From: grammatim@verizon.net   
      
   On Monday, May 11, 2015 at 10:14:45 AM UTC-4, Thor Lancelot Simon wrote:   
   > In article ,   
   > John Levine   wrote:   
      
   > >In general, every station is served every 20 minutes or better,   
   > >although I see a few places like the Rockaway shuttle with 26 minutes   
   > >between some trains.   
   >   
   > So, one thing they might be able to fix -- though it looks like a tough   
   > problem -- is just-outside-rush service intervals out at the ends of the   
   > lines.   
   >   
   > For example, if I walk into the 181st street A stop around 9:30-10AM, I   
   > will not infrequently wait 10+ minutes for a Brooklyn-bound train while   
   > 4 or more empty 207th-bound trains go by in the other direction.  I'm sure   
   > the reverse is true on the other end(s) of the line -- given the distances   
   > involved, the problem is likely worse.   
      
   Well ... all the A trains are stored at the Inwood yards; there aren't yards   
   in Rockaway or at Lefferts Blvd.   
      
   > This sort of thing tends to concentrate the rush, which is one of the   
   > issues bringing the system to its knees.  On the other hand, it is the   
   > obvious consequence of putting on extra service towards midtown for   
   > the absolute peak of rush hour.   
      
   Mass transit properly doesn't connect just one outlying neighborhood with   
   a city center, but continues on through to another one elsewhere. The 1,   
   7, L, and E have this problem (the E was supposed to connect to another   
   tunnel to Brooklyn that would have joined what is now the Transit Museum).   
   Doing it that way means that the line is utilized in both directions at   
   rush hour instead of only toward the CBD in the morning and away in the   
   evening.   
      
   (When the line that became the Q was built, 57th St. _was_ way out in the   
   boonies. But the Q will eventually be the top end of the Second Avenue line,   
   conforming to the pattern.)   
      
   Compare Seattle, where just about all the bus lines pass through the narrow   
   downtown isthmus to connect northern with southern neighborhoods/suburbs --   
   which enabled them to institute the "board free downtown" policy. You pay   
   when you enter at the ends or when you leave at the ends; if you stay on   
   from end to end, you ask for a receipt (like a transfer) when boarding and   
   "pay" with that when exiting. It has the extra bonus of free transportation   
   within the downtown zone, which cuts down significantly on car traffic in the   
   congested area.   
      
   > If they could find a way to fix it so I could be confident it wouldn't   
   > take me 50% longer total time to get downtown at 9:30 compared to 9:00,   
   > I'd be perfectly happy to help the MTA out by commuting a little later   
   > in the day.  I suspect many others would be as well.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)