As any engineer knows, with that many moving parts, whatever you're not actively fixing is in the process of breaking. And for ten years now, the subway has been mercilessly screwed for maintenance-and-upgrading cash by New Yorker governor George Pataki. So my piece opens with a hypothetical disaster:
Hypothetical, but, as I found out, not far-fetched. If you want to read the whole story, it's online here, or if you're local, buy a copy on the newsstands now!
Posted by Clive Thompson at February 24, 2005 01:25 PM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.collisiondetection.net/mt3/mt-tb.cgi/1130
Has this "impending doom" been compounded by unforseeable failures(i.e. the homeless man that set the electrical room on fire)?
Maybe the high profile failures will spur NY to more adequately fund repairs/overhauls...I certainly hope they do before I move to NYC!
Posted by: schyler at February 24, 2005 2:37 PM
Clive,
In an hour or so (or perhaps more, given my current rate of procrastination) I am going to get on a subway to head home to Brooklyn. This little scenario you've constructed is not helping my state of mind!
Sidenote: (and perhaps this question can be answered by reading your article) Does anyone know why the MTA has been getting screwed? What's Pataki's motivation? Is he hoping to turn the state republican by killing off all the NY democrats in subway related mishaps? Seriously though, I'm curious.
Why in god's name would a NY politician want the NYC subway to be anything other than the best in the world?
Posted by: Will at February 24, 2005 4:38 PM
Will, my piece was a technical and engineering analysis, not a political one -- so I confess I didn't spend a lot of time analyzing precisely why the MTA gets so screwed by the state. There's a companion piece in the issue about how to fix the financial situation that addresses the politics a bit more.
Schyler, when are you moving to New York?
Posted by: Clive at February 24, 2005 6:21 PM
In my dreams, tomorrow...
In reality, sometime in the next decade or so...
Until then, i am doomed to live in sunny Los Angeles...playing the dice game that is my daily commute.
Posted by: schyler at February 24, 2005 7:15 PM
** sigh **
I have to use the London Underground today, as I often do, and this excellent piece really makes me wonder about that. I use the Northern Line to get to zone 1 (central London) which famously had to purchase spare parts for their trains' radios from eBay last year during a multi-day fault in the system. The LU might be in somewhat better shape than NYC's subway (which I've really only ever rode out of necessity when I visit NY, because it just -feels- rickety - like that wooden coaster at Coney Island...) - but I'll still wonder every time I use the trains here...
Posted by: Scott at February 25, 2005 9:32 AM
Ebay? That's an amazing story!
I'd say the NY subway today is in pretty good shape -- with the exception of those few systems (ventilation units, old wiring in relay rooms) that only poses a problem in crisis situations ... so the trick is just to hope we don't have many crisis situations. The danger really lies in the immediate future: Given how badly the subway is being choked by debt and underfunding, it genuinely is poised to stop growing and start declining.
Posted by: Clive at February 25, 2005 2:00 PM
Did you write about that problem that occurred recently, that they said would take 5-7 years to fix (or something like that) and everyone was incredulous and they revised the estimate downwards and then finally that subway line was up and running within weeks?
The NYC subway system is notable for its not being able to inform passengers about when the next train is coming and what type it is. Like BART and the London Underground do. What a great feature that is!
Posted by: Sara at February 25, 2005 4:12 PM
OK, I took a look at the magazine website and in a companion piece those screens that tell you when the next trains are arriving and what type they are are mentioned. It says they "may sound like a luxury" because the information doesn't make the trains go faster. But it would encourage more people to ride. If they knew that they'd have that information and wouldn't be waiting interminably, they'd be much more likely to ride. In fact the screens should be visible before you go through the turnstile, so you can decide whether to go to the platform, stop & pick up a newspaper or whatever, or bail and seek alternate transportation.
Posted by: Sara at February 25, 2005 4:24 PM
Here's the link about the Northern Line in London and the eBay use... this makes me chuckle when I start thinking about all the various eBay scams abound and what hilarious madness the people charged with obtaining the parts could possibly run into...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4079135.stm
I think maybe the reason I personally like the NYC system less is the trains aren't as sleek-looking as their counterparts here in London - here we get the nice three-tone colour scheme, electronic display boards in some lines (and in all stations)... but obviously there's just as many problems. Just different kinds of problems.
Of course, I'm originally from Winnipeg, where the only subways we have there will ask what kind of bread you want and if you want cheese... ecchhh...
Posted by: Scott at February 28, 2005 4:58 AM
Posted by: Live cams at March 13, 2005 8:25 PM
Has this "impending doom" been compounded by unforseeable failures(i.e. the homeless man that set the electrical room on fire)?
Maybe the high profile failures will spur NY to more adequately fund repairs/overhauls...I certainly hope they do before I move to NYC!
Posted by: schyler at February 24, 2005 2:37 PM
Clive,
In an hour or so (or perhaps more, given my current rate of procrastination) I am going to get on a subway to head home to Brooklyn. This little scenario you've constructed is not helping my state of mind!
Sidenote: (and perhaps this question can be answered by reading your article) Does anyone know why the MTA has been getting screwed? What's Pataki's motivation? Is he hoping to turn the state republican by killing off all the NY democrats in subway related mishaps? Seriously though, I'm curious.
Why in god's name would a NY politician want the NYC subway to be anything other than the best in the world?
