Audit: NYC Subway Riders Spend More Time Waiting For Trains
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The amount of time New York City subway riders spend waiting between trains is getting longer, according to an audit by the office of state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.
The audit found that the MTA's "wait assessment'' showed a decline in performance. The wait times got worse on 16 lines and improved on five.
WEB EXTRA: Read The Full Audit (pdf)
As of June 2015, the audit found 74.8 percent of trains arrived on time. The MTA goal is 80.7 percent.
According to the audit, the way the MTA calculates performance might actually make it appear better than it really is. It's a systemwide average giving equal weight to short shuttle runs and longer lines with many stops, WCBS 880's Sean Adams reported.
"The MTA is very clear that it considers its wait time assessment to be its most important measurement of the reliability of subway service and riders' experience," DiNapoli said. "It turns out the way Transit calculates this measurement obscures the reality of straphangers' wait times. New York's subway riders deserve better."
Riders are fed up.
"I now take the Long Island Rail Road in. Sometimes I take the express bus from Queens. The subway isn't an option for me anymore," one straphanger told Adams. "The delays drive me crazy."
The MTA denounced the findings in a statement, saying the audit includes "misunderstandings'' and "outright misrepresentations.''
The agency added that the audit is "bereft of any substantive suggestions to make life better for subway customers.''
It says its capital plan includes steps to address the wait times such as new infrastructure and more subways. Planned signal upgrades in the future should also ease delays.
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