Nyc Subway

July 24, 2015

New Yorker Spotlight: Gabrielle Shubert Reflects on Her Ride at the New York Transit Museum

On the corner of Boerum Place and Schermerhorn Street in Downtown Brooklyn is what looks like a regular subway entrance. But upon further inspection, it becomes clear that there's no uptown and downtown platforms here. This is the New York Transit Museum, the largest museum dedicated to urban public transportation in the country. It's fittingly located inside a decommissioned–but still working–subway station. And over the last 40 years, it has told one of New York's most important stories–how mass transit and city development are intricately connected and how public transportation is one of the city's crowning achievements, in spite of its delays and crowded rides. Gabrielle Shubert has served as the museum's director for the past 24 years. She transformed a young institution into a go-to destination for learning about and engaging with urban history. From vintage cars to subway fares, Gabrielle has offered visitors a chance to go behind the scenes and marvel at the wonders of New York City's incredible public transportation system. On the eve of her retirement, we sat down with Gabrielle in one of the museum's vintage cars and found out about her early days as director, the range of exhibits and programming she has overseen, and the institution's bright future.
Read the interview here
July 15, 2015

The MTA May Revive the W Train Line

Rumor has it that the W train may be returning from the dead. According to AM NY, the MTA is in talks with both public officials and rider advocates to bring the train back to service once the Q train is diverged to the Upper East Side to the new Second Avenue line in December 2016. Restoring the old line would prevent disrupting subway service in Astoria, an area with thousands of daily strap-hangers and only a few subways to choose from. The MTA hasn't made any official announcements on the matter thus far, but with the opening of the Second Avenue Subway line rapidly approaching, they are said to be seriously mulling it over.
More on the rumor here
June 18, 2015

This Poster Displays All 468 Subway Station Signs

For all intents and purposes, we do not want any visual of the subway hanging in our apartments. The grimy stations don't really complement our decor, and we'd prefer not to be reminded of the daily bloodbath that is trying to squeeze onto the 6 train. But this poster is the exception to our no-MTA-in-the-house rule. Printed using 11 Pantone® spot colors, this snappy piece of wall art displays all 468 subway station signs throughout the city, arranged in alphabetical order. It was designed by Hamish Smyth, one member of the duo who reprinted Massimo Vignelli's iconic Standards Manual last year. Once again inspired by Vignelli's graphic visual approach, Smyth created the new poster because he feels "this is an iconic design that should be remembered and celebrated, and we think a beautifully printed poster is a great way to get it into many people's hands."
Find out how to get your own copy and watch a video from the design team
May 27, 2015

NYC Households Spend $130 a Month Funding the MTA

Today's dose of disheartening news about the MTA comes via the Daily News, who reports that the debt-ridden city agency collects $4.8 billion a year from city taxpayers through taxes, fees, and the city budget. This comes out to $130 a month for the average New York household, even more than the cost of a monthly Metrocard, according to a new report by Comptroller Scott Stringer. Keep in mind this is in addition to the $5.3 billion they collect from fares and tolls.
Find out more here
May 19, 2015

The MTA Explains Why Your Subway is Delayed with This 8-bit Video

We're quick to write off the MTA as incompetent whenever we experience a subway delay, but let this video convince you that they do indeed know what they're doing. This new short created by the agency explains why holding a train can actually prevent additional delays from happening. As it turns out, keeping gaps from growing and restoring evenness to a line will help keep service on schedule overall. Check out their awesome 8-bit video ahead to get the visual explanation.
Watch the video here
May 18, 2015

Live Data Map Lets You Watch the World’s Mass Transit Systems Move

If you've ever marveled at how the world's public transit systems keep people moving across town and back every day, TRAVIC (Transit Visualization Client), which shows scheduled routes of trains and buses as well as real-time positions (the MTA provides real-time data feeds) from more than 200 public transportation systems worldwide, will keep you busy for a while. The data map, created by Swiss-German IT company GeOps and the University of Freiburg, lets you watch the C train (or your own regular punishment) crawl slowly through its scheduled stops–and wonder why there seem to be so many more trains running on the Paris Metro.
More this way
April 22, 2015