Posted by: Will at February 24, 2005 4:38 PM
Will, my piece was a technical and engineering analysis, not a political one -- so I confess I didn't spend a lot of time analyzing precisely why the MTA gets so screwed by the state. There's a companion piece in the issue about how to fix the financial situation that addresses the politics a bit more.
Schyler, when are you moving to New York?
Posted by: Clive at February 24, 2005 6:21 PM
In my dreams, tomorrow...
In reality, sometime in the next decade or so...
Until then, i am doomed to live in sunny Los Angeles...playing the dice game that is my daily commute.
Posted by: schyler at February 24, 2005 7:15 PM
** sigh **
I have to use the London Underground today, as I often do, and this excellent piece really makes me wonder about that. I use the Northern Line to get to zone 1 (central London) which famously had to purchase spare parts for their trains' radios from eBay last year during a multi-day fault in the system. The LU might be in somewhat better shape than NYC's subway (which I've really only ever rode out of necessity when I visit NY, because it just -feels- rickety - like that wooden coaster at Coney Island...) - but I'll still wonder every time I use the trains here...
Posted by: Scott at February 25, 2005 9:32 AM
Ebay? That's an amazing story!
I'd say the NY subway today is in pretty good shape -- with the exception of those few systems (ventilation units, old wiring in relay rooms) that only poses a problem in crisis situations ... so the trick is just to hope we don't have many crisis situations. The danger really lies in the immediate future: Given how badly the subway is being choked by debt and underfunding, it genuinely is poised to stop growing and start declining.
Posted by: Clive at February 25, 2005 2:00 PM
Did you write about that problem that occurred recently, that they said would take 5-7 years to fix (or something like that) and everyone was incredulous and they revised the estimate downwards and then finally that subway line was up and running within weeks?
The NYC subway system is notable for its not being able to inform passengers about when the next train is coming and what type it is. Like BART and the London Underground do. What a great feature that is!
Posted by: Sara at February 25, 2005 4:12 PM
OK, I took a look at the magazine website and in a companion piece those screens that tell you when the next trains are arriving and what type they are are mentioned. It says they "may sound like a luxury" because the information doesn't make the trains go faster. But it would encourage more people to ride. If they knew that they'd have that information and wouldn't be waiting interminably, they'd be much more likely to ride. In fact the screens should be visible before you go through the turnstile, so you can decide whether to go to the platform, stop & pick up a newspaper or whatever, or bail and seek alternate transportation.
Posted by: Sara at February 25, 2005 4:24 PM
Here's the link about the Northern Line in London and the eBay use... this makes me chuckle when I start thinking about all the various eBay scams abound and what hilarious madness the people charged with obtaining the parts could possibly run into...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4079135.stm
I think maybe the reason I personally like the NYC system less is the trains aren't as sleek-looking as their counterparts here in London - here we get the nice three-tone colour scheme, electronic display boards in some lines (and in all stations)... but obviously there's just as many problems. Just different kinds of problems.
Of course, I'm originally from Winnipeg, where the only subways we have there will ask what kind of bread you want and if you want cheese... ecchhh...
Posted by: Scott at February 28, 2005 4:58 AM
webcam psycho girl libby hoeler -
webcams free
webcam girl wishlist -
free webcams
volcano web cam -
sexcam portals
web cam girl caught -
webcam sex
teen vampire chat -
adult chatrooms
web cams models girls -
webcamgirl
teen webcam girl pics -
sex webcam
video taping live show -
florida webcam
video girl webcams girls cam live sexy women chat -
webcam amateur
xxx web cams live -
webcam porn
web cam girl free -
free sexcams
web cams xxx and web cam -
webcam movies
webcams girls -
webcam review
sex employment adult videos webcams -
webcam naked
sex adult webcams webcam video chat free people search -
free sexcam
live web cams sex girls free no credit card -
webcam babes
live traffic webcams -
webcam boobs
lake tahoe live web cams -
sex cams
sexy free live webcam girls dirty cute -
adult webcams
lesbian teen girls with web cams -
webcam girl
live web cams d c -
webcam girl
live web cams any web cam -
webcam cams
oklahoma teen chat -
webcams
live uk sex cams -
webcam site
shows adult web cam -
adult webcam
sexcam virus -
webcam naked
live sex free cams -
webcam teen
sex cams dialer how to remove -
webcam directory
pensacola web cam -
sex chat
live webcams montgomery alabama -
webcamgirl
sex chat rooms in uk -
webcam girl
red head sex cams -
free webcams
live web cams of the beaches -
free sexcams
psycho girl webcam vid -
adult webcam
live video streams -
adultchat
live sex video chat -
free webcamchat
teen chat -
active webcam
phone free sex chat -
sexcam virus
live webcam video -
webcam cams
live web cams in north carolina corolla -
webcam babes
live porn web cams -
amature webcams
live streaming web cams miami florida -
webcam teens
recorded webcam yahoo girl -
amaturesex cams
live cams sex chat -
webcam voyeur
maine web cams -
webcam
older free mature adult chat rooms -
sexcam software
personals live webcam free web chat video -
sexcam shows
live web cams in australia -
adult sexcams
live nude adult webcams girls webcam live free -
webcam software
live webcams montreal -
webcam bahamas
singles sex chat rooms -
webcam pictures
H3l0-Hello guys! I love this blog!-H3l0
Posted by: Live cams at March 13, 2005 8:25 PM