May 16, 2006

Subways more crowded and grimier than a year ago

If the subways feel more crowded than ever, they probably are. New statistics released by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority show march was the busiest month on record for the city's subways and overall numbers for 2005 were the highest in 50 years, according to the Daily News.

An average 4.9 million riders rode the subway on a typical weekday in March, with a total of 1.4 billion in 2005. Pretty high considering the fare hike, transit strike and the mass closures late nights and every weekend for construction projects.

And while ridership has been up, cleanliness hasn't, according to the latest Schmutz survey conducted by the Straphangers Campaign, a citizens watchdog group.

The E and M lines were judged the dirtiest in the system, with passing clean grades only 2 percent and 4 percent of the time, respectively. The cleanest was the No. 4 train with a 94 percent passing rate. The survey did not factor in litter, but rather for dirt and ground-in grime. A total of 15 of 22 subway lines were graded worse than in last year's report.

May 16, 2006 12:57 PM in Transportology

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