Subways are for sleeping: NYC Transit survival thread

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So I get a monthly MetroCard through the work-discount TransitChek thing. I seem to have lost the new one; first time ever. It was unused, as I'm about 3 weeks 'ahead' when the new ones are distributed. Can I get it replaced, via some sort of ID number? (The human resources chief is out today, so I dunno.)

Dr Morbius, Friday, 3 August 2007 16:38 (seventeen years ago) link

yes there's a 1-800 number to call.

hstencil, Friday, 3 August 2007 16:41 (seventeen years ago) link

thx stenc

Dr Morbius, Friday, 3 August 2007 16:57 (seventeen years ago) link

just have the credit card you purchased it with handy.

poortheatre, Friday, 3 August 2007 18:24 (seventeen years ago) link

Sorta-related question: Can one buy a seven-day MetroCard at La Guardia Airport? I'm visiting soon and would like to take care of that when I arrive.

mike a, Friday, 3 August 2007 18:31 (seventeen years ago) link

i don't know, but i can't imagine doing so wouldn't be more complicated than taking a cab from the airport and buying the metrocard in the subway station nearest your destination

gabbneb, Friday, 3 August 2007 18:34 (seventeen years ago) link

taking a cab from the airport

or the bus (which takes forever)

gabbneb, Friday, 3 August 2007 18:34 (seventeen years ago) link

i would suggest just getting a $10 metrocard (6 rides) instead of the weekly pass. it's a better value in most cases.

edb, Friday, 3 August 2007 18:37 (seventeen years ago) link

just FYI, i do not recommend fallign asleep on the subway unless you like being woken up by cops in Jamaica at 5am.

ian, Friday, 3 August 2007 18:39 (seventeen years ago) link

Sorta-related question: Can one buy a seven-day MetroCard at La Guardia Airport? I'm visiting soon and would like to take care of that when I arrive.

-- mike a, Friday, August 3, 2007 6:31 PM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

yes you can buy them at lga.

hstencil, Friday, 3 August 2007 18:40 (seventeen years ago) link

but you can't take the subway directly from there :(

poortheatre, Friday, 3 August 2007 18:42 (seventeen years ago) link

btw, in answer to the original question, I am Shit Outta Luck.

Under the TransitChek® Program a lost or stolen MetroCard® cannot be replaced.

Dr Morbius, Sunday, 5 August 2007 14:45 (seventeen years ago) link

How much do you save with TransitChek?

Catsupppppppppppppp dude 茄蕃, Sunday, 5 August 2007 14:59 (seventeen years ago) link

i think transit check is pre-tax dollars -- so you're paying for the metrocard with, well, pre-tax dollars (and your tax bill goes down). you may want to check with your HR people, though.

Eisbaer, Sunday, 5 August 2007 15:22 (seventeen years ago) link

i think it's somewhere in the neighborhood of a 40% savings? something like that?

hstencil, Sunday, 5 August 2007 16:24 (seventeen years ago) link

Fortunately, my card 'lagged' behind the expiration of the last one (ie, unused during vacations etc) I only have to pay for about 8 days. Why it isn't where I always store it I can't figger.

Dr Morbius, Monday, 6 August 2007 13:24 (seventeen years ago) link

i have a similar problem, this is going to sound ridiculous.. but at my old job i started getting those transitchek credit cards, all exactly for $78 or whatever a monthly costs these days. i was out of work for a while so i started intermittently using them for single rides and daily passes. i have three in my wallet that have like $4-$8 on them. is there anyway i can get the money back or move the credits into one purchase?

sanskrit, Monday, 6 August 2007 14:16 (seventeen years ago) link

somebody bump this thread when the trains are running.
apparently it's a mess. so not leaving for work until it's fixed.

bell_labs, Wednesday, 8 August 2007 12:42 (seventeen years ago) link

I went to the station, and then another station, before learning that ALL trains are fucked. Home now, think I'll make a big breakfast instead.

Laurel, Wednesday, 8 August 2007 12:44 (seventeen years ago) link

exactly!

bell_labs, Wednesday, 8 August 2007 12:46 (seventeen years ago) link

yes!

(had a dentist appt, cancelled!)

Surmounter, Wednesday, 8 August 2007 12:48 (seventeen years ago) link

http://www.livescience.com/images/050114_subway_flood_03.jpg

gabbneb, Wednesday, 8 August 2007 13:05 (seventeen years ago) link

12 noon BK FAP?

sanskrit, Wednesday, 8 August 2007 13:07 (seventeen years ago) link

Sadly I'll prob be at the office by noon. :(((

Laurel, Wednesday, 8 August 2007 13:13 (seventeen years ago) link

But first I'm making bastard jambalaya w andouille. Sadly, out of shrimps.

