Is the subway in NYC really that bad?

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Is the subway in NYC really that bad?
Posted by Orange Blossom Special on Sun Jun 7 11:27:40 2026 A travel youtuber I watch, old guy, from Europe, comes to New York City. Takes the subway a few stops from the airport to Manhattan. He says it's just like people say, he's only seen 2 crazy people on his short ride, with one interaction with one. So I ask you. I like numbers and odds. Is there a 100% chance that you see a nutter on a 20 minute ride now? Mid-day. Crowded routes. Not like off-peak, or at midnight.
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Re: Is the subway in NYC really that bad?
Posted by AlM* on Sun Jun 7 12:26:05 2026, in response to Is the subway in NYC really that bad?, posted by Orange Blossom Special on Sun Jun 7 11:27:40 2026.* Is there a 100% chance that you see a nutter on a 20 minute ride now? Absolutely not. People who look like they might become dangerous (but never have done so in my presence): 1 per multiple hours (maybe 5 or 10) of riding. People who are just annoying (soliciting money or telling you loudly that you must repent): maybe 1 per hour of riding. Most of my riding is N/R/Q/W or 4/5/6 in Manhattan below 96th Street.
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Re: Is the subway in NYC really that bad?
Posted by Italianstallion* on Sun Jun 7 15:42:57 2026, in response to Is the subway in NYC really that bad?, posted by Orange Blossom Special on Sun Jun 7 11:27:40 2026.* No.
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Re: Is the subway in NYC really that bad?
Posted by BILLBKLYN* on Mon Jun 8 11:51:05 2026, in response to Is the subway in NYC really that bad?, posted by Orange Blossom Special on Sun Jun 7 11:27:40 2026.* Remember....never relax....
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Re: Is the subway in NYC really that bad?
Posted by AlM* on Mon Jun 8 13:06:54 2026, in response to Re: Is the subway in NYC really that bad?, posted by BILLBKLYN on Mon Jun 8 11:51:05 2026.* I feel safer in a subway train than I do crossing a street with a Walk sign. Almost all of the potential threats to my physical safety have come from reckless motorists.
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Re: Is the subway in NYC really that bad?
Posted by BILLBKLYN* on Mon Jun 8 13:22:05 2026, in response to Re: Is the subway in NYC really that bad?, posted by AlM on Mon Jun 8 13:06:54 2026.* What "WALK" sign?! They got rid of those decades ago because the foreigners couldn't read English !
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Re: Is the subway in NYC really that bad?
Posted by Stephen Bauman* on Mon Jun 8 15:25:45 2026, in response to Re: Is the subway in NYC really that bad?, posted by BILLBKLYN on Mon Jun 8 13:22:05 2026.* They got rid of those decades ago because the foreigners couldn't read English ! The "they" refers to the federal government. The latest (Dec 2025) Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) contains the following requirements for pedestrian signals: Section 4A.06 Meanings of Pedestrian Signal Indications Standard: 01 Pedestrian signal indications shall have the following meanings: A. A flashing WALKING PERSON (symbolizing WALK) signal indication has no meaning and shall not be used. B. Pedestrians facing a steady WALKING PERSON (symbolizing WALK) signal indication shall be permitted to start to cross the roadway in the direction of the signal indication, possibly in conflict with turning vehicles. Pedestrians shall yield the right-of-way to vehicles lawfully within the intersection at the time that the WALKING PERSON (symbolizing WALK) signal indication is first shown. C. Pedestrians facing a flashing UPRAISED HAND (symbolizing DONT WALK) signal indication shall not start to cross the roadway in the direction of the signal indication. Any pedestrian who has already started to cross the roadway on a steady WALKING PERSON (symbolizing WALK) signal indication shall continue to proceed to the far side of the traveled way of the street or highway, unless otherwise directed by a traffic control device to proceed only to the median of a divided highway or only to some other island or pedestrian refuge area (see Section 3C.12). D. Pedestrians facing a steady UPRAISED HAND (symbolizing DONT WALK) signal indication shall not enter the roadway in the direction of the signal indication. One requirement for receiving federal highway funds is that states conform to the MUTCD, unless they receive specific permission to differ in specific instances. There was a time, when there was no such requirement. There were significant differences between states. NYC used to have only red and green traffic signals - no yellow aspect. There was a steady red-green aspect, which took the place of the yellow. Massachusetts had 3-color traffic signals. There was also a steady red-yellow aspect that had a special meaning. The New England states also had different hand signals for turning and stopping. They differed between the states. They did have a tri-state law: it was illegal for a driver with a license in one state to drive a vehicle with registration in another state in a third state. If you want to avoid anarchy, it's best to have uniform signals and regulations that can be understood by the greatest number of people.
