New York Subway Slowdown
I ride the NY Subway most every day, and I think that I'm fairly observant. And for the past two weeks, I have observed that the trains have been very sluggish. Slow. I've heard others at work talk about this slowness.
Last night, I went from 51st Street / Lex in Manhattan to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, beginning at 11pm. Long wait for the 6 at 51st St. Wait for the 4 Express at Grand Central. Then, after making it to 59th Street, long wait for the R train.
All of these trains ran slow, especially the No. 4 in the tunnel between Manhattan to Brooklyn. It inched through the tunnel at a speed just barely faster than a jogger running at half speed. All told, it took one hour 45 minutes to travel from midtown Manhattan to Brooklyn.
Now, there could be good reasons for all of these delays, esp as the trip was late at night.
But now the NY Times reports that people all over the city have noticed a slowdown . Seems like the unions are near the end of their contract, and the boys have decided to take it out on the passengers.
I've lost any sympathy for these guys, and hope that Mayor Bloomberg plays hardball with them from this point.
Is the subway as dangerous as it's portrayed on TV do you mind me asking?
Posted by
United Irelander |
December 09, 2005 2:14 PM
No, please do ask.
The NY subway was never as dangerous as it's been portrayed in movies ( Death Wish, Taking of Pelham 123 etc ) or tv. Even in the bad days of the 1970s and early 1980s, pre-Giuliani.
But since then, crime has gone down dramatically in the subway as well as in the city in general. Credit goes to a very good police efforts led by William Bratton ( now chief of Los Angeles police ) and Jack Maple ( who pioneered use of computer / statistical modeling to police more intelligently, attacking crime patterns instead of waiting for something to happen )
And overall credit goes to Guiliani.
Most of the people I know think nothing of taking the subway any hour of the day or night. I was on the train the other night at 1230am, and all the seats were taken, and there were many standees.
As with any big city, you should be aware of your surroundings and use common sense, but I think that the NY Subway is a pretty safe place to be. It is safer than the streets above it, and those streets are safer than those of any large US city.
Posted by
The Phantom |
December 09, 2005 2:43 PM