No. 7 winner, R train looser in cleanliness survey

6/25/09
nyc transit
By Heather Haddon

No. 7 winner, R train looser in cleanliness survey

Photo credit: Urbanite

By Heather Haddon

Subway cars are looking less grimy these days, but don’t tell that to R train riders.

Only 25 percent of cars on the R, which serves straphangers from Bay Ridge to Forest Hills, are free of litter, dingy floors and sticky spots, according to an annual report released by the Straphangers Campaign Thursday, making it the dirtiest line in the system.

The survey of 2,200 cars last year also found:

- The No. 1, G, L, N and R trains looked dingier, with the L and N tanking compared to the year before- The No. 4, No. 5, A, B, D, E, J, M and V lines improved from the year before, with the D and J making big strides

- The No. 7 train received the system’s gold star due to an influx of cleaners on the Queens line

It would take 400 additional cleaners throughout the system to mimic staffing levels on the No. 7, an infusion that is “extremely unlikely” given the MTA’s budget woes, transit officials said. The MTA is slashing 43 of its 1,181 car cleaners next year to save money.

“It’s a question of priorities,” said Gene Russianoff, of the Straphangers Campaign. “I strongly think (cleaners) are something the riders want.”

Next year, NYC Transit will begin taking cleanliness surveys through hand-held computers to deploy staff to dirty trains faster, the agency said.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE

1. Straphangers slow to catch on to coming $2.25 fares

2. MTA budget woes make for dirtier stations

3. Fare hike silver linings

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4. Transit workers gear up for fare hike fallout
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No. 7 winner, R train looser in cleanliness survey

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