New York City Transit – going my way?

Being someone who lives and works in Sheepshead Bay, I have to take a bus to a train to a train to and from work every day. From end to end, the actual trip should be thirty-five to forty-five minutes. I say “should be” because the trip usually takes an hour to an hour and a half. Yesterday, it took two hours.

For me, my morning usually dictates the rest of my day, which means that when my trip from one side of Brooklyn to the other takes just as long as a flight from JFK to Florida, I know that I’m going to have a really bad day thanks to the MTA.

Let me give you a timeline of my trip to work yesterday:

• 9:45am – I leave my house and walk to Nostrand Avenue and Avenue X to wait for the B36 bus.
• 10:00am – I’m waiting.
• 10:15am – Still waiting.
• 10:30am – The bus finally arrives and takes me to the Sheepshead Bay train station where I wait for the "D" (local) or "Q" (express) train.

Now mind you, at the Sheepshead Bay train station, the station only has three operating turnstiles and one of the six stairways open for the hundreds of passengers that use the station every day. They say it’s for “improvements.”

• 10:45am – Still waiting.
• 10:50am – A "D" train pulls up to the station. I ask the conductor if there is a "Q" train behind him because I am already late and I need an express. “I don’t know.” was his answer.
• 10:55am – A "Q" train passes my "D" train.

This is what really ticks me off. I can’t count how many times that the "D" and "Q" have been side by side between Avenue U and Kings Highway and, for some reason or another, have not connected at Kings Highway. For those of you who are not familiar with this train line, I will explain; From the Sheepshead Bay Road train station to DeKalb Avenue, it is fifteen stops on the "D", but only seven on the "Q", so you could see why everyone wants to take the "Q" train.

• 11:00am – I should be at work, but instead of sitting behind my desk, I’m sitting on the "D" train.
• 11:15am – The "D" train pulls into DeKalb Avenue and sitting across the platform is an "N" train which will take me the remaining part of my trip which is two stops to Court Street. As the doors on my train open, the doors on the "N" train close and the train pulls away. Why? Do the conductors get some kind of sick thrill from this? Does it turn them on to know that by making people miss their train, they will be late to work. All the conductor had to do was wait another fifteen seconds for the "D" train passengers, but no, he pulls away.
• 11:20am – I get off an "R" train that pulled up after the "N" and walk up the stairs of the Court Street station to the elevators. Guess what? Both elevators are out of service which means that me and the hundreds of other passengers have to walk up six flights of a dimly lit, smelly, staircase whose floor is soaking wet with God knows what.
• 11:25am – I sit at my desk, and start writing this column before even taking off my coat.

Just so you know, I am sending a copy of this column to E. Virgil Conway, the chairman and chief executive officer of the MTA/New York City Transit. I want to let him know, as one of his customers, how much I enjoyed my trip to work yesterday. I want to tell him that a simple coat of paint does not constitute “improvements.” I want to suggest to him that he consider talking to his conductors about waiting that extra fifteen seconds when in the station with a connecting train and to make the time between trains a little shorter, especially during rush hours – that’s improvements.

Oh, and just one quick question; Lately, the newer "Q" trains have been replaced with the older ones, many train station’s exits and elevators are closed, and the waiting time between trains is ridiculous, you raised the fare for this?

I’ll be leaving work at around 7:00pm tonight – I think I’ll take a cab home.