#94084 - 01/19/07 09:19 PM
Re: Extremely heavy ridership for a pointless line
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2BatteryPark5
Transport Workers Union Steward
Registered: 04/11/03
Posts: 1059
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If the S was ever extended, it would not be a 3-4 service as that most likely wouldn't be enough.
The service isn't redundant as it is a one train ride compared to 2 by hopping on the 1, 2, 3, A, C, or E one stop to then hop on a train across.
The ESA project is not a necessity & I hate seeing money wasted on it. I'm not saying the shuttle extension is a necessity either but if it saved money, I would be for it.
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#367702 - 04/23/07 09:00 PM
Re: Extremely heavy ridership for a pointless line
[Re: Limited-Stop Q72]
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South Ferry Shuttle
Bus Driver
Registered: 09/27/02
Posts: 468
Loc: within us all
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My $0.02:
A) Times Square/Grand Central Shuttle:
The S is there because that's the route the original IRT used. Since they had a perfectly good tunnel, there was no reason to get rid of it.
Exactly. That the 7 train and the S shuttle serve the same 42nd Street corridor seems like an accident of uncoordinated planning. I'm not sure exactly why 2 parallel IRT lines were built so that they had no track connection. Whatever the reason (perhaps there's a logical engineering / routing reason?), it makes no sense to close down a service that's obviously heavily used even if it might not be built from scratch if it didn't already exist.
B) East Side Access:
This is a very necessary project. This project will expand commuter rail capacity as well as offering riders more route choices. It is expected that tens of thousands of new riders will be drawn to the new services. That riders generally prefer the quickest route to work that is affordable does not make them "lazy," it makes them efficient. Commuters who don't get what they want through mass transit will clog up the streets. Better to get them on the train, especially when the system needs more capacity anyway.
C) Penn/Farley Station:
Another very necessary project. By expanding the concourse area, riders will be able to get on and off the trains more quickly, to such a great degree that it is expected that more trains can be added to the schedule. Even though tracks will not be added, capacity will be increased.
Moreover, the Farley Station project, the 7 train extension, the Javits expansion, the West Side Yards decking, and the moving of MSG to the opposite side of the Farley Station are all expected to result in significant new development in West Midtown in the next 20 years.
Though Eighth and Ninth street are basically dead now, that is where all the new development is expected to go, especially if investments are made in convenient mass transit to the area. Though we often think of mass transit projects in terms of making the ride more comfortable for current commuters, in fact, the decisions on where to spend money are usually made to encourage new development - businesses and people want to be located near convenient transit. At the same time, the increase in property values in the benefited areas are used to offset the cost of the project - that is how the city expects to pay for the 7 train extension and the decking of the West Side Yards, for example.
_________________________
"We don't need a doorman - this ain't the Ritz."
Conductor's message to a guy blocking the doors of a 1/9.
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#400351 - 01/14/08 07:26 PM
Re: Extremely heavy ridership for a pointless line
[Re: FamousNYLover]
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Relay
Straphanger
AtEastchester.jpg)
Registered: 01/10/08
Posts: 268
Loc: New York City
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The Grand Central - Times Square shuttle was created because the IRT was extended north on the east side and south on the west side. At the time, that configuration left riders with very few options to go crosstown. Because the trackage and stations were already there and functional, the IRT used them to furnish the connection. It's that simple.
The Flushing line does not connect to the shuttle because, of necessity it (the flushing line) had to be at a different elevation. It is deeper in order to pass under all of the lines it intersects.
Finally, the reason for both the shuttle and the Flushing line is simple. They each carry enough passengers to justify their existence.
To respond to the first post, I would ask the following simple question: If the line is indeed pointless, why were there so many people, including you, waiting to ride it? The sheer number of people waiting there with you should have opened your eyes to the fact that the line is well utilized.
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