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Navigating New York City commuter delays in a post-Sandy transit system Navigating New York City commuter delays in a post-Sandy transit system
(about 1 month later)
A difficult morning commute was under way for millions of New Yorkers on Thursday as a partial subway service was resumed. The MTA has restored limited service north of 34th Street on the west side and 42nd Street on the east side of Manhattan, running towards the Bronx and Queens. Services are also running within Brooklyn, and a the gap – due to the lack of power in lower Manhattan – is being plugged by "bus bridge". Some 330 vehicles are operating between three stations in Brooklyn and midtown.A difficult morning commute was under way for millions of New Yorkers on Thursday as a partial subway service was resumed. The MTA has restored limited service north of 34th Street on the west side and 42nd Street on the east side of Manhattan, running towards the Bronx and Queens. Services are also running within Brooklyn, and a the gap – due to the lack of power in lower Manhattan – is being plugged by "bus bridge". Some 330 vehicles are operating between three stations in Brooklyn and midtown.
Our reporter Karen McVeigh is taking a trip from Brooklyn to the Upper West Side in Manhattan.Our reporter Karen McVeigh is taking a trip from Brooklyn to the Upper West Side in Manhattan.
8.45am: A free start8.45am: A free start
On the first leg of Park Slope to the Upper West Side commute this morning: 8.45: the F train to Jay StOn the first leg of Park Slope to the Upper West Side commute this morning: 8.45: the F train to Jay St
— karen mcveigh (@karenmcveigh1) November 1, 2012— karen mcveigh (@karenmcveigh1) November 1, 2012
At 7th Avenue station on the F line in Brooklyn, the emergency exit has been taped open to allow passengers to pass through. New York governor Andrew Cuomo directed that all fares on the New York City subway – as well as buses, Metro North and the Long Island Railroad – be suspended on Thursday and Friday.At 7th Avenue station on the F line in Brooklyn, the emergency exit has been taped open to allow passengers to pass through. New York governor Andrew Cuomo directed that all fares on the New York City subway – as well as buses, Metro North and the Long Island Railroad – be suspended on Thursday and Friday.
The F train is running as far as Jay Street in downtown Brooklyn. The train is busy – almost all seats are taken but only a couple of people are standing, about half the commuters it normally has around this time.The F train is running as far as Jay Street in downtown Brooklyn. The train is busy – almost all seats are taken but only a couple of people are standing, about half the commuters it normally has around this time.
The woman next to me, Shuvi Santo, 35, works in HR for the city's department of education. She works in downtown Brooklyn, and today it's her normal subway ride and a five minute walk. She says her colleagues are taking their responsibilities seriously. One of them took three buses from the Upper East Side to downtown Brooklyn yesterday, a two-and-a-half-hour ride to work.The woman next to me, Shuvi Santo, 35, works in HR for the city's department of education. She works in downtown Brooklyn, and today it's her normal subway ride and a five minute walk. She says her colleagues are taking their responsibilities seriously. One of them took three buses from the Upper East Side to downtown Brooklyn yesterday, a two-and-a-half-hour ride to work.
Subway splitSubway split
In this version of the New York City subway map, uploaded in embeddable format by WNYC, you can see how the subway system has been split in two by the power loss in lower Manhattan.In this version of the New York City subway map, uploaded in embeddable format by WNYC, you can see how the subway system has been split in two by the power loss in lower Manhattan.
9.48am: End of the line, part 19.48am: End of the line, part 1
When I emerge from the subway at Jay Street there are clear signs and even a couple of police officers guiding people to the shuttle buses. The line of commuters which snakes along Jay Street at Myrtle Plaza is at some points five deep and doubles back on itself as it dives between two buildings under a tunnel. But it moves surprisingly quickly to a line of waiting buses – 25 minutes all in all. I'm on the packed bus at 9.32 and within minutes we're over Manhattan bridge and into the city.When I emerge from the subway at Jay Street there are clear signs and even a couple of police officers guiding people to the shuttle buses. The line of commuters which snakes along Jay Street at Myrtle Plaza is at some points five deep and doubles back on itself as it dives between two buildings under a tunnel. But it moves surprisingly quickly to a line of waiting buses – 25 minutes all in all. I'm on the packed bus at 9.32 and within minutes we're over Manhattan bridge and into the city.