Subway Rent Map Shows Manhattan Rental Prices Along Each Train Line

The folks over at Thrillist have put together the fun new Manhattan Subway Rent Map, which shows "where you can't afford to live, by stop." The figures come from the median rent per bedroom near every Manhattan subway stop. For the most part, the trends are what you'd expect -- prices along the 4, 5, 6 line get incredibly lower above 96th Street; living near a 14th Street train station will cost you; and the A, C, E train carries pretty steep prices throughout Manhattan until you reach 125th Street. But what's interesting is that the 59th Street corridor reigns supreme, with prices across the board coming in around $2,800.
See the full map here
March 25, 2015

Chatting with Strangers on Your Commute Will Make You Happier, Study Says

Here's a way to bring some relief to those seemingly never-ending subway delays: strike up a conversation with the stranger next to you. Research conducted by behavioral scientists Nicholas Epley and Juliana Schroeder reveals that engaging in chitchat with your fellow straphangers can actually improve your well-being.
learn more about their study
March 23, 2015

The Subway That Could Have Been: Mapping Never-Built Train Lines and Abandoned Stations

We all know now that NYC has the worst commutes in the nation and that our subway system just keeps getting more unbearable. So it makes perfect sense that proposals for new train lines and alternate modes of transit like gondolas, ferry systems, and streetcars keep popping up. But this isn't a new phenomena; there have been many proposed subway lines that were never built, as well as stations that were taken out of service. A fun interactive map from WNYC called Lost Subways shows both of these, illustrating the subway that could have been.
Explore the map here
March 18, 2015

NYC Has the Longest Work Week and Worst Commutes in the Nation

At least we're getting some validation for our title of "disgruntled New Yorker." According to a new report called "The Hardest Working Cities" issued by Comptroller Scott Stringer, New Yorkers have an average work week of 49.1 hours, including six hours and 18 minutes for commuting.* And with subway service getting even worse–delays increased 46 percent in 2014–the future of our sanity isn't looking good.
More findings from the study ahead
March 9, 2015

What if NYC Offered Subway Riders Free E-Books?

Here's a cool idea we'd love to see implemented in Manhattan: A free e-library for folks who ride the subway. Earlier this year, Beijing subway operator Beijing MTR rolled out a new digital library that would allow its underground commuters to download a book, at no cost, by simply scanning a QR code inside a train car. As you may have guessed, the initiative is looking to get citizens to spend more time reading over mindlessly watching videos or playing games.
More on the new program
March 6, 2015

Your Suspicions Are Correct, Subway Service Is Really Getting Worse

The platform pileups, the sick passengers, everyone's favorite recording, "we're delayed because of train traffic ahead of us"–subway service in New York City is getting worse, and it's not just in your imagination. In 2014, delays increased by a whopping 45.6 percent, and on the worst lines, the 4, 5 and 6, that number grows to 57 percent. The main culprits are right-of-way delays (caused by malfunctions of switches, signals, and rails) and overcrowding, the latter of which caused more than double the amount of delays in 2014, up from 6,942 to 14,843.
More details ahead
March 5, 2015

$19.05 Is the Perfect Amount to Load on a MetroCard so You Won’t Have Leftover Change

If you don't get an unlimited weekly or monthly MetroCard, you probably put random amounts on your card each time, or you might select one of the MTA's payment prompts–a $9.00 MetroCard with a $.45 bonus, a $19.00 card with a $.95 bonus, or a $39.00 card with a $1.95 bonus. If you fall into one of these two camps, you're likely always left with a useless amount of change on the card that will never add up to the $2.50 it costs for a single train ride. All of that leftover change going unused on thousands of MetroCards each day is being collected by the MTA, in what seems like a purposeful tactic. But now, thanks to statistician Ben Wellington, we have the solution to one of NYC life's biggest dilemmas–$19.05 is the is the perfect amount to load on your MetroCard so that you'll get eight subway rides without a penny left over.
Find out how Wellington arrived at this number
March 2, 2015

Animated GIF Shows How NYC’s Subway Has Evolved over the Last 100 Years

If you’ve ever wondered what subway lines were the first to appear in NYC, this cool animated map has all the answers and then some. Created by Appealing Industries via Paste Magazine (h/t Untapped), the map shows the evolution of the city’s various lines over the 100-plus years that it’s been in operation. Surprisingly, Brooklyn is the first to see action on […]

February 19, 2015

Proposed ‘Triboro Rx’ Subway Line Would Better Connect the Outer Boroughs

The problem with moving to many affordable neighborhoods in Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx is the lack of transportation options, but a new report from the Regional Plan Association calls for a Triboro RX subway line, which would weave together existing subway stops in far-reaching spots, as well as provide additional locations. And forget toll hikes to fund the line; it would run mostly above ground on existing freight train tracks, making implementation easy and cost effective.
More on the transportation proposal and see the full Triboro RX map
February 18, 2015

POLL: Do You Support an $8 Bridge Toll to Raise Funds for the MTA?

