startling regularity, I come down the stairs at Eastern Parkway to find a train arriving at the station. If the tracks are empty, or the train’s just pulling away (also a common occurrence – though I’ve noticed on the subway, everything seems like it happens all the time), I haven’t waited for more than 5 minutes on a weekday for another train. Weekends are another story – I can catch a nap, read a couple of chapters, and still have time to pace, stare down the dark tunnel and swear under my breath a few times before a train shows up. Time between trains on weekends can range from 10 minutes to a personal high of 25 minutes!

The trip is normally speedy, with few delays thus far. The 2 is called “express,” but I only enjoy that eponymous function for my final two morning stops. Before that, the 2 is painfully local. One particular section never fails to metaphorically chap my hide: from Wall Street to Chambers the 2 and 3 make four, count ‘em, four stops. Between Park Place and Chambers, it seems the front end of the train is pulling in to one stop before the back has left the last.

The stations along my route are generally kept clean and the trains themselves are normally tidy and well marked with system and route maps. While a seat isn’t always available, I’ve rarely encountered the compression chamber conditions of the 4 or L. The announcements on train are audible, though we on the 2 seem to lack the more charismatic conductors – not always a curse, in my mind. The messages are simple and straightforward, enough for a B from me. Why not an A? Well, the announcements are clear when they are made; from time to time, we are given the silent treatment and are left to fend for ourselves and pay vigilant attention to the stations and stops – what a chore! And for the record, I don’t think I’ve heard a station announcement anywhere I could understand, though they are routinely loud enough to flush out any Branch Davidians that may hole up in the train tunnels.

One troubling shortcoming: at the Eastern Parkway station, there is no elevator or escalator and exiting requires climbing two flights of stairs. Many evenings there is an elderly or injured person standing at the bottom of the stairs, staring up in dismay, then resignation. System-wide, the MTA needs to improve upon its lagging accessibility conditions.

There you have it: Overall: a B! Well played MTA!

Riding the #5 train from the Bronx makes a daily commuter want to find a job outside of Manhattan. Station managers and attendants along the line are clueless, the trains are ridiculously crowded, service downtown is suspended (and riders are stranded) at least 5 times a month, and delays are frequent.

I take the 8:10 #5 at Gun Hill Road that comes from its starting point, Dyre Avenue, 3 stations north. Immediately upon entering the station, you realize how much attention this station needs. I walk into an 80′s snapshot: drab, beige paint that dulls the senses, colorful artwork courtesy of “john wayne” the local graffiti artist, and 2 flashing light bulbs located in the right uppermost corner of the station, where I am sure everyone can see them, that inform straphangers of approaching trains. One bulb blinks for the train coming “from city”; the other “to city.” The whole city has graduated to a red LED display, but we in the Bronx rely on bulbs. This embarrassing alert is not even environmentally friendly–no CFL bulbs here.

I head down the stairs because there is no other way down to the platform. Definitely not ADA compliant. I usually get an early clue as to how bad my commute will be depending on the amount of passengers on the platform. On a normal morning, there are probably about 500-750 people between any 5 minute interval waiting for the train downtown. When I see riders about 6 people deep from the platform edge, I know one of the following is about to happen:

• I will make it 3 stops south to 180th Street (a connecting spot for the #2 train) and then kicked off my train without explanation. This will happen as the passengers are trapped on the soon-to-be-suspended #5 watching the closing doors of the less-than-full #2 train across the platform. And it will happen without a warning of impending doom from my conductor.
• I will get to 180th Street and will be told the #5 and #2 (one an east side line and one a west) are suspended because of signal problems, police activity, or a sick passenger. This happens about 5 times a month. All 6,000 of us who are stranded are advised to take the bus.
• I will be on a #5 train that has crawled past 6 stops in 25 minutes.
• The train will go local making all 7 stops eliminated on the Bronx morning express, adding 12 minutes onto my commute.
• I will sit on the #5 train express track and watch 3 or more #2 trains progress speedily alongside us on the local track.
• I will get to 149th Street and Grand Concourse (another transfer hub), get kicked off the train because there is no Lexington Avenue service and told that I must take the #4 train, another Lexington Avenue line.
• Or–as happened all in one morning–my 8:10 train will be delayed, I will be kicked off at 180th because of signal problems, get on another 5 train which is slow to 149th because of a prior police investigation, get to 149th and be kicked off because of a sick passenger. And then finally when a #5 train does come, it will run on the #2 line on the west side.

However, the conductor on the 8:10 train is a rare treat. He is famous for sayings like “Ladies and gentleman, beware of pick-pockets. The season of giving is year-round and you are Santa Claus. Please do not carry your wallets in your back pocket and hold onto your purses.” He often brings a smile to my face as he wishes us a safe trip and a good day.

All announcements made on the train are, if not understood, at least clear and audible. Not one of us understands why we are not advised and forewarned about the problems awaiting us by station attendants and managers BEFORE we start our commute. For goodness sake, we board the train at the beginning of the line! Problems are known before trains are dispatched out of Dyre Avenue–a mere 3 stops (7 minutes) ahead. Why then, are we the last ones to know what is going on, often when it is too late to seek out feasible alternatives (not competing with 5,999 others for a seat on the bus) to get to work on time?

I witness firsthand the dire circumstances facing our mass transit system and am relieved to know that ideas, such as congestion pricing, can channel millions of dollars in revenue into improving and expanding public transit. That means less crowded trains, fewer delays, improved communication with the public, and perhaps, one day, a pleasant commute to work.

And don’t even get me started on my commute home…

My commute is blessedly predictable:

1. I leave my home in Midtown and walk to the station at 47-50th St-Rockefeller Center (B/D/F/V). I push my way down the stairs to the station level and swipe in. The trains seem to empty out at Rockefeller, which means two things.

First, I inevitably miss the train because every staircase leading down to the platform level is filled with disembarking commuters walking up. On the plus side, when the next train arrives I nearly always find a seat.

2. I’m off in two stops, at 34th St-Herald Square. The escalator I use is broken, though the MTA has promised to repair it by mid-September, and then early, mid-, and late October, and then early November, and, as of today, mid-November.

3. Once on the street, I walk the two-and-a-half blocks to the Campaign’s offices on 31st Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues.

It is–by far–the shortest and easiest commute of anyone at the office.

I filled out my rider report card for the F, since I also use it to visit friends in Park Slope, travel to the Lower East Side, and buy groceries at Trader Joe’s (after transferring to the L). I’ve found that even on my non-commuting trips I have rarely experienced delays or long waits for the train.

My main frustration on the F is the barely comprehensible train and station announcements. This has only inconvenienced me once, on a day when–unbeknownst to me–the downtown F was skipping 14th St.

As for the broken escalator, it is a source of comedy more than frustration (though it must severely inconvenience some commuters), since the repeatedly delayed repairs bring to mind the old saw about “government in action.” Even on this sign one can see that “Nov. 16″ has been written over an earlier date.