Line from Jay Street downtown Brooklyn for shuttle buses to Manhattan Takes about 30 mins. twitter.com/karenmcveigh1/…Line from Jay Street downtown Brooklyn for shuttle buses to Manhattan Takes about 30 mins. twitter.com/karenmcveigh1/…
— karen mcveigh (@karenmcveigh1) November 1, 2012— karen mcveigh (@karenmcveigh1) November 1, 2012
10am: On the 'bus bridge'10am: On the 'bus bridge'
The bus from Jay Street into Manhattan is packed and mostly silent – just like any normal commute. There is one woman with a tonne of bags who lives in the West Village but had spent the last two days with friends in Park Slope, Brooklyn work friends after the power went out in her apartment. She is now trying to get to her film production office in Harlem. What is usually a 45 minute commute from her home has already taken two and a quarter hours and the bus is not yet in midtown.The bus from Jay Street into Manhattan is packed and mostly silent – just like any normal commute. There is one woman with a tonne of bags who lives in the West Village but had spent the last two days with friends in Park Slope, Brooklyn work friends after the power went out in her apartment. She is now trying to get to her film production office in Harlem. What is usually a 45 minute commute from her home has already taken two and a quarter hours and the bus is not yet in midtown.
The bus runs along Third Avenue. In lower Manhattan there few cars and many police officers directing them.The bus runs along Third Avenue. In lower Manhattan there few cars and many police officers directing them.
On the bus, commuters contemplate their increasted commuting time. Martha Barzola, 41, from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, is a store manager at the Rockerfeller Center and has to be there to let everyone else in. She took an R train from Bay Ridge, at the start of the line deep in Brooklyn, to Jay Street.On the bus, commuters contemplate their increasted commuting time. Martha Barzola, 41, from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, is a store manager at the Rockerfeller Center and has to be there to let everyone else in. She took an R train from Bay Ridge, at the start of the line deep in Brooklyn, to Jay Street.
"I left at 8am and got to Jay Street at 8.45am. It was chaos. I didn't know which line to be in. They were sending us here, sending us there.""I left at 8am and got to Jay Street at 8.45am. It was chaos. I didn't know which line to be in. They were sending us here, sending us there."
It's now 10am so it's already taken her two hours. She will get off at 49th Street to walk the rest of the journey. "The city did a good job of getting people back to work but I think it should have been better organised," she says.It's now 10am so it's already taken her two hours. She will get off at 49th Street to walk the rest of the journey. "The city did a good job of getting people back to work but I think it should have been better organised," she says.
Tarsa Barnes, 38, a behavioural specialist from Park Slope, Brooklyn is trying to get to her agency in Forest Hills, Queens. It usually takes an hour on the F train. Today it has already taken two as she had to divert onto a bus over the Manhattan bridge.Tarsa Barnes, 38, a behavioural specialist from Park Slope, Brooklyn is trying to get to her agency in Forest Hills, Queens. It usually takes an hour on the F train. Today it has already taken two as she had to divert onto a bus over the Manhattan bridge.
11.58am: Journey's end11.58am: Journey's end
It is 11.58am and I have finally reached the Upper West Side, at West 66th and Broadway. It's taken two hours and thirty-seven minutes, taking in a subway train, two buses, and quite a lot of confusion. (Admittedly, I stopped for 40 minutes to recharge my phone, file these updates and work out what bus to get next.)It is 11.58am and I have finally reached the Upper West Side, at West 66th and Broadway. It's taken two hours and thirty-seven minutes, taking in a subway train, two buses, and quite a lot of confusion. (Admittedly, I stopped for 40 minutes to recharge my phone, file these updates and work out what bus to get next.)
If I had taken the advice of the MTA employee I asked at Jay Street I would have probably got here quicker but I missed the 34th Street stop on the bus because I was talking to passengers.If I had taken the advice of the MTA employee I asked at Jay Street I would have probably got here quicker but I missed the 34th Street stop on the bus because I was talking to passengers.
By the time I got on the M66 crosstown bus to the Lincoln Center at 11.30 all the passengers were going about their normal business. It was running yesterday and according to bus travellers the traffic was normal.
By the time I got on the M66 crosstown bus to the Lincoln Center at 11.30 all the passengers were going about their normal business. It was running yesterday and according to bus travellers the traffic was normal.
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