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| Embargoed for Release: Wednesday, August 24, 2011, 10:30 a.m. | For More Info: Gene Russianoff (212) 349-6460 or (917) 575-9434 |
Straphangers Campaign Issues "State of the Subways" Report Card
J/Z Best Line - For First Time - with "MetroCard Rating" of $1.45
Worst Lines: 2 and C at 90-Cent Rating
Systemwide, Report Finds Fewer Car Breakdowns,
Slight Decline in Announcements, Cleanliness Essentially Unchanged
The NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign today issued its fourteenth annual “State of the Subways” Report Card, rating the J/Z as the best of 18 subway lines with a “MetroCard Rating” of $1.45 and the C and 2 both determined to be the worst with a MetroCard rating of 90 cents.
The ratings were based on official transit data.
The J/Z was rated the best line for the first time since the Straphangers Campaign Report Cards started being issued in 1997. It was also a first for the 2 which tied for last place with the C. The C has been rated worst five times in 14 years, in 2011, 2010, 2009, 2007 and 2001.
Systemwide, the report found improvement in one aspect of service, the rate of car breakdowns. But there was no meaningful change in the cleanliness of subway cars and a slight drop off in the adequacy of subway car announcements. Comparisons were not possible in three other measures – the amount of scheduled service, the regularity of time between trains, and the level of crowding due to changes in their definitions by transit officials.
Scores of car cleaner and maintainer positions were cut in 2010, the period largely covered by New York City Transit’s data used in the report. For example, some 116 car cleaner positions, 46 track cleaners and dozens of car maintainers were eliminated in the 2010 budget.
"Its probably is too early to measure the full impacts of the 2010 cuts," said Gene Russianoff, Straphangers Campaign senior attorney. "But according to official transit statistics, there were fewer subway car breakdowns in the last half of 2010, while subway car cleanliness and announcements declined slightly in the year."
Russianoff added, "What’s clear is that many riders on the top rated lines are getting much better service than those taking lines that are at the bottom of the barrel."
The Report Card is based on an extensive review of official data on subway service, much of which has not been released before on a line-by-line basis. It includes detailed one-page profiles of 20 lines and a Straphangers Campaign MetroCard Rating.
The profiles show six measures of service, based on recent data from MTA New York City Transit, largely covering the last half of 2010. The measures are: the frequency of scheduled service; the regularity of train arrivals; mechanical failures of subway cars; chance of getting a seat at the most congested point; cleanliness of subway cars and seats; and in-car announcements.
Russianoff noted that the report’s MetroCard Ratings were a shorthand tool to compare lines and are based on a formula developed in consultation with independent transportation experts. A line could receive a rating of $2.25 if it scored, on average, in the top 5% on six measures.
The report’s findings show the following picture of New York City’s twenty subway lines:
1. The best subway line in the city was the J/Z with a “MetroCard Rating” of $1.45. The J/Z ranked number one in the system for the first time since the Straphangers Campaign started issuing report cards in 1997. The J/Z ranked highest because it performs best in the system on regularity of service. It also performs above average on three measures: delays caused by mechanical breakdowns, seat availability at the most crowded point during rush hour and subway car announcements. The line did not get a higher rating because it performed average on subway car cleanliness and amount of scheduled service. The J/Z runs between Broad Street in Manhattan and Jamaica Center in Queens.
2. The 2 was ranked the worst subway line with a MetroCard Rating of 90 cents, tying with the C line for last. This was the first time in fourteen annual Straphangers Campaign Report Cards that the 2 came in last. The 2 performs worst in the system on seat availability at the most crowded point during rush hour and next to worst on regularity of service. The line also performs below average on subway car cleanliness. The line did not get a lower rating as it performs above average on three measures: amount of scheduled service, delays caused by mechanical breakdowns and subway car announcements. The 2 runs between Brooklyn College and Wakefield Avenue in the Bronx.
3. For the third year in a row, the C was ranked the worst subway line, with a MetroCard
Rating of 90 cents, tying with the 2. The C line performs worst in the system on three measures: amount of scheduled service, delays caused by mechanical breakdowns and subway car announcements. The line did not get a lower rating as it performs best in the system on subway car cleanliness and above average on service regularity and chance of getting a seat at rush hour. The C operates between Euclid Avenue in Brooklyn and Washington Heights in Manhattan.
4. Systemwide, for 20 lines, we found the following on three of six measures we can compare over time: car breakdowns, car cleanliness and announcements. (We cannot compare three remaining measures due to changes in definitions by New York City Transit. Also, the M’s routing was too changed in mid-2010 to make comparisons on some indicators with the previous year.)
- The car breakdown rate improved from an average mechanical failure every 148,002
to 170,217 miles during the 12-month period ending December 2010 — a gain of 15%. This positive trend reflects the arrival of new model subway cars in recent years and better maintenance of Transit’s aging fleet. We found fourteen lines improved (2, 3, 7, A, B, C, E, F, J/Z, L, M, N, Q and R), while six lines worsened (1, 4, 5, 6, D and G). - Subway cars went from 95% rated clean in our last report to 94% in our current
report – essentially unchanged, experiencing a decrease of 1.1%. We found that twelve lines declined (1, 3, 4, 5, 7, A, E, G, L, M, N and Q) and eight improved (2, 6, B, C, D, F, J/Z and R). - Accurate and understandable subway car announcements declined slightly, going from 91% in our last report to 87% in the current report. We found twelve lines worsened (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, B, C, D, G, J/Z, L and N), four improved (3, F, Q and R) and four did not change (6, A, E and M).
5. There are large disparities in how subway lines perform.
- Breakdowns: The M had the best record on delays caused by car mechanical failures: once every 843,598 miles. The C was worst, with a car breakdown rate fifteen times higher: every 54,838 miles.
- Cleanliness: The C and E were the cleanest lines, with only 4% of cars having moderate or heavy dirt, while 13% of cars on the dirtiest lines - the G - had moderate or heavy dirt, a rate more than three times higher.
- Chance of getting a seat: We rate a rider’s chance of getting a seat at the most congested
point on the line. We found the best chance is on the 7, where riders had a 70% chance of getting a seat during rush hour at the most crowded point. The 2 ranked worst and was much more overcrowded, with riders having only a 28% chance of getting a seat. - Amount of scheduled service: The 6 line had the most scheduled service, with two-and-a-half minute intervals between trains during the morning and evening rush hours. The C ranked worst, with nine- or ten-minute intervals between trains all through the day.
- Regularity of service: The J/Z line had the greatest regularity of service, arriving within 25% of its scheduled interval 85% of the time. The most irregular line is the 5, which performed with regularity only 66% of the time.
Read the full report | Download a PDF of the full report.