Yesterday we looked at a new proposal from MoveNY to toll four East River bridges (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Williamsburg, and Queensboro) and 60th Street in Manhattan in order to “raise funds for the MTA’s five-year capital plan (which is about $15.2 billion short of its target), and to make the cost of the city’s transit more equitable.” Drivers with […]

February 17, 2015

Group Proposes $8 Toll on Popular East River Bridges to Raise Funds for the MTA

Image via Wikimedia Commons Car-happy city folk are sure to grumble over this latest proposal from MoveNY to toll four East River bridges (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Williamsburg and Queensboro) and 60th Street in Manhattan. The group's plan, backed by former traffic commissioner Sam Schwartz, is looking to raise funds for the MTA's five-year capital plan (which is about $15.2 billion short of its target), and to make the cost of the city's transit more equitable. The new program would apply a $5.54 toll each way for bridge-crossers traveling with an E-ZPass, while drivers without an E-Zpass will have to shell out $8 to cross each time. The same tolls would also be applied to all avenue crossings at 60th Street.
Find out more here
February 6, 2015

The NYC Subway Is Filled with Bacteria and DNA from Unidentifiable Organisms

If you're a hand sanitizer-wielding New Yorker who often finds yourself ridiculed by friends for your hypochondriac germaphobe ways, good news, because you've got the last laugh—sort of. A team of researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College spent the past 17 months mapping the DNA found in the New York City subway system, and what they uncovered will certainly make your skin crawl. Not only were some bacteria samples associated with bubonic plague and anthrax, but they also found that nearly half of the DNA found on subway infrastructure—we're talking turnstiles and ticket kiosks amongst other things—did not match any known organism.
Find out more here
February 5, 2015

Musical Data Project is the Soundtrack to Income Inequality Along the Subway

While we love a good infographic or interactive map, this "musical data-viz project" really sparked our interest as a new way of looking at geographic trends. Artist and programmer Brian Foo translated a 1.5-hour subway ride on the 2 train into a 4.5 minute song that rises and falls based on the income of the neighborhood the train is passing through. What results is an audibly beautiful rendition of the often not-so-pretty diversity in the city's income levels.
Listen to the full song here
February 4, 2015

POLL: Would You Pay More for Better Subway Service?

The MTA’s fare hike will take effect in March, raising the price of a single subway ride from $2.50 to $2.75, and it’s made most New York train riders pretty unhappy. But what if service was better? If those flashing “delay” projections were few and far between; massive platform pileups were a thing of the […]

February 3, 2015

Mapping How the NYC Subway Could Operate in a 40-Inch Snowstorm

Though winter storm Juno isn't going down in history as the biggest snowstorm to ever hit NYC, it was the first time the city completely shut down the subway system due to a snowstorm. Governor Cuomo and the MTA said the shutdown was necessary because a portion of almost every train line runs outdoors. Not happy with that reasoning? Then you'll really enjoy this map from WNYC called the Snowpiercer; it proposes how the subway system could operate during a 40-inch snowstorm.
See the full map here
February 2, 2015

What Would Happen if New York Let Everyone Ride the Subway for Free?

With the MTA fare hike just over the horizon, the question of whether or not all of New York has fair access to affordable public transportation comes into play. The hike, effective March 22nd, will push the cost to $2.75 per ride and $116.50 for a 30-day MetroCard, an increase of a quarter and $4.50, respectively. Like New York, cities across the globe are struggling with the same issue, but there are more than a handful of rogue riders in each taking matters into their own hands. About 500 riders in Stockholm have banded together to create Planka.nu (translation: "Dodge the fare now"), a scheme that has members pay $12 in monthly dues (an unlimited ride pass for 30 days costs about $120) which results in a cash reserve that can more than cover any fines that a member may occur. While illegal, the actions of these few scamps shed light on one important policy that's already being taken on by cities across the U.S.: subsidies. As noted in a recent article by The Atlantic, in the U.S., where government subsidies cover between 57 and 89 percent of operating costs for buses and 29 to 89 percent of those for rail, many public transit systems are quite affordable, costing in most cases less than $2, on average. So they ask, why not make the whole system free?
Is free transportation in New York unthinkable?