Laurel, Wednesday, 8 August 2007 13:14 (seventeen years ago) link

i need to get in by 1 for a meeting. i'm going to give it another hour or so before i try....

bell_labs, Wednesday, 8 August 2007 13:16 (seventeen years ago) link

1st floor of my condo (neighbor's section) flooded and I am meant to not flush until they know that the sewers haven't routed into their house.
Meanwhile no ac at work means I work from home again.
End of the world.

forksclovetofu, Wednesday, 8 August 2007 13:24 (seventeen years ago) link

okay scary: i woke up at 4 or whenever it really came down and my fucking cat

was outside

on our windowsill (three flights up!) in the storm

this is Brooklyn, mind you. she's never supposed to get out - she must have climbed past me while i was in the office (that window doesn't have a screen).

it was incredibly surreal. the sky looked absolutely gorgeous and amazing but my fucking cat was tiptoeing around for her life! to top it off, she's SUPER SCARED of storms and always runs under the stove when it rains.

Surmounter, Wednesday, 8 August 2007 13:39 (seventeen years ago) link

I made it in via bus and 3 trains, wimps.

Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA Fuck the MTA

Dr Morbius, Wednesday, 8 August 2007 14:11 (seventeen years ago) link

L = fail
G = fail
B48 -> JMZ -> walk ~1 mile = win

sleep, Wednesday, 8 August 2007 14:37 (seventeen years ago) link

B67 + M + D + F as E

Dr Morbius, Wednesday, 8 August 2007 14:38 (seventeen years ago) link

But first I'm making bastard jambalaya w andouille. Sadly, out of shrimps.

-- Laurel, Wednesday, August 8, 2007 1:14 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Link

girl, we know you got a bike, GET PEDALING.

sanskrit, Wednesday, 8 August 2007 14:40 (seventeen years ago) link

4-5-6 still not running, so i dont know if it's even worth bothering to try to get up to the UES yet?

bell_labs, Wednesday, 8 August 2007 14:40 (seventeen years ago) link

i had no problem with L. F was really backed up but still got me to work. now i am angry because i'd much rather be home getting ready for 6 am departure to buffalo tomorrow.

tehresa, Wednesday, 8 August 2007 14:48 (seventeen years ago) link

between this morning and B*adrum, WORST NEW YORK SUMMER SINCE '77

Dr Morbius, Wednesday, 8 August 2007 14:51 (seventeen years ago) link

8-8-07, never forget!

bell_labs, Wednesday, 8 August 2007 14:54 (seventeen years ago) link

it's a damn-you-hadda-be-there urban legend.

Dr Morbius, Wednesday, 8 August 2007 14:55 (seventeen years ago) link

No bklyn bound ACE.

God damn the L for being the one running fine, I could be at home right now with the dogs.

Jon Lewis, Wednesday, 8 August 2007 14:57 (seventeen years ago) link

i don't know if i bother trying - it sounds like the L is running but i imagine i will be fucked at union square.

bell_labs, Wednesday, 8 August 2007 14:59 (seventeen years ago) link

Yeah I think you're right.

We failed to give enough props yesterday on Sea Serpent Day so now they're running amok in the tunnels.

Jon Lewis, Wednesday, 8 August 2007 15:01 (seventeen years ago) link

Number 7 to Times Square then Number 1 one stop to 34 Street and then I walked downtown.

James Redd and the Blecchs, Wednesday, 8 August 2007 15:02 (seventeen years ago) link

have fun in your 100-degree afternoon, new yorkers

Tracer Hand, Wednesday, 8 August 2007 15:07 (seventeen years ago) link

Where are you now in your travels, Tracer?

James Redd and the Blecchs, Wednesday, 8 August 2007 15:09 (seventeen years ago) link

white city!

Tracer Hand, Wednesday, 8 August 2007 15:13 (seventeen years ago) link

Lisboa?

James Redd and the Blecchs, Wednesday, 8 August 2007 15:13 (seventeen years ago) link

MTA > viceland > blogger's sense of entitlement

sexyDancer, Wednesday, 8 August 2007 15:24 (seventeen years ago) link

Wait, you live on the 7 line?

Casuistry, Wednesday, 8 August 2007 15:31 (seventeen years ago) link

I usually take the E or F at Roosevelt Avenue.

