MTA: Massively Terrible Automobiles

Ah the NYC Subway. It has a friendly lil slogan: MTA Going Your Way! I beg to differ. I have been riding the MTA (Mass Transit Authority) trains and buses steadily since I was 14 years old. I have to say, quite often, the MTA does NOT go my way.

Exhibit A: This morning's commute
Normally I leave early for work, but this morning it was tough to get out of bed so I left just in time: not late, but exactly the time I need to leave to arrive at the office at 9am. I walked two blocks to the 71st Street station. I take the D and transfer at 36th Street to the N, which brings me to my stop in Queens, where I work. I can also catch the N at 62nd Street, but it is a walk I'd rather not do every morning, so believe it or not, transferring trains actually makes my commute easier. But I digress.

As I was saying, I arrived at the 71st Station and there was the D train, halfway in the station, doors closed and cars empty. As it turned out the train stalled and had been sitting there for so long that the conductor had the passengers exit the train. Anyone in the back cars had to walk up front so they can exit. All commuters at 71st Street were told there are no Manhattan bound D trains, so we were given two winning options.

Winning Option #1: Go to the other side of the station and take the Coney Island bound D train to Coney Island and get on a different Manhattan bound train, or

Winning Option #2: Walk to 62nd Street and get the Manhattan bound N train.

We were told we would be given vouchers at the token booth (which will be non-existant one day, oh joy!) so we do not have to pay an additional fare.

You'd have to be from NYC to understand the idiocy and inconvenience of winning option #1, so I took winning option #2. I retrieved my voucher and treaded on to 62nd Street. By some miracle (apparently they really never cease) I caught the N train right away, was able to get a seat and arrived to work a few minutes early.

Exhibit B: Inclement Weather
The MTA cannot handle this. If it drizzles, everything starts running like the Little Engine That Could. I'm sorry, but the last time I checked, New York was mapped as a major city that can handle any obstacle. But again, I digress, because the MTA is in a class of its own.

Just a few months ago, during the first heavy rain of Fall, the MTA went into a holding pattern. To make a long, stressful story that should remain un-revisited short, that morning was a nightmare. I took the scenic route to nowhere. Literally. I found myself all over the borough of Brooklyn in a quest to find some mode of transportation (yes even car service failed me this day) that would get me into Manhattan or Queens. My journey started at 7am and ended at 1PM when my Boss finally phoned and said "Stay home, it's not worth it, you wont lose time off for this."

Apparently anyone who did make it in to work that day arrived between 12PM and 1:30PM. Please keep in mind that these people live in Queens. These people have 20-30 minute commutes, tops, and still had the same horrendous experience I did. The only reason they made it in that day is because they had no bridges or tunnels to go through, they just had to wait for the trains to decide they can tread on during rain and flooding.

Ah, the NYC MTA, Going Your Way!