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BerezanUnassisted514 t1_j7h8pda wrote

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[deleted] t1_j7hdrje wrote

The Elizabeth Line in London feels 50 years ahead of anything we have in NYC. Stockholm's entire system is pretty great too, as is Copenhagen's fully-automated 24/7 metro

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BerezanUnassisted514 t1_j7hkwbe wrote

Ok so a single literally just opened line in London. It is nice, pretty similar to the 2nd Ave line when just opened. That project is pretty great overall though, a crosstown express link like that would be amazing in NYC.

I’m not personally familiar with it, but as far as I can tell Copenhagen is a light rail system comprised of a total of 4 lines with less than 300k daily ridership. Not exactly comparable to NYC in any way.

Also not personally familiar with Stockholm, but it doesn’t look revolutionary as far as I can tell. It also serves 1/4 of the stations and 1/5 of the daily riders as the NYC subway. What makes it so good?

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[deleted] t1_j7hp2ji wrote

Of course most European cities aren't operating a system on the scale of NYC's, since almost none of their cities are the same size. What's different is a series of almost night / day differences in quality of life, when using those systems.

The expectation here should be that we have stations as clean and functional as the ones in Stockholm or Copenhagen- i.e., working toward full accessibility, well-lit, floors not covered in decades of chewing gum, no puddles of urine or mysterious black gunk dripping from the ceiling, tolerable noise levels, no horrible odors almost everywhere, no poisonous diesel fumes from work trains, benches you don't dread sitting on, etc. Basically, conditions you'd expect in any normal public building (like a library).

I'm also aware that plenty of sub-par systems exist around Europe, and there's no point in lumping the whole continent together.

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BenHogan1971 t1_j7iy7r3 wrote

this is why, when a previous commenter said that the MTA does a fairly good job, I (mostly) agree.

it's in large part that no other system in the world has to deal with asshole people like littering, graffitiing, cursing, spitting, eating, puking, defecating, pissing, smoking, injecting, vandalizing, mentally unstable, poor, homeless, rude, inconsiderate, 24/7, blase, New Yorkers

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BerezanUnassisted514 t1_j7hq5kp wrote

This is not a transit issue, that is a societal issue.

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[deleted] t1_j7i8f2u wrote

Keeping the system clean and comfortable to use is one of the MTA's basic responsibilities.

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BerezanUnassisted514 t1_j7ic6qa wrote

And what is the main issue they face? Homelessness. Do transportation authorities elsewhere deal with anything remotely comparable?

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[deleted] t1_j7kcowj wrote

No doubt it's a major issue, but it doesn't explain the state of neglect so much of the system is in. The message NYC is sending is that we've just given up on trying to improve things.

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BerezanUnassisted514 t1_j7knov4 wrote

It almost entirely explains most of the issues you pointed to. The system has become filthy and unkept because it is a de facto homeless shelter. The safety concerns largely stem from the same issue.

There are maintenance items that could certainly be improved, but at what cost? Are we okay with weekend and overnight service being dramatically cut to allow for cosmetic maintenance? It’s much easier to polish stations when they’re closed every night.

I’m not giving the MTA a full pass, they waste money at an impressive rate, I just think it’s important to put some of these things into context. This is not Copenhagen, the issues faced are very different in many respects.

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FavoriteChild t1_j7hwnod wrote

Why single out Europe? East Asia has everyone put to shame: Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, Taipei, etc.

Was just in Taipei last month and coming back to NYC was jarring. Their subways are impeccably timed, clean, well-lit, have cell-signal, etc. Just about every station has public restrooms that are well-maintained and don't smell of perpetual urine. They even have barricades to the track, which some people might have you believe is an impossible goal to have.

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