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Bring Multiple Books: Subway Delays Have Increased Dramatically
By
Ben Yakas
Published Mar 6, 2015
Modified Mar 6, 2015
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Mar 6, 2015
Modified Mar 6, 2015
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This may come as a huge shock to you, you may want to sit down: subway delays have gotten worse over the last year. I know you weren't expecting this, certainly not today, but we feel it's our duty to give it to you straight: it's gotten significantly worse.
According to a February 2015 MTA committee meeting report, subway delays have increased approximately 45.6 percent from 2013 to 2014. There were an average of 43,339 delays per month last year on weekdays, compared with 29,774 in 2013. Those figures correspond to the "12-month average of the system number of terminal delays," which indicates any time a train is late to a station. A train is considered delayed if it pulls into the last station on its line more than five minutes after it is scheduled to arrive.
We've pulled a few significant slides from the report to highlight some of the numbers.
MTA
As you can see above, weekend delays have also increased 36.9 percent, from an average of 6,917 delays in 2013 to 9,468 in 2014.
Below, you can see how this breaks down for each individual line (Jalopnik also has a neat interactive graph that charts the delays for each line from 2011-2014).
MTA
The most significant drops in dependability were for the 6 train (18.6 percent decrease, arrives on time 53.8 percent of the time) and the F train (18 percent decrease, on time 54.9 percent). The least dependable lines overall in 2014 were the 2 (46.6 percent on time), 4 (45.8 percent on time) and 5 (43 percent on time). The most reliable trains: the S (unsurprisingly) and the L (more surprisingly! on time 93.9 percent in 2014).
But overall, things took a major dip in 2015: systemwide service was down 7.9 percent, with every single line falling in on time performance.
You can get an idea of what is causing these delays in the chart below.
MTA
The MTA has not responded to our request for comment, but they told the Post that the delays were largely caused by work on Hurricane Sandy repairs and on other capital projects. "Unfortunately, this level of protection comes at a cost to service, not only on the tracks where workers are maintaining or inspecting equipment, but in many cases on adjacent tracks, as well," a spokesperson said.
In case you're into the nitty gritty, feel free to peruse the entire report below.
Tagged
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MTA
reality checks
subway
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Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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