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Straphangers Campaign Issues First-Ever “State of the Station Platforms” Survey
Conditions Range From “The Good to the Bad to the Ugly” Based on Survey of 28% of All Subway Platforms
Finds Platforms With 100% Garbage Cans to “Unacceptable” Levels of Exposed Wiring, Graffiti, Peeling Paint
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The NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign today issued its first-ever “State of the Station Platforms” survey, finding conditions ranging from “the good” (100% of platforms with garbage cans present and 0% overflowing cans), “the bad” (28% of platforms with exposed wiring), to “the ugly” (79% of underground platforms with substantial amounts of peeling paint).
In all, the Straphangers Campaign released findings on twelve1 subway platform conditions, including the presence of garbage cans, overflowing garbage cans, large garbage bags, rats, graffiti, lighting, handrails and staircases, exposed wiring, peeling paint, water damage, floor cracks, and missing tiles.
The survey was based on observations of all 250 station platforms at 120 randomly-selected subway stations by 14 interns and staff between July 11 and September 24, 2011. This number represents 28% of the total of 909 New York City subway station platforms systemwide.
Observations were made weekdays, between morning and evening rush-hour periods. A copy of the survey form along with illustrative photographs and instructions are attached, as is the methodology for randomly choosing subway stations.
“We found the good, the bad and the ugly, from no subway station platforms having overflowing garbage cans to clearly unacceptable conditions, such as peeling paint at three quarters of the platforms observed,” said Jason Chin-Fatt, the Straphanger Campaign organizer who oversaw the survey.
In general, the survey sought to catalogue conditions for which the Campaign felt transit officials could fairly be held accountable and were not overly time or weather sensitive. For example, we did not rate the presence of litter.
In our most positive results, we found:
- 100% of surveyed station platforms observed had garbage cans;
- 0% of percent of these cans were found to be overflowing; and
- just 6% of the time our surveyors observed large garbage bags on the platforms.
We classified the remaining results either as “bad” or “ugly.”
A measurement result was deemed “bad” if it was observed in at least 10% of the platforms, but less than half the time. That would mean a rider might come across these conditions one to five in ten times while using these platforms.
Measurements were deemed “ugly” if they were observed 50% of the time or more.
Among “bad” conditions were:
- rats at 11% of underground2 station platforms observed, including roadbeds;
- staircases or handrails in disrepair at 15% of all the platforms observed;
- substantial3 areas of missing tile at 15% of all the observed platforms;
- substantial graffiti at 20% of all the platforms observed, including walls and stairways;
- exposed wiring at 28% of all the platforms observed; and
- substantial floor cracks at 33% of all the platforms observed.
Among the “ugly” conditions were:
- broken lighting fixtures at 50% of underground platforms observed;
- substantial water damage at 53% of underground platforms observed; and
- substantial peeling paint at 79% of underground platforms observed.
MTA New York City Transit does its own twice-a-year Passenger Environment Survey (PES) for subway stations. However, it mostly rates different aspects of the station environment and in some cases uses different measures. In addition, NYC Transit rates an entire station; this survey rates station platforms only.
In general, NYC Transit’s observations cannot be compared with the Straphangers Campaign survey findings.
Among different aspects of stations rated by NYC Transit are: litter; subway maps; functioning annunciators; escalators/elevators in operation; working public telephones; and working booth microphones.
Two measures may be roughly comparable:
- Our finding — that, in the summer of 2011, 100% of the observed platforms had a garbage can and that none of these were overflowing — is similar to the relevant PES measure. For the first half of 2011, NYC Transit found 100% of "trash receptacles usable in stations;" and
- NYC Transit PES found 27% of the stations had “light” “graffiti conditions” in the first half of 2011. The Straphangers Campaign survey found substantial graffiti at 20% of all the platforms observed in the summer of 2011.
In addition, the MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota has been quoted saying that he would like to take action against peeling paint conditions in stations.
- Originally, we rated 15 different conditions of station platforms. Because of measurement issues we encountered during the survey, we decided to eliminate three conditions from final consideration. These were the presence of: 1) tactile warning strips; 2) service notices; and 3) large-scale maps.
- Four of the measures were calculated for underground stations only, as the Straphangers Campaign deemed that fairer, due to weather or structural factors. These measures were the presence of rats, broken lighting, peeling paint, and water damage.
- Five of the measurements are described as “substantial.” These are defined as follows: “Substantial missing tiles” was defined as “areas of continuous damaged tiles five feet or more in length.” “Substantial graffiti” was defined as “five feet or more of continuous graffiti on station platform ceilings, pillars, columns, floors or walls, but not graffiti on advertisements or billboards.” “Substantial cracks” were defined “only if the crack creates an uneven surface on the floor or is five feet or more in length.” “Substantial peeling paint” was defined as “approximately five feet or more of continuous peeling paint on station platform ceilings or walls.” “Substantial water damage” was defined as “rust on station platform floor or wall tiles or pillars.”
News Release | Methodology
Table One: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly | Table Two: Stations Randomly Selected for Inclusion
“State of the Station Platforms” Survey Instrument
Download the Full Survey (pdf)