What's the Deal With the 7th Avenue F/G Stop Turnstiles?

OK, seriously, what the hell is going on with the turnstiles at the 7th Avenue stop?

I don't know about you people who enter on the 8th Ave side, but nearly every freaking morning for the last few months I--and every other commuter trying to get on a train at nine A.M. at the 7th Avenue entrance--encounter a ridiculous queue to swipe in, like thirty people deep at each gate. Some mornings the thing won't take anyone's effing MetroCard, and like 95% of us have to walk around. (Tragic, I know, save it.)

Listen, I know how to swipe a MetroCard (and before you run your mouth, you know your I-Live-Here selves get really embarrassed when you're prompted to swiped again, so save that, too), and while I know that there are some seriously turnstile-challenged residents of our humble neighborhood, this shit isn't our fault.

MTA WHAT IS THE DEAL. THE DEAL. WHAT IS IT. ANSWERS. I NEEDS THEM.

Photo: Park Slope Lens

83% of Subway Announcements Are 'Clear and Accurate'

image via Park Slope Lens

Here's the latest: the Straphangers Campaign has released a "study" which claims that 83% of subway announcements are both clear AND accurate.

BWHAAAAHHHAAAAAA!

Click to read more ...

The MTA Is Now Making iPhone Apps

During frigid winters, the suggestion of traveling to areas of Brooklyn only reachable by bus are usually met with  tepid responses such as “I’ll think about it,” or the slightly more caustic, “It’s on Columbia Street? Go fuck yourself.” The prospect of a lengthy trip to outlying avenues is made much less appealing by the uncertainty of just how long one has to wait for the B63 to come chugging down 5th avenue as exposed fingers are turned into frostbitten icicles during an intense game of Angry Birds.

While the MTA has been busy raising our fares and providing a safe haven for smack addicts, they've also been hard at work on the vital issue of letting you know where in the crap this bus is. Behold, BusTime!

Already in place for both the M34 and M16 bus routes, this new MTA GPS pilot program allows anyone with Internet acces, or using a cell phone (isn't that everyone?) to keep tabs on the whereabouts of their precious B63 bus (which runs from Cobble Hill, through Park Slope, to Fort Hamilton). And for passengers more into planning than living in the moment, beginning next week, Smartphone users will be able to download an app that uses barcodes telling them what’s up with the next 5 buses.

According to some guy interviewed in the New York Post, if this shit works it'll be totally awesome.

(via NY Post)

Is the F Train The Worst Subway Line In the City?

Yesterday, it was the heroin addict. Before that, it was the bedbugs in the booth, the service shut down, the rat crawling on the sleeping homeless dude's face (was that the F?), the flasher in the stairwell, the....

And this morning? The fucking grossest sighting yet, I would argue! Wherein, some old, crusty nose-picker goes in for some excavation and then proceeds to wipe his boogers all over the subway car.

My friend Katie says she's seen worse. Oh you cynical New Yorkers!

But, really, is there a subway line worse than the F? The Straphangers Campaign has noted a conspicuous decline in F train cleanliness. You?

Your New Commute: A Dramatic Account

What a great way to start your brand-new commute, South Slopers: with a great big ice storm (or, “wintry mix” as the news calls it)!  Aren’t you excited? 

If you’re anything like me, all of these terrible subway changes have ruined your life forever because you're dramatic and you have no other real problems in your life, so you have to fixate on things that are just moderately annoying and not terribly bad.  How's THAT for self-awareness?

SO: if you're a jerk like me with white people problems, here is a dramatic account of what your life is going to be like for the forseeable future...

PS: Are subway problems considered white people problems?  Because we ARE talking about public transit, right?

Click to read more ...