New York’s Fake Subway Advisory

By Christine Garvin On May 8, 2009 · 32 Comments

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Disgruntled NY commuters strike back at the subway with fake advisories posted around the stations.

Here’s a little something fun for your Friday:

The rats are quite cute when they play, aren’t they? / Photo source / Feature: anniemole

Even though this is a (fake) New York subway advisory, many people who have traveled the world over or live in a metropolitan area can relate (and yet New York’s Metro PA system certainly has it’s own specific flavor, doesn’t it? Garblegarblegarble).

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, where the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system costs an arm and a leg, stops at 1am just in time for the 2am clubbers to drive home across the Bay Bridge after they’ve been drinking all night, and only has six stops in the actual city of San Francisco.

The SF BART stops at 1am just in time for the 2am clubbers to drive home after they’ve been drinking all night – who thought that was a good idea?

But, it’s pretty clean on the whole, has air conditioning (though we rarely need it), and the BART people tend to be helpful.

My favorite train systems I’ve encountered so far have been the tube in London (although I know many people will not agree, and there is that whole soot-filled-snot thing that happens when you ride it too much) and the U-Bahn in Berlin. I don’t even speak German and I was able to figure that one out almost instantly.

And although this advisory makes some good points, gotta appreciate the fact that you can get ANYWHERE in New York pretty darn easily in a relatively inexpensive manner.

That is…If you can figure out what they’re mumbling to change trains halfway to your destination.

What are some of the ups and downs of different subway systems throughout the world? Share your thoughts below.

About The Author

Christine Garvin

Christine Garvin is a certified Nutrition Educator and holds a MA in Holistic Health Education. She is the founder/editor of Living Holistically...with a sense of humor and co-founder of Confronting Love. When she is not out traveling the world, she is busy writing, doing yoga, and performing hip-hop and bhangra. She also likes to pretend living in her hippie town of Fairfax, CA is like being on vacation.

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http://collazoprojects.com Julie

Great poster!
The NYC subway system has been getting worse and worse: service cuts, inconsistent service, broken track, misfired signals, and, of course, all the usual thrills of public transport. I’m glad I live here and have the choice to use public transportation, but if the MTA doesn’t start doing a better job of managing the massive system’s infrastructure (instead of wasting its money on dumb cosmetic doo-dads, like the signs–many of which don’t work–telling riders how long it will be before the next train arvies), then I’m not particularly hopeful about its future.
http://www.ianmack.com Ian MacKenzie

Even though the poster is hilarious, I still feel like defending the NYC subway. Having been to so many other cities without this type of “get anywhere in the city without a car” – it really makes a difference.

That said, of course it can always be better. Maybe make the rats do tricks or something…
http://vagabondingbetty.blogspot.com/ Betty

the MRT in Taipei is by far the best i’ve ever seen. i’ve been all over australia, europe (over 10 countries), and all over the US. Taipei is the quickest, cleanest, most efficient, the list goes on. I believe they won awards for it many years in a row.
http://www.matadorabroad.com Tim Patterson

That sign is hilarious.
http://hellobabies.wordpress.com Alicia

I have to say Seoul is one of the best subway systems I’ve seen. Even easier than the U-bahn and more user-friendly than NYC. Tokyo however… agh! So difficult.
http://wayworded.blogspot.com/ Hal

I second Seoul. It’s one of the longest systems in the world, but also one of the most useful and easiest to grasp.
fishbulb

Seoul is OK, but I find Hong Kong’s MTR much easier. Cheap enough, clean, large trains, and punctual. Only downside is that it’s not 24 hours.
http://www.keepingpaceinjapan.com Turner Wright

NYC doesn’t know what crowded means…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33qxTMA9XTA

christine

no doubt, Turner. Wow, that is hilarious…get all the train attendants on the floor so you can push every last person in!

I would literally pass out before I even got in that train. No thank you.

http://thelonglayover.blogspot.com Carlo Alcos

Besides the sheer beauty of Moscow’s train stations, the network is pretty comprehensive and there are trains running like every minute (maybe an exaggeration) – I was down in the basement of one in the baggage storage area…you know how these kinds of places normally look…there were actually women down there scrubbing the hallway walls of this place. It was spotless, and hardly anyone passes through there.

