So says conductor Joe Nunez, who makes the subway announcements on the W line, in reference to the results in from the new Straphangers campaign focusing on the clarity of subway annoucements. The W - which apparently stands for "worst" - is said to be pretty bad, and is at the bottom of the heap. Apparently the annoucements are garbled (27% of the time) or non-existent (15% of the time). The 4, 5, and 6, whose annoucements are made by those pesky or lovable robots - depending on your point of view - got the highest rating. Conductor Nunez maintains that the W is the "bastard son of the line" but I think we'd all agree that that moniker really belongs to the G, the saddest subway line around. Sad because the MTA seems not to care much about it, as it never goes to Manhattan, and has a crappy schedule and arrival record.
What do you think of the clarity of subway annoucements on the N or W (or R, V, G, E, F, or 7 for that matter)? As for me, subway annoucements-schmubway annoucements, my ire is reserved for the evil 1 train.
You people on the Ditmars line have no reason to complain.
ReplyDeleteWe R riders stand at Lex and see an N, then a W, then a (empty) N, then a crammed R.
The W should be rerouted to the R line.
That's funny - I used to take the N/W home from 42nd street when I worked my old day job. I would more often than not get down there and see two R trains in a row, and then an N or W meandering after it. I can't tell you home many times I muttered under my breath, "stupid R train!" when that would happen. So annoying. And during rush hours, most subway cars are packed, I think. But these lines like the R and N are nothing like the horrid 1 train in the early evening. Cripes, I have to take that later today at its busy time. Ugh.
ReplyDeleteLooking at some of the maps in the stations, the R train used to be where the N/W is now and the N used to be where the R is. I think the W is fairly recent (2001 maybe?).
The R has the V alongside it and then later it hooks up with the E and F, and sometimes the G. That line has much more flexibility than the spur that is the N/W. For transit, a great place to live in Astoria is on Broadway east of the N/W. That way you have the N, W, R, V, G option. Sweet.
I visited Boston, and the announcements in the T were ultra loud and easy to understand- and they drove me crazy. Do you REALLY want to hear all the announcements, every stop, every day for the rest of your life? NO, you don't, you want to put on your iPod and relax. I wish Straphangers would leave this issue alone, for the sake of those of us who live here- if tourists need help, they can always ask me.
ReplyDeleteI noticed today on all the lines I took: N, D, C, and 1 - that the announcements were really clear. I guess the Straphangers results made a difference?
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