So you think you got it rough on your morning commute, and that all those newcomers are gonna destroy your quality of life? Nah. You got it EASY partner. Check this out:
Look, I ride my bike whenever I can, and it ain't always to save the fare. But I ride the trains too, and at certain key moments during the rush it's pretty awful. Though often if I wait for the next one it's fine. The annoyance - having to let a train go by when I'm late - is usually worse than the actual affect on my trip. However, were I one of those poor sods on the much-maligned L, I might not be so sanguine. The fact is, I ride the Q at all different times, and my experience is much like the numbers suggest. The Q is not actually that crowded, either historically or currently. When automated controls eventually come on line, we can expect a smarter, swifter commute, and more trains per hour. Oddly enough, we're not even at capacity now. I also find the claims people make of "having to let three or four trains go by" to not fit my experience at all. Once in a great while, when there's some problem on the line, maybe. But it's certainly a very rare occurrence, unless you suffer from a condition whereby the mere touching of another human being makes you break out in a rash, which in turn, might make others less inclined to want to touch YOU.
Did you know that system-wide we only recently came BACK to the level of ridership in 1950? One can only hope the 2nd Ave line will help things a bit, maybe bring us back to the level of 1960.
Oh, and if you REALLY want to get in a huff about this stuff, go over to our pro-development folks at NY YIMBY and read their piece called "Quit Whining, Brooklyn," for more stats on the sitch.
http://newyorkyimby.com/2014/10/quit-whining-brooklyn-your-subways-arent-that-crowded.html
Lastly, you can't help but wonder if at least part of the crowding problem has to do with our, how do I put this delicately, weight problem? If New Yorkers are actually 50% bigger/heavier than the LAST time we reached this number of riders, maybe that's part of the problem.
Stand clear the closing doors! Or we'll take a plunger to you, laddie!
Look, I ride my bike whenever I can, and it ain't always to save the fare. But I ride the trains too, and at certain key moments during the rush it's pretty awful. Though often if I wait for the next one it's fine. The annoyance - having to let a train go by when I'm late - is usually worse than the actual affect on my trip. However, were I one of those poor sods on the much-maligned L, I might not be so sanguine. The fact is, I ride the Q at all different times, and my experience is much like the numbers suggest. The Q is not actually that crowded, either historically or currently. When automated controls eventually come on line, we can expect a smarter, swifter commute, and more trains per hour. Oddly enough, we're not even at capacity now. I also find the claims people make of "having to let three or four trains go by" to not fit my experience at all. Once in a great while, when there's some problem on the line, maybe. But it's certainly a very rare occurrence, unless you suffer from a condition whereby the mere touching of another human being makes you break out in a rash, which in turn, might make others less inclined to want to touch YOU.
Did you know that system-wide we only recently came BACK to the level of ridership in 1950? One can only hope the 2nd Ave line will help things a bit, maybe bring us back to the level of 1960.
Oh, and if you REALLY want to get in a huff about this stuff, go over to our pro-development folks at NY YIMBY and read their piece called "Quit Whining, Brooklyn," for more stats on the sitch.
http://newyorkyimby.com/2014/10/quit-whining-brooklyn-your-subways-arent-that-crowded.html
Lastly, you can't help but wonder if at least part of the crowding problem has to do with our, how do I put this delicately, weight problem? If New Yorkers are actually 50% bigger/heavier than the LAST time we reached this number of riders, maybe that's part of the problem.
Stand clear the closing doors! Or we'll take a plunger to you, laddie!