Contrast that with the garbage strewn about everywhere else in the country…go figure.
http://travelexperta.com marina villatoro

I love this poster. If only they would have this at every station, the real lateness and problems would be regarded more as a joke and relax us all, rather than put us in a spin of a stressful frenzy.

However, now that I live in Costa Rica, with out any real public transport, I miss the NYC subway and whenever we go, I take my son on them all the time. But now that I don’t live there and don’t actually have to get anywhere, I’m not that stressed about the problems. Unless he has to go to the bathroom then I’m a freak regardless where I am:)
http://www.matadorabroad.com Tim Patterson

I’m still a little scared of subways.
http://blog.robpitingolo.org Rob

Seems like people from NYC thinks their subway system is terrible. Yet people from elsewhere think it’s the best thing in the world and wish they could have a system that is even a fraction as useful as what NYC has. Go figure.

http://thelonglayover.blogspot.com Carlo Alcos

It’s all relative! I’m astounded here in Melbourne at people always complaining about the system, when in fact it’s really comprehensive. Of course, coming from Vancouver where you have the Skytrain that has a grand total of TWO lines, it’s not hard to improve!

The grass is always greener…

Mike W

The MBTA in Boston has some similar issues as listed in the poster. The trains are slow and overcrowded, the fares keep increasing, and the service keeps getting worse (See article linked below). On several occasions, I’ve had drivers in one car simply not open the doors, and when I report them I get an “Oh, ok” with a clear I-don’t-care voice.

I switched to biking full time (Boston winters included) because I could no longer rely on public transit.

Article on MBTA cuts: http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/04/details_of_dras.html
http://stereotropical.blogspot.com/ john

The metro in DC is creatively titled (drumroll) the Metro. Even more creatively, everything is carpeted and extremely clean. You feel like you’re in a Disneyland ride moreso than public transit.

I lived in VA and commuted to work (also in VA) and to see my then-girlfriend (in DC) on the Metro. Like in San Fran, it was basically useless when going out; it stopped running a while before the bars closed. We would go to Black Cat and have to anxiously check the clock every few minutes to figure out when the last train ran so we’d be able to get home. Not just 1 train either mind you, as we had a transfer that made getting back a pain in the ass.

In short – for work, it was aces. For fun, it was crap. I wound up riding to a nearby bar in VA, drinking, then going home early and relishing not having to worry about driving drunk or getting a cab.
bill

I’m a NYC native and I think our subway is great. Yes, it could be better, but every time I leave the city I appreciate what we have.

I don’t know how the previous poster could think the Tokyo subway is complicated.. I had no trouble getting around on it even on my first trip. The JR line is a bit more complicated because the signage is all Kanji, but you can get maps in Romaji (English text).
dan

Pophangover,com was the original source of this image – it’s a shame to see an imageshack thief credited.

http://www.truequanimity.com/ Christine Garvin

Hi Dan,

Did a quick search of pophangover.com and couldn’t find it…but send me the link, and I’ll change the reference.

http://www.robot-frank.com robot frank

I lived in NYC a couple of years and spent my entire life in the NYC area. I don’t recall ever hearing an announcement declaring the next stop. The stops are shown on a marquee and there’s a ding noise when the train stops. They do announce the stops on the MTA railroad.

http://evaholland.com Eva

Most of the trains I’ve been on in the last few months at least attempted announcements; on the newer trains, you could even understand them.

JAvier

The Metro system in Madrid (Spain)is one of the most modern and which can get you pretty much anywhere in the city. Certainly one of the cheapest.
http://alanjaw.com aj

The reality is that the NYC MTA is dirty, old, and technologically outdated, but also comprehensive, a good value, and underfunded.

Comprehensive and good value:
The ride you get for $2 (including bus transfers) is unmatched across transit systems in the US. You can go practically anywhere in NYC and the fare is still $2.
Try seeing how far or where you can go with the transit systems in Boston, LA, DC, or even Philly.

Underfunded: see $2 fare and lack of government help

Technologically outdated: One only needs to go to a major city in Asia to see that the MTA is light years behind other transit systems. It takes money to upgrade the MTA though, and that money has to come from somewhere. New Yorkers protest every fare increase and yet they also complain about the service. The reality is that the MTA needs to join the 21st century and money is the only way to do that.

http://thelonglayover.blogspot.com Carlo Alcos

Very good point about value for dollar. In Sydney, I once took public transport from the airport to a suburb in the south. I went from bus to train to bus, and for each one I had to buy a new ticket because none of them were related to each other. Ridiculous.

