Methodology: 2003-2004 Straphangers Campaign Payphone Survey of MTA Subway, Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Stations

Background
This survey expands the scope of five previous NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign payphone surveys conducted between 1999 and 2002.

In November 2001 and again in August 2002, we released reports in which we tested all payphones in 100 randomly selected New York City Transit subway stations, as well as those in the 25 most-used stations. In addition, in February 1999, we released a report in which we tested the payphones in 100 randomly selected subway stations; in December 2000, the campaign tested payphones in the 25 most-used subway stations.

In this report we expanded our survey universe to include all MTA train stations, including New York City Transit, Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North Railroad and Staten Island Railway. One hundred stations were selected at random for payphone testing. The complete list of stations surveyed can be found in Table Two.

Survey
The Straphangers Campaign trained and deployed six volunteers and two staff between August 1st and January 23rd, 2004. Volunteers were instructed to test each payphone in the station and record all data on hand-held electronic devices.
 

1. Standards
A telephone was rated as "non-functioning" if any of the following applied:

• the handset was missing or unusable;
• there was no dial tone;
• surveyors were unable to connect a toll-free call to 1-800-675-8495;
• the coin slot was blocked;
• coins deposited did not register; or
• the telephone would not return a coin.

 
2. Station Selection
Campaign staff selected 100 of the system's 712 stations at random. Four of these stations were undergoing substantial renovation during the survey period, so four other stations were randomly selected to replace these in the survey. Stations under construction during the survey period were Delancey Street, DeKalb Avenue, 116th Street-Columbia University, and 77th Street (Lexington IRT).

In addition, one station randomly selected for inclusion in the survey—Staten Island Railway's Stadium station—was closed for the season. This station was replaced by another random selection from the survey population.

Finally, campaign staff were informed that payphones in three Metro-North stations selected for surveying—Bridgeport, Green's Farms and Riverside—were administered by the Connecticut Department of Transportation and Southern New England Telephone and not by the MTA and Verizon. As a result, these stations were dropped from the survey and replaced at random by three others from the survey population.

The 100 stations selected for inclusion in the survey break down as follows:

1. New York City Transit 64 stations (out of a total of 468 stations)
2. Long Island Rail Road 23 stations (out of a total of 124 stations)
3. Metro-North Railroad 13 stations (out of a total of 120 stations)

3. Analysis of Data
In our study we found 75% of payphones (529/702) in MTA stations to be functioning. This figure is significant at the .05 level to within plus/minus 4%. This figure can be further analyzed when broken down by borough or location.

We found 73% of New York City Transit station payphones (383/527) to be functioning properly, significant to within plus/minus 4%. This can be compared to our 2002 survey of 100 New York City Transit stations, where we found 69% (545/789) of payphones to be functioning properly. The difference in findings is not statistically significant at the .05 level. Our 2003 findings at the borough/region level break down as follows:

Statistically, the difference between MTA New York City Transit and commuter rail performance is significant, as are the differences between LIRR performance and all other subgroups. Additional information regarding questions of statistical significance between any two subgroups surveyed can be obtained by emailing npranger@nypirg.org.

4. Independent Auditing and New York City Passenger Environment Survey
Two other regularly scheduled surveys also measure payphone performance in MTA stations.

Most recently, an independent contractor conducted a survey of payphones on November 23rd and 24th, 2003 on behalf of the MTA. This survey found 87% of payphones to be functioning properly.

While the methods used in measuring the functionality of each payphone do not substantively differ from those used by the Straphangers Campaign, these results are not comparable to those in this report. This is because they reflect payphone performance at a small number of New York City Transit subway stations in lower and midtown Manhattan only.

New York City Transit's Operations Planning unit also conducts a quarterly survey of payphones in its respected Passenger Environment Survey (PES). In the most recent data available—from the third quarter of 2003—PES surveyors found that 92% of payphones were functioning properly. Second quarter results indicate that 93% of payphones were in working order.

However, results cited in the PES are not comparable to those in this report, as PES surveyors do not use a coin to test the functioning of a telephone. PES rates a telephone as functioning if the surveyor notes an undamaged handset and is able to contact a specific 800 test number.
 

Credits
The Straphangers Campaign wishes to thank the staff and volunteers who performed payphone surveys for this report. They include: Richard Thomas, Rebecca Sklaren, Theo Moore, Toyin Ajasin, Ana Liang, Jared Banner, Michael Hernandez and Neysa Pranger.

methodology | table 1 | table 2 | chart 1 | news release

1 Includes only Bronx NYCT stations selected for the survey. Data for Bronx Metro-North stations combined with other Metro-North stations.

2 Includes only Queens NYCT stations selected for the survey. Data for Queens LIRR stations combined with other LIRR stations.

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