Subways are for sleeping: NYC Transit survival thread

I ride the shit outta that monthly pass, and would even more if I had a bus on the corner that took me to the train.

yup the only time to get worried is if they talk about getting rid of the monthly pass. I probably get about 100 rides out of mine a month.

another thing to remember is that even at $120, if you take the subway twice a day that's $2 a ride, which, adjusted for inflation, is still cheaper than the subway was in the mid-90s.

The unlimited was introduced in 1998 at $63 for a 30-day, and I don't think inflation has nearly halved the value of the dollar in the last 15 years.

the point where it was more expensive is there in the graph!

Also, almost no one uses their unlimited literally every day in a 30-day period.

well there's a bell curve where some people don't go out on weekends and are straight-forward M-F commuters and some people go out on weekends and even use it more than twice on a weekday. you also have to incorporate the fact that the creation of the unlimited cut the commuting cost in half for anyone who had to take a bus to the subway. there are winners and losers.

I am Almost No One, but that is bcz I moved to a nabe where I am not usu interested in staying home.

inevitably on some level people who use the system infrequently are subsidizing people who do use the system frequently - it's true w/ tourists and it's true w/ monthly card commuters

xp

well there's a bell curve where some people don't go out on weekends and are straight-forward M-F commuters and some people go out on weekends and even use it more than twice on a weekday. you also have to incorporate the fact that the creation of the unlimited cut the commuting cost in half for anyone who had to take a bus to the subway. there are winners and losers.

― iatee, Tuesday, October 16, 2012 12:20 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I'd guess the middle of the bell is probably 6 days out of 7? I also don't think the second part of your post is accurate -- pretty sure you used to be able to do a bus transfer from the subway that was either free or reduced-fare. Can't swear to it but I vaguely remember it.

Anyway, we can play arbitrary graph points all day, but it's kind of silly to tout the fact that a $120 unlimited is cheaper than the mid-90s adjusted for inflation when the graph basically just briefly spikes above $2 during that time period and is otherwise mostly well below $2 for the 70s, 80s and 90s.

FWIW, a $120/$2.25 deal would actually raise the break-even point in number of rides for an unlimited.

well I'd rather take a 2012 subway for $2 than a 1979 subway for $1.50. the big point is from a consumer's standpoint the subway is not overpriced or even that highly priced considering what you get / what comparable services cost in america / the world. and this is esp true for frequent users.

I'd just like the F train to run frequently enough after work that it's still not "rush hour" (ie, SRO) at 8 or 9pm. The extension of the G train made this worse.

I'd guess the middle of the bell is probably 6 days out of 7? I also don't think the second part of your post is accurate -- pretty sure you used to be able to do a bus transfer from the subway that was either free or reduced-fare. Can't swear to it but I vaguely remember it.

http://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/04/nyregion/card-halves-cost-for-double-fare-riders.html

The free transfers do not apply to token users. But for the estimated 350,000 daily riders who took the bus to the subway or two buses to work, the change cuts the cost of their daily round trip to $3 from $6.

A free transfer took effect sometime after that though.

being squashed into a train sucks, but standing room only isn't so bad. it's a sign of healthy ridership imo.

a subway where everyone has a seat is probably an underused and inefficient subway right?

I think that's a fair point, xpost, but the question is which plan to adopt now. It doesn't make me feel any better about having to spend an extra $16/month that if I literally used the train every day, my unlimited would be the same as an equivalent number of single rides for a very brief period in the mid 1990s, during which the unlimited ride didn't yet exist. Also, at a $120/$2.25 plan there's very little benefit to the unlimited at all (other than tax benefits if through an office plan), because you'd have to ride 27 days out of 30 to just get past breaking even, and when you consider holidays and weekends I'd guess that that's unlikely for most riders.

yeah except when all the disabled seats are taken by idiot teenagers, and you have cancer. xp

yeah well also people are horrible, it's true

a subway where everyone has a seat is probably an underused and inefficient subway right?

yup.

xp

I'm not pushing the $120 plan, I also benefit from it all going to the single-rider users - tho I guess gf's use cancels that out. I just think that it's important to put the cost in perspective.

there is another added benefit to the unlimited card, which is the psychological 'I can take any transit whenever I want and not make a cost-benefit decision' and that's why a lot of people who could right now be saving money w/ pay-per-ride still get unlimited cards.

I see "underused and inefficient" being the inevitable MTA argument for scaling back or eliminating a 24-hour subway, at which point I do my damnedest to get the fuck outta this burg.

seems like people mostly want the cheaper unlimited option anyway, right? and $2.50 is still really cheap for a single ride. I say this coming from BART and commuting through multiple zones and paying upwards of $4 each way.

xpost

and if you wanna talk about a lack of late night options...

Yeah I agree there's a small added benefit to the unlimited card -- just the assurance that comes from always having the card in my wallet, never having to worry about refilling, always feeling like if I wanted to I could do a bunch of trips in one day (although I probably don't do a multi-trip day more than a couple times a year).

the NYPost poll definitely shows more people favoring the cheapest unlimited

I don't think the 24-hour service is ever gonna be seriously put at risk. too many people work weird hours + the real benefits from shutting it down at night only come if you shut it down long enough to make repairs rather than just 3-4 am. basically enough people depend on it being the way it is that it's effectively impossible, even if it's not particularly 'efficient'.

shut it down from 12-4

pm.
for siesta

exactly

taht's an awful time to travel already

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/17/nyregion/taxi-hailing-app-uber-pulls-out-of-new-york-after-6-weeks.html?_r=0

that app isn't really well suited for the nyc taxi, uhh, ecology I guess. that's what livery cabs are for.

or nyc taxi ecology isn't really well suited for 2012

fuck uber

not for really any other reason than i hate tech people

I hate tech people but not as much as I hate the nyc taxi industry

uber seems inherently dislikeable

I don't have any particular affinity for uber itself but there is really no good reason why we shouldn't be able to easily hail cars w/ a smartphone esp in the outer boroughs and its pretty obv that the medallion holding companies will be fighting this one to the death.

fuckin' shitfuckers

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/26/transit-shutdown-possible-as-sandy-bears-down-on-city/

I BETTER NOT HAFTA CAB BACK FROM SEEING NIXON HOME MOVIES AT MOMA, I'M SAYIN'

oh no u fuckin don't

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/27/m-t-a-chief-announces-storm-plan-for-subways-buses-and-commuter-trains/?hp

ergh j was planning on taking the 7:07 metro north to new haven

not official yet

FUCK YOU, ANDY

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has ordered New York City's transit service to suspend bus, subway, and commuter rail service in advance of the massive storm expected to hit the eastern third of the United States.

Cuomo says the system will be suspended starting at 7 p.m. Sunday.

3 day weekend I guess. Is this storm really gonna be that bad?

considering i am not buying any provisions, yes, this one will be very bad. this time last year, hurricane irene turned me into a survivalist sucker...

how long do these outages last, normally?

xp dude there's going to be a massive storm, what do you expect?

FUCK YOU, SANDY

fixed

So I get off work on Monday? How much time do they need to restore service? This is starting to appear serious. I'm going to buy some coffee beans.

Things I won't be able to do thanks to the subway shutdown: buy white knee socks for Halloween at the sock man and attend an old-timey spooky live radio performance in long island city. If I get off work tomorrow, that's a fair trade off.