James Redd and the Blecchs, Wednesday, 8 August 2007 15:32 (seventeen years ago) link

eeww it's supposed to be that hot here today? i rly don't know how much longer i can do this. it's gotten to the point where i can't SIT DOWN IN MY OFFICE with HEADPHONES on. i'm actually afraid the humidity will ruin my headphones. it's driving me crazy. where the fuck did the days of central air go? HUH?

Surmounter, Wednesday, 8 August 2007 15:32 (seventeen years ago) link

Pole performance acrobats feet just missing my face

calstars, Tuesday, 18 January 2022 14:32 (two years ago) link

Showtime?

More obviously fucked up people setting up shop in cars and making them impossible to stay in, severely damaged people losing their minds, lots of people going unmasked and sitting down next to you, tempers running high generally all over

i cannot help if you made yourself not funny (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 18 January 2022 15:01 (two years ago) link

two months pass...
three weeks pass...

pour one out

Six Brightliners have officially left New York and are bound for Ohio, their final destination before heading to the big rail yard in the sky.

Bon Voyage, R32s! Thank you for your many years of service ⛴ pic.twitter.com/oPqcvcz8Nk

— MTA. Wear a Mask. Stop the Spread. (@MTA) May 5, 2022

mookieproof, Thursday, 5 May 2022 18:52 (two years ago) link

one year passes...

Jesus. I hope nobody on here or anyone any of you know was on either of these trains

Breaking News: Two subway trains collided near the 96th Street station in Manhattan, causing one of them to derail, officials said. It was not immediately clear whether anyone was injured. https://t.co/CM1QwKCtDu

— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 4, 2024

mojo dojo casas house (gyac), Thursday, 4 January 2024 21:40 (eleven months ago) link

Eight people aboard a northbound 1 train were injured when it collided with a work train around 3 p.m., according to officials and an internal police report about the collision. The injuries were not considered life-threatening, but those passengers were taken to hospitals, the report said.


Still, fucking scary, and there’s a lot of ground between trivial and not considered life-threatening.

mojo dojo casas house (gyac), Thursday, 4 January 2024 21:41 (eleven months ago) link

How many things would have to go wrong in exactly the right way for that to happen… it seems inconceivable in 2024

Humanitarian Pause (Tracer Hand), Thursday, 4 January 2024 21:56 (eleven months ago) link

This was such an incredible screw up. Should cost some folks their jobs really. https://t.co/SzzIJp6boy

— Second Ave. Sagas (@2AvSagas) January 5, 2024

The crash so far:
- Someone/someones pulled a bunch of emergency brake cords on a northbound No. 1 train at the 96th Street station
- The No. 1s behind it were rerouted onto the express
- One of those was crossing back when the stuck train somehow started moving again.

— Nolan Hicks (@ndhapple) January 4, 2024

𝔠𝔞𝔢𝔨 (caek), Friday, 5 January 2024 02:18 (eleven months ago) link

two months pass...

When the guy basically shouts to make an announcement: do these people know how mics and PAs work?

The Ginger Bakersfield Sound (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 11 March 2024 19:22 (nine months ago) link

Sorry if that’s mean

The Ginger Bakersfield Sound (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 11 March 2024 19:30 (nine months ago) link

I mean they shuttle assholes around all day i dont blame them for getting ticked

Its big ball chunky time (Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved), Monday, 11 March 2024 19:58 (nine months ago) link

three months pass...

Sudden reversal on congestion pricing is bizarre.

A friend who I’ll just say has a legit source of this knowledge explained to me that the MTA has already been spending as though it would get this extra billion per year in revenue that it’s now not going to get. Total shitshow.

longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Wednesday, 12 June 2024 02:29 (six months ago) link

absolute gutlessness by hochul and everyone else on down

oh no, what if new jerseyans can't have to pay a toll to visit manhattan diners! what the actual fuck

mookieproof, Wednesday, 12 June 2024 02:45 (six months ago) link

truly truly maddening.

not the one who's tryin' to dub your anime (Doctor Casino), Wednesday, 12 June 2024 02:56 (six months ago) link

otm

not the one who's tryin' to dub your anime (Doctor Casino), Wednesday, 12 June 2024 03:24 (six months ago) link

oh no, what if new jerseyans can't have to pay a toll to visit manhattan diners! what the actual fuck

― mookieproof, Wednesday, 12 June 2024 02:45 (ten hours ago) link

Tbf, they already pay a $16 toll to visit Manhattan

longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Wednesday, 12 June 2024 13:22 (six months ago) link

They should take the bus.

