Kevin Chen, Period 7, 09/28/23

Kevin Chen

Period 7

Blog 1 

Modern Mythology 2024

Social-Political Consciousness

Inequity can be defined as the presence of a lack of fairness or justice. For the over 2 million people who rely on the subway daily, the lack of priority given to them and the system they rely on could be considered unfair. New York City's subway faces numerous issues, and in many areas falls behind its European, South American, and Asian counterparts.

Coverage tends to be one of the subway's biggest problems. Many areas of the city lack easy access to the subway, such as residents along 2nd Avenue in Manhattan. When the 2nd Avenue Elevated was closed in the 1940s, the plan was to replace it with an underground line, but that has yet to be fully constructed. The city is still working on it today, with only the first out of four sections completed. This pushes everyone around 2nd Avenue onto the Lexington Avenue line, creating issues of overcrowding. Other areas missing subway coverage include Utica Avenue in Brooklyn, College Point, Marine Park, and all of Eastern Queens. Residents in these places have to take transfer to the subway via bus, increasing commute time.

The NYC Subway is operated by the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), a state organization. While they have made multiple favorable decisions, many decisions made by the MTA continue to be a point of contention. The IBX project is one instance of this. Brooklyn and Queens have lacked an interborough connection for a long time, and although that is issue is being attempted to be resolved with the IBX, progress has been very slow, and the proposal is far from optimal. In a recent study put out by the MTA, light rail was determined as the method of transit for the project, much to the dismay of many people in the transit community. Light rail requires separate rolling stock from the rest of the subway system, which means a new yard and new maintenance facilities must be built. Light rail also lacks the same capacity as heavy rail. Returning to the Second Avenue Subway, it's major point of contention is the cost. Large amounts of money were spent on consultation, which many people disagree with. Time and money was also spent on constructing full length mezzanines, when two smaller mezzanines at each end of the station would have been sufficient.

Speed and frequency are more areas NYC's subway struggles with. While efforts have been made through the installation of computer based train control (CBTC), it has yet to be implemented throughout the whole system. On the Flushing Line, where CBTC is present, end to end rides can be as short as 20 minutes. Other routes such as the F and N, where CBTC is yet to be installed, can take an hour just to travel into Manhattan from Brooklyn. While train headways in NYC are acceptable during rush hour, off-peak frequency is pretty bad. Not everyone using the system is traveling during rush hour and in the peak direction. Having shorter headways overall during peak and off-peak hours would make travel easier, and encourage less people to drive. Some of the worst headways in the system can be found on west end, on the D line. Riders here often find themselves waiting 20 or more minutes for the train.

Safety and Accessibility are another pair of areas where NYC falls behind. While other metro systems like the Hong Kong MTR are fully accessible, NYC is not, and so far there are only plans to reach 95% accessibility. The rate at which stations have elevators installed is also very slow. In addition to this, the lack of platform screen doors is a safety risk. There are multiple recorded incidents of people falling or climbing onto the tracks. NYC's subway uses an electrified third rail for power, making anyone on the tracks at risk of electrocuting themselves. Cities like Bangkok, Copenhagen, Shanghai, Tokyo, Jakarta, Seoul, Singapore, and even parts of São Paulo have had platform screen doors for many years.

Although there is optimism about the New York City subway's future, people are still frustrated with the its current state. Personally, more priority should be placed on improving and modernizing the subway. More funding and better planning could bring the system up to par with other cities' metros.

Of course, there is the possibility that I am biased. As someone who is part of the millions that use public transit in NYC, finding myself frustrated by the subway is easy. However, taking a step back and looking more critically at the situation reveals that it is more complex than just pouring more money into improvements. There are many conflicting interests, bureaucratic barriers, and of course, NIMBYs, in the way. Although I consider my opinion on the subject reasonable, there are others that may see them as more radical. The best way for me to continue to reassess my views is through communication with others. Hearing other's opinions on the subject is always important to avoid heavily skewed views. I consistently discuss with my friends and other people impacted by New York's public transit to exchange ideas and views.

Works Cited

“Hong Kong Public Transportation.” Wheelchair Travel, 4 Jan. 2020, wheelchairtravel.org/hong-

        kong/public-transportation/.
“MTA Accessibility.” MTA, new.mta.info/accessibility.
“Subway and Bus Ridership for 2021.” MTA, new.mta.info/agency/new-york-city-transit/subway-bus-

        ridership-2021.
Vanshnookenraggen, www.vanshnookenraggen.com/_index/.