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Re: Is the subway in NYC really that bad?
Posted by Italianstallion* on Mon Jun 8 16:50:34 2026, in response to Re: Is the subway in NYC really that bad?, posted by BILLBKLYN on Mon Jun 8 13:22:05 2026.* That’s just a dumb comment. It’s clear as day that pictograms are generally better understood than words. And many of the “foreigners “ you refer to are actually tourists, who may not know English.
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Re: Is the subway in NYC really that bad?
Posted by Steve B-8AVEXP* on Mon Jun 8 18:56:33 2026, in response to Re: Is the subway in NYC really that bad?, posted by AlM on Mon Jun 8 13:06:54 2026.* I remember those signs. There was a bad joke that circulated back then: "Where are you?" "I'm at the corner of Walk and Don't Walk."
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Re: Is the subway in NYC really that bad?
Posted by BILLBKLYN* on Mon Jun 8 21:08:47 2026, in response to Re: Is the subway in NYC really that bad?, posted by Stephen Bauman on Mon Jun 8 15:25:45 2026.* Yes, ND is because of a case in California where Nestor couldn't read and got hit.NYC got rid of them in 2000
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Re: Is the subway in NYC really that bad?
Posted by BILLBKLYN* on Mon Jun 8 21:11:10 2026, in response to Re: Is the subway in NYC really that bad?, posted by Italianstallion on Mon Jun 8 16:50:34 2026.* Still foreigners,and my statement is still true. Read up on it.
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Is NY Pennsylvania Station really that bad?
Posted by Olog-hai* on Mon Jun 8 23:15:21 2026, in response to Is the subway in NYC really that bad?, posted by Orange Blossom Special on Sun Jun 7 11:27:40 2026.* ABC Two victims speak out after stabbing spree in Penn Station in NYC; suspect in custody Two of the five victims hurt in the stabbing spree in Penn Station on Sunday evening are speaking out about the attack. The random attack happened shortly after 7 p.m. on the NJ Transit concourse inside Penn Station. Police say the 51-year-old suspect is a homeless, emotionally disturbed person known to frequent Penn Station. Authorities said the suspect was taken into custody by responding officers. The first victim, 60-year-old Henry Obadiah, spoke to Eyewitness News on Monday about the harrowing attack. He had to get three stitches in his lip. "So I'm coming back from the Jersey Shore and I'm heading outside to Penn Station and I'm heading out to the escalator," Obadiah said. "And before I got to the escalator, I go through the doors and I see two people tussling with each other." He said he didn't think anything of it but as he walked by, he locked eyes with the suspect. "The crazy guy locked eyes with me and then he just came at me with a roundhouse and got me," Obadiah said. "I thought it was a punch. He got me right in the face. The first thing I thought I was going to go after him and then I head this guy in the escalator, he goes, 'He's got a knife, he's got a knife!'" Steven Hadgkiss, 52, was also injured. He was heading into work from New Jersey and needed six stitches in his neck. "It felt to me like a punch to the neck, so I turned around and he was running away," Hadgkiss said. "Now I'm going up the escalator and the guy, turns around...and he's he's yelling 'dude, you're bleeding all over the place,' So I looked down. My shirt is covered in blood. So I immediately, you know, grabbed my neck, start squeezing." Hadgkiss said he went outside and called 911. "I saw, like, this trail of blood, and it was leading to this kid who got slashed in the head," Obadiah said. "He was holding his head, he had a towel holding his head, blood coming out." The other victims are all men and are said to be ages 40, 42 and 60. Investigators recovered a knife on the NJ Transit side of Penn Station that is believed to have been used in the attack. The suspect's identity has not yet been released to the public but he apparently has a prior arrest in May in New Jersey for assault and narcotics. He also has an active bench warrant for his arrest in Manhattan and police say he has a history of mental illness. Mayor Zohran Mamdani took to social media to thank first responders for their swift response and said his administration remains in contact with law enforcement as the investigation continues. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy reacted to the stabbings at Penn Station calling them "totally unacceptable" and said the DOT is working with Amtrak to develop a plan to address safety and security at Penn Station. The incident left commuters shaken and raised concerns among workers inside one of the city's busiest transit hubs. "I'm working here. And so not only me, my coworkers too, my supervisor. So when something like this happens, we're terrified. It's about our own safety as well," one Penn Station employee said.