Ima Gardener (in orbit), Wednesday, 12 June 2024 13:24 (six months ago) link

Tbf, the current tolls, at least notionally, have to do with the cost of building and operating expensive bridges and tunnels, and other activities of the Port Authority (which, at least notionally, are specific to NY-NJ relations). Congestion pricing would have to do with the currently externalized costs of packing cars into Manhattan, and would apply to vehicles from anywhere, not just New Jersey.

Thought experiment: in a world where CP already existed, but there was no way to drive across the Hudson, I think it'd be pretty reasonable to suggest building some tunnels or bridges, and charging tolls to use them.

not the one who's tryin' to dub your anime (Doctor Casino), Wednesday, 12 June 2024 14:15 (six months ago) link

One of the things that pisses me off wrt lawsuits and complaints and all that shit is that TOLL ROADS ALREADY EXIST. CONGESTION PRICING IS NOT NEW TECH YOU ABSOLUTE MORONS.

Its big ball chunky time (Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved), Wednesday, 12 June 2024 14:17 (six months ago) link

The rationales for killing it don’t make sense to me. They could have run it for a year and if it wasn’t having the desired impact or was having unintended negative consequences, they could have paused it.

There’s a lot of speculation that it’s really just about avoiding an election issue republicans can beat up democrats with.

longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Wednesday, 12 June 2024 14:23 (six months ago) link

that's absolute it, innit?

, Wednesday, 12 June 2024 14:31 (six months ago) link

the version i heard is that Schumer and/or Jeffries leaned on her, with this specific notion in mind. it really makes very little sense otherwise; just a few months ago she was very clearly defending the program and articulating its rationale, and then the reversal announcement is illogical gobbledygook. the recent War on Cars episode lamenting the announcement covers those bases pretty well.

not the one who's tryin' to dub your anime (Doctor Casino), Wednesday, 12 June 2024 14:33 (six months ago) link

def was Jeffries

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/06/05/new-york-city-toll-hochul-democrats-00161930

and if you need a side-by-side comparison between what she said 6 months ago and now, Gothamist did a good piece on it:

https://gothamist.com/news/watch-gov-hochul-debate-herself-when-it-comes-to-implementing-congestion-pricing

fpsa, Wednesday, 12 June 2024 14:52 (six months ago) link

the Gothamist self-debate video is brutal

not the one who's tryin' to dub your anime (Doctor Casino), Wednesday, 12 June 2024 16:15 (six months ago) link

A friend who I’ll just say has a legit source of this knowledge explained to me that the MTA has already been spending as though it would get this extra billion per year in revenue that it’s now not going to get.

...on unnecessary and disruptive station makeovers in wealthy parts of Manhattan, as usual

Deflatormouse, Wednesday, 12 June 2024 16:19 (six months ago) link

One big consideration is the renovations that were going to improve ADA access, like elevators, and the list of planned improvements is at https://new.mta.info/project/station-accessibility-upgrades#:~:text=As%20part%20of%20our%20long,an%20additional%2078%20subway%20elevators. It's not majority in Manhattan.

I don't think it seems outrageous for the MTA to plan for this revenue ahead of time, these projects can take years and the contractors & partners they need to do the work probably schedule their jobs far in advance. Also--congestion pricing is LAW. It wasn't unreasonable to expect it to go through as promised, because it is legally required for the MTA to produce this funding somehow.

Ima Gardener (in orbit), Wednesday, 12 June 2024 16:27 (six months ago) link

for reference, the MTA's 2020-2024 capital program covers quite a range of things which are now in jeopardy. if you click through to the PDF, you can see that $15 billion out of the $51 billion five-year plan was to come from CP. here's what we'll probably lose, just from the highlights page:

The 2020-2024 Capital Program is:

• The MTA’s largest-ever capital plan by far – 70% larger than the 2015-2019 Program – making unprecedented investments in the region
• An unprecedented investment of $51.5 billion, including more than $40 billion for New York City Transit – revitalizing the system and building on the successful investment of the Subway Action Plan

The Program will deliver major benefits, including:
• More frequent and reliable service on 6 line segments, including the Lexington Avenue Line, serving over 50% of riders through modernized signaling
• 70 new ADA-accessible stations, beginning now. Stations serving over 60% of passengers will be ADA-accessible
• Over 1,900 new subway cars, more than 2,400 new buses and hundreds of new commuter rail cars
• Full funding for Second Avenue Subway Phase 2 and construction of four new Metro-North stations in the Bronx

not the one who's tryin' to dub your anime (Doctor Casino), Wednesday, 12 June 2024 16:29 (six months ago) link

xpost

not the one who's tryin' to dub your anime (Doctor Casino), Wednesday, 12 June 2024 16:29 (six months ago) link

