No. 7 train gets C- in riders’ survey

Adequate room on board at rush hour - D.
Station and train announcements that are easy to hear - D+.
Minimal delays during trips - C-.
Those are only a few of the grades No. 7 Flushing line riders gave service on the subway leading to an overall C- grade as part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) NYC Transit’s first-ever Rider Report Card.
Nearly 16,000 riders filled out surveys in 21 different service categories during a three-day stretch in July, and the only category the No. 7 line did better than a C+ was in its availability of MetroCard vending machines, which riders gave a B- grade.
“I would say that’s [C- grade] about right,” said Louis Gist, who was sitting inside his train at the Flushing Main Street Station waiting for it to depart to Manhattan. “Mostly, I think their problems have to do with dispatching,” said Gist, pointing out three trains sitting on the three tracks in the station with none of them moving.
“They’re too crowded; they need more trains,” griped a woman who only gave her name as Gloria B, who said she takes the No. 7 train almost everyday from her Flushing house into Manhattan. “It doesn’t matter what time you take it, it’s always crowded.”
In addition to the ratings, the survey also asked riders to list improvements they would like to see on the line. The top three responses for improvements included adequate room on the train during rush hour, minimal delays during trips and reasonable wait times at the station.
“The service areas where our customers want to see improvements first are some of the thorniest issues facing the No. 7 and other lines in the system,” said MTA NYC Transit President Howard H. Roberts Jr. “Now that the managers who are responsible for No. 7 train service have the results, I’ve asked them to develop plans to respond to what our riders have told us. I will personally review those plans and announce when they’ll be implemented.”
Still, some riders were not encouraged by that statement or the report card.
Giovanni Jannine said that the C- grade was excessively high, and said that he would give the line a big fat ZERO for its performance.
“The trains never run properly,” Jannine said. He ran off a laundry list of complaints that included trains out of service, delays, expensive fares, lack of air conditioning during the summer and his biggest complaint - inaudible announcements from the public address system.