Sure, you can get cell service in the subways now, and bus rapid transit runs up and down the avenues, but do they seem a little dirtier, a little slower? Well, 61 percent of mass transit riders agree, according to a new poll from Transportation Alternatives, which found that a supermajority of straphangers believe their commutes have gotten worse since 2009.
That is when a combination of funding raids led to transit cuts the following year, and Transportation Alternatives is hoping to galvanize riders to fight for funding, which could easily be imperiled yet again.
“Beyond the frustration of a longer commute and higher fares, these results should be a wakeup call to our leaders in State Government,” Transportation Alternatives executive director Paul Steely White said in a statement. “They can fund transit and make a positive impact on millions of people, or they can continue to defund the system and contribute to their struggle.”
The survey was conducted last week and queried more than 30,000 mass transit riders, 13 percent of whom said commutes have actually gotten better, while 26 percent said their rides were about the same.
“After years of declining transit funding from Albany and the resulting service cuts, our commutes have gotten worse,” Mr. White said. “From higher fares to longer wait times to overcrowded trains, transit riders have seen the quality of their commutes drop precipitously over the last three years.”
The M.T.A. declined to comment.