JBP

I disagree with the idea that those outside NYC think the subways are great. I went to London long before I ever went to NYC, and the difference between the tube and the subway is like night and day. Over many cities in Europe and a few in the US, New York still has the most abysmally awful subway system I’ve ever witnessed. I think they would have to go out of their way to make it less informative and less user-friendly.

Yes, you can get virtually anywhere in NYC with the subway, but a terrible subway that goes everywhere is still a terrible subway.
Mark

After living in Chicago for five years and becoming intimately familiar with the El, I can state without a doubt that New Yorkers have nothing to complain about. I’ve been in New York for two years and the subway system on its worst day still exceeds the speed and reliability of the Chicago system.
http://theartofindecision.blogspot.com shakester

hong kong’s pretty good, and singapore is fantastic from the ‘dont have a car, doesnt matter’ point of view- all punctual, very clean, good network, with another line coming up this year
http://evaholland.com Eva

For me, I can never bring myself to complain about the New York subway (no matter how tempted I might have been, occasionally) for one reason: price.

The subway literally costs 1/3 (or less) the price of a ticket on the tube in London. If we’re talking single fare tickets? $2 on the NYC subway, wherever your destination is, compared to 3 pounds for zone 1 on the tube, and going up to five or six pounds for outlying areas. So in London you could (and I have) pay as much as $12 for a single fare.

That’s not to say there isn’t room for improvements – but New Yorkers will probably have to be prepared to pay for them…
Beth

I went to NYC for the first time last summer and wondered why it was so gosh darn hot in the subway stations. It’s UNDERGROUND and the stations were hotter than it was outside! What’s up with that?

ITA with you about the U-Bahn in Berlin. By far the best subway system in the world IMO. I wouldn’t mind living in Berlin because it is so easy to get around in that city. Although I haven’t been to London yet so maybe I’ll like their system better if I ever get to use it.
http://www.elizabethhatt.com Elizabeth

I totally agree with the Tube comment. After living in London for only three months, I was missing the NY subway—it’s more efficient, cheaper, runs all night and actually shows up (most of the time!). A year back in NY and I miss the plush seats, clean stations and that fact that the homeless can’t really afford to ride it.

Before I moved to London a friend warned me that it was dirty and she always come home with soot in her nose. I thought she was crazy, but low and behold, she was right. DISGUSTING!!! Yet a week ago I noticed the same thing in NY for the first time. We are basically killing ourselves by subjecting yourselves to this environment.
http://www.eonscottblogspot.com eon

Subways? Hmmm, I’ve lived in new york for almost my entire life and have travelled a little bit; mostly Europe, Canada and the US. The most efficient line I’ve been on in the States has to be the DC metro, although it does close down early but you can get virtually anywhere from southern Md. to pretty far into Va. and all points of DC with the exception of Georgetown. The tubes, subways, metro’s of Europe and Canada are much better than the NYC subway, although it has improved tremendously you still are basically descending into an oddysey if you’re not hip to the subway map and express train signs. As a native, I think the $2 is insane but it’s all subjective with trade-offs and whatnot. The US is frightened of public transit, too socialist, too urban, too utopian. You still can’t get to Manhattan from LaGuardia without taking two buses and changing to the 7 train. For a city with the worldwide reputation of NYC not to have a convenient public transit route from the airport to the midtown area is a disgrace. I know, I know, JFK has that monorail thing but you still have to change at Jamaica station; it would be nice if it went all the way into the city like the Paddington Express from Heathrow does in London.
AJ

The problem with the MTA is that they keep raising the fares and reducing the service. Furthermore the MTA also recieves .3% of the 8.25% sales tax on top of what we already pay for fares. They bring in millions of dollars a day and claim that they still need more money for repairs. Where is it going? I’ve ridden every train in NYC everywhere in all boro’s (even Staten Island), and what they decide to repair barely makes sense. There are stations that are literally crumbling and they are installing silly PA systems and only fixing stations in good neighborhoods. The stations in bad neighborhoods always receive the worst service and the least repairs. The agency needs to be audited. The money we pay is disappearing, we’re not getting anything for it. Anyone notice that you have to wait 10 minutes for a B train during rush hour? it’s supposed to come every 5, or less!

New York’s Fake Subway Advisory

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