Subway riders were given a platform Tuesday morning — the N, Q and 7 train platform to be exact — to share their angst of trying to catch a train in New York City.
As part of a weeklong citywide initiative to collect subway riders’ “horror stories,” the organization Riders Alliance, dedicated to winning better transit, gathered at the Queensboro Plaza subway station Tuesday morning to get riders of the N, Q and 7 trains to share their tales.
The decision to collect these stories arises after a drastic increase in complaints from Riders Alliance members. The complaints include signal malfunctions, unexplained train delays and general “deteriorating service” in the past weeks, according to Riders Alliance.
“Our transit system is better in every way than it was in the 1980s, but if we don’t invest the funds to maintain it, we’ll see the bad old days come back,” said John Raskin, executive director of the Riders Alliance.
On Tuesday, riders were asked by Riders Alliance members to share their experiences and write them on a piece of paper provided of the organization that read, “My subway horror story is…”
“I rely on the 7 train to get me from Queens to work in the Upper West Side. But lately, weekend and late night service on the 7 train has been a joke,” said Carol Crump, a Rider Alliance member, who added that at times, she has to resort to taking a bus or car service. “We need a well-funded capital plan that will provide the money for countdown clocks, service announcements and faster trains.”
The stories, which can also be submitted online at www.ridersny.org/horror-stories, will be compiled and later presented to Governor Andrew Cuomo and different members of the state legislature.
In the upcoming months, a decision will have to be made whether or not to fund the MTA’s proposed over-$30 billion 2015-2019 capital plan.
“Signal problems have stranded me at night several times in the past year on the N/Q,” said Emily Hultman, another Riders Alliance member. “It isn’t safe to be kicked off a train to fend for yourself in a deserted part of town at night, especially when the only options to complete the trip are buses that run twice an hour or less. I pay my MTA fee to get all the way home, safely.”
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