Friday, May 21, 2010

Subway ridership way down

This is why I laugh at people who think we can keep building ourselves into oblivion because they can get on the subway in the morning. If you look at the stats (and you have to go to the NY Times' interactive map to see them), ridership is down pretty much across the board over the past year. In LIC, there have been double-digit dips in the percentages of people passing through the turnstiles along the 7 line. This is due to the recession and unemployment. When the economy picks back up, riding the subway is gonna be a major league headache. Especially when recently upzoned communities start getting overhauled.

Here's the accompanying article.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Subway ridership will pick up after the recession is over?

Are you kidding me? The recession has only begun folks, with the Euro about to explode into oblivion we will be dragged into the deepest depression ever witnessed! It will be decades before we see an improvement and subway ridership will be the least of our worries. Arm your selfs folks it going to get scary in this town, really soon!

Anonymous said...

then why is it so crowded?

Anonymous said...

Seems like only the "trendy" neighborhoods have increased ridership.

Man the rockaways always has the raw end of the deal.

Anonymous said...

To me subway ridership has never decreased. The trains are packed...including weekends and late night. It will never get better. So fellas, keep on building...and make those buildings taller.

And build more sport stadiums. Soon New York City will burst at the seams like the fantasy in eagerness of dreams.

Anonymous said...

Then why is it so crowded?

Because its still better than the 3rd world shithole that 90% of humans live in.

Thanks to the Democratic Party that has an unquenchable gullet for tweederd, as the world economy falls into a hole, the torrent will increase to a flood.

Meli said...

You know, I saw this and am not convinced. I'd like to see the numbers. I'm on the Broadway Junction stop at least twice a week during, more if the weather is poor. And I also tend to ride it on weekends to get from Queens to Williamsburg. This station houses the JZLAC subway lines, and there is no way that those numbers are correct. There are 3 escalators and 1 stairway, all of which are consistantly packed. Also, the A and L trains come quite frequently. I cannot believe that there are less people at this packed 3 level station than are at the 71st Continental - Forest Hills station (which is another station I frequent), despite the fact that it services EFVR trains. There is virtually no way.

Now, I'm not claiming conspiracy theory. However, I'd love to see these statistics first hand, and would like to know how they came to these numbers.

On a side note, Broadway Junction needs help. At least more than 1 entrance!

Anonymous said...

At the peak of the economy in 2007 I never had any problems getting on a train, so if rideship returns to those levels so what? I think this is a bunch of alarmist nonsense. We should all be so lucky to have an economy that generate this type of problem. As previous posters have pointed out things can get a lot worse before they get better. Worrying about whether you will be able to get a seat on the subway is the last thing that should eb on anyone's mind.

Anonymous said...

Lies. Trains are getting more crowded by the day. Have you ever transfered at Roosevelt during rush hour? Or seen the mob get off by Woodhaven blvd?

Anonymous said...

The employed typically are riding 7-9am and 5-7pm. The unemployed are still riding but they get to sleep in late and stay out late. So I don't believe this "ridership way down" claim either.

Queens Crapper said...

Trains are packed because service has been cut.

Duh.

Meli said...

You know, Queens Crapper, they are cutting them...but an A train and and L train comes nearly every 5-8 minutes. It's always been like that. That's why it doesn't make sense that the numbers for broadway junction is so low.

Anonymous said...

You people are morons. Your personal anecdotes don't refute hard evidence. How are you going to dispute something as objective as this?

Anonymous said...

Because the so-called "objective" data is (a) largely counter-intuitive, (b) fulfills a political agenda, and (c) the article has patent nonsense like increases in population is attributable to "construction" rather than to illegal occupancy

Anonymous said...

"Duh"to you too! Trains are packed for other obvious reasons besides a cut in service. Don't argue with me.

Let me complain without penalty. Anyways, when are we getting our next fare increase to compliment the lack of service?

Queens Crapper said...

What are the other obvious reasons?

What is the political agenda?

Increases in construction and illegal conversions are equally to blame. It stands to reason that if you build a 7-story building where there once was a one-story building, people will move in and oversaturate the area. These are the units you see, the illegal conversions are the ones you don't see.

Anonymous said...

"At the peak of the economy in 2007 I never had any problems getting on a train, so if rideship returns to those levels so what?"

Uh, you know how many more units are out there now? And if the economy improves a great deal, there will be many more.

Just think....Flushing (Sky View Parc, Flushing Commons, etc.)...Willets Point...Corona (upzoned right before the crash)...Queens Blvd...Sunnyside...LIC

The crunch has not even yet begun.

Some of you folks have a really short term memory and no concept of the future.

Anonymous said...

I thought everyone in Queens had cars. What are they doing on the subway?

Anonymous said...

They drive to the subway.

Anonymous said...

http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/local_news/nyc/mta-bought-jet-fuel-to-power-buses-20100520-lgf

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