We've been asking you to document your concerns, questions, comments and grievances about the MTA and submit them for our We the Commuters project.
It's all been leading up to this moment: the MTA's monthly board meeting is today (you can watch it below), and we've sent a We the Commuters ambassador to represent you.
Meet Adam Payne: a WNYC listener, Inwood resident, and concerned subway rider. He has ataxia, which affects his coordination and speech, so he gets around in a wheelchair. Listen above to hear some of his specific transportation concerns and one of his concrete suggestions: put MTA workers at stations with out-of-service elevators explicitly to help people go up stairs and/or give reliable information about the nearest accessible station.
Payne is headed to the MTA meeting on Wednesday morning to deliver a public statement on behalf of We the Commuters. But here's the thing: WNYC received over 300 (!!) comments, and Payne won't have time to read them individually. Instead, he'll share your top concerns — then he'll hand-deliver the entire list to the MTA for review.
And in the meantime, here's what we heard from you.
Reliability (99 comments)
General trends: getting there on time, daily delays leading to overcrowding, response system for delays, Q and R train delays
Main question: What is the MTA doing to resolve signal problem delays? (Enough with the “cosmetic changes” - give us more reliable service!)
Communication (41 comments)
General trends: audio announcements are unintelligible, electronic visual announcements and countdown clocks needed, need to communicate with the MTA in real time from the subway, mobile site/alert system always seems outdated
Main question: What are you doing to improve communications, informing customers of delays in real time and receiving information from riders? (We the Commuters generally distrust the announcements we get over PAs and via the alert system because of vague language. Be frank with us!)
Proposed Fixes (51 comments)
Proposals include: encourage other forms of transportation to take pressure off the subway (like bike lanes, better bus service, more ferries); extend the G train further into Queens create a direct route for Brooklyn-Queens commuters; address lack of subway options on the Lower East Side.
All questions and comments submitted can be viewed here.