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Re: Is the subway in NYC really that bad?
Posted by gbs* on Tue Jun 9 02:37:12 2026, in response to Re: Is the subway in NYC really that bad?, posted by Stephen Bauman on Mon Jun 8 15:25:45 2026.* *There was a steady red-green aspect* The sequence for most of the traffic lights in the city was: steady green (traffic moves) steady green + red (2-3 second warning that the light was about to turn red) steady red (traffic stops) steady green (traffic moves) Most intersections in those days had traffic poles only on two corners, cattycorner. The four heads were fixed in a perpendicular arrangement and couldn't be adjusted to more directly face the traffic: The pole on one of the two corners had the control box built in: Occasionally the heads were mounted overhead (where this was often the only signal at the intersection): or on a utility pole: Later, modular lights were used, which could be more precisely aimed, and the control boxes were mounted on the poles and not built-in: Some of the old traffic lights on Park Av north of Grand Central Terminal had the reverse sequence: steady green steady red steady red + green steady green These intersections had only one pole, installed on one of the medians:
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Re: Is NY Pennsylvania Station really that bad?
Posted by TRAIN DUDE* on Tue Jun 9 09:23:44 2026, in response to Is NY Pennsylvania Station really that bad?, posted by Olog-hai on Mon Jun 8 23:15:21 2026.* The 3rd sentence says it all! HOMELESS, EMOTIONALLY DISTURBED, KNOWN TO FREQUENT! They knew a homeless a d emotionally disturbed person was frequenting the facility. Did they think that he would eventually help people with their bags? Or mayne they thought that he'd pick up a broom and sweep the concourse. This outcome was foreseeable and authorities were negligent to wait until it happened before acting. This guy should have been under supervision and restraint long ago.
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Re: Is the subway in NYC really that bad?
Posted by BILLBKLYN* on Tue Jun 9 12:29:21 2026, in response to Re: Is the subway in NYC really that bad?, posted by gbs on Tue Jun 9 02:37:12 2026.* When I was a kid they still had these lights.
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Re: Is the subway in NYC really that bad?
Posted by Spider-Pig* on Tue Jun 9 14:11:32 2026, in response to Re: Is the subway in NYC really that bad?, posted by BILLBKLYN on Tue Jun 9 12:29:21 2026.* They had some of these well into the 90s.
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Re: Is the subway in NYC really that bad?
Posted by Spider-Pig* on Tue Jun 9 14:15:27 2026, in response to Re: Is the subway in NYC really that bad?, posted by BILLBKLYN on Mon Jun 8 21:08:47 2026.* They had to replace all of them anyway because of LEDs, so why shouldn't they have replaced them with pictograms? The pictograms take up less space, and minimize confusion: Since "Don't Walk" still contains "Walk", a broken or obscured light can be confusing. Whereas the hand looks nothing like the guy/gal/non-binary individual with the legs and arms akimbo.
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Re: Is the subway in NYC really that bad?
Posted by Steve B-8AVEXP* on Tue Jun 9