Last night, Lewis' company finally had its Holiday Party. It lasted 3 hours at a restaurant. After a nice evening, his trip on the subway to my apartment took nearly half as long!
At 10:25pm, Lewis tried to get aboard the subway at Prince Street. Signage warned passengers that N-trains skipped that stop, after 11pm. So, he had plenty of time.
Only after Lewis got downstairs and passed through the turnstiles did he--and many others--realize that trains were ALREADY bypassing that station, ahead of the posted time. Having already paid for his ride, he tried to take a train going in the other direction to transfer to a train that went to my neighborhood. He took the D-train, which suddenly encountered delays and stalled.
He thought of switching again, but the other trains had their own problems... as usual.
Lewis considered getting off and paying extra for a taxi, but the train conductor kept saying "We should be moving shortly." Finally, the conductor admitted, "I have no idea what's happening ahead of us, so I advise you to get off this train."
!!!
Due to the late hour of the night, ride-shares like Uber surged their prices--to gouge late-night customers. Distressed and reluctant to overpay for a ride home, Lewis saw an N-train finally arrive at his current station. He squeezed on.
Typical of the corrupt MTA, after their own delays, their trains usually skip several stops (so that the delays don't register on the computer statistics). Therefore, they tell (already delayed) passengers to get off the train and wait for the next one. That's what happened to Lewis' train, but he did not get off. It was smart of him, because the next train would undoubtedly be full of people and he would have to wait for the THIRD train. Meanwhile, that was at an above-ground platform, and nobody wants to stand outside in 30-degree air... for no reason.
Ergo, his train skipped 4 stops and went to the end-of-the-line. Of course--and despite the MTA's huge delays--that station did NOT have the next engineer ready to start the train back in the other direction. So, passengers sat for 10 minutes, waiting for the train to move again.
A commute that is normally 20 minutes took 1.5 HOURS! Naturally, there was no refund by the MTA for its uncaring lack of performance in this modern era of 2020.
Lewis finally got to my place, nearly 2 hours after he left the restaurant. Such stress and aggravation does not make living in (expensive) NYC enjoyable. It's unforgivable that such things occurred, each month, during the 8 YEARS that I lived in NYC. Why does rent increase, each year--for living near the subway--when the subway fails to improve? Every year, and during every election, our tax-paid officials promise improvements that never happen.
In the morning, more news erupted that the MTA blamed bed bugs for its other delays, during that previous night.
(Click on any image to make it bigger/clearer)
However, the focus during everyone's morning commute was on hearing how the MTA President resigned. He lasted two years, and he'll probably return to England or another part of Europe--happy to be away from corrupt New York.
Already, people doubted whether any more improvements might ever happen: handicap accessibility is 50 years overdue; none of the facts disclosed by the NY Times expose ever stopped corruption; many employees are grossly overpaid; and chunks of revenue are unaccounted for. Here is what "the people" said; they seem to recognize the causes straightaway. (Tap on any image to make it bigger/clearer).
Meanwhile, according to yesterday's news headlines, its seems like the Metropolitan Transit Authority has plenty of money.
Alas, this government is not representative of its people; it is representative of its own corruption, as is evident by its priorities.