Hochul has another bright idea about the subway

jbn, Thursday, 13 June 2024 23:49 (six months ago) link

Honestly manhattanites are spoiled when it comes to subways. “Wah!! I have to walk three blocks!” At least you don’t have to take a bus

calstars, Tuesday, 18 June 2024 21:59 (six months ago) link

The g shutdown, now that is some impactful sh1t

calstars, Tuesday, 18 June 2024 22:03 (six months ago) link

that "three-block" walk is 15 minutes for people in the Wagner Houses in East Harlem fyi. Phase 2 is also where the SAS would start to deliver real relief to Bronx-Manhattan commuters on the 4/5/6 line, currently one of the most crowded in the system!

no argument that there are other even more alarming transit deserts in the city, of course! and for example, killing CP also kills any hope of even hypothetically developing the Nostrand or Utica extension, or the Triboro RX/Interborough Express, which previously Hochul was pushing forward as a pet project. oops.

not the one who's tryin' to dub your anime (Doctor Casino), Tuesday, 18 June 2024 22:32 (six months ago) link

I found out the other day that the G used to run into Astoria (or at least within walking distance of MoMI). Service cuts took that away... :(

birdistheword, Wednesday, 19 June 2024 01:56 (six months ago) link

fucking gillibrand is talking about park-and-rides now

meanwhile the pools aren't open and the libraries are closed sundays (and today, because of juneteenth) because that shit is unaffordable even as cops take helicopters to philly, albany and the hamptons

mookieproof, Thursday, 20 June 2024 02:38 (six months ago) link

Vote her (them) out

calstars, Thursday, 20 June 2024 02:48 (six months ago) link

four weeks pass...

confirm exactly how messed up your commute was with these nice visualizations

https://pvibien.com/stringline.htm

𝔠𝔞𝔢𝔨 (caek), Thursday, 18 July 2024 20:05 (five months ago) link

reminds me of this NYT graphics classic, from 2018:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/05/09/nyregion/subway-crisis-mta-decisions-signals-rules.html

fpsa, Thursday, 18 July 2024 20:24 (five months ago) link

Let us now praise famous delays

calstars, Thursday, 18 July 2024 21:27 (five months ago) link

two months pass...

https://files.mta.info/s3fs-public/inline-images/011022_BRC%20Existing%20Conditions-01_0.png

this would be so sweet :(

, Thursday, 19 September 2024 17:01 (three months ago) link

I have a vague memory of this going all the way to the east side of the bronx.

jbn, Friday, 20 September 2024 16:39 (three months ago) link

The concept for the IBX dates back decades. The Regional Plan Association in 1996 initially proposed a “Triboro” line, which would connect Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx over the Hell Gate Bridge. Hochul scaled back the idea in 2022, proposing the line as a Brooklyn-Queens connector only.

I think dealing with Amtrak on the Hell Gate would be too complicated.

mizzell, Friday, 20 September 2024 17:08 (three months ago) link

I guess the claim is that the planned Penn Station Access project would make the Bronx connection unfeasible, but I dunno. I think only two of three tracks over the bridge are actually heavily used and there's room for a fourth.

That said, while the Brooklyn and Queens sections run perpendicular to and connect many subway lines, a theoretical Bronx section mostly runs parallel with existing lines, so the main advantage seems to be the Bronx/Queens connection.

https://i0.wp.com/welcome2thebronx.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/IMG_0454796A053C-1.webp

chinavision!, Sunday, 22 September 2024 11:54 (three months ago) link

Those Bronx lines are pretty far apart - but yah, if the new Penn Station Access stations are completed as planned (and shown in gray on that map) then maybe there's some redundancy. Probably the bigger question is where exactly the tracks run and whether anyone will plausibly walk to the stations.

But I do think the Bronx-Queens-Brooklyn connection is pretty compelling - not to mention a subway link to Randall's Island!

the last visible dot (Doctor Casino), Sunday, 22 September 2024 13:10 (three months ago) link

Took the subway home from Penn last nite, boarded the back car and a guy in a horned demon skull mask got on at 42nd st & sat down next to me. He was constantly sticking his hand down his pants and started blowing coke on the train. It was like 8 pm.

NYC is... alive? "back"?

But I have to admit this made me slightly uncomfortable.

Deflatormouse, Sunday, 22 September 2024 16:44 (three months ago) link

What is “blowing coke?”

calstars, Sunday, 22 September 2024 22:19 (three months ago) link

two months pass...

Got on one of those soon-to-be-decommissioned orange-and-yellow cars the other day, which I enjoyed.

James Carr Thief (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 20 December 2024 03:22 (two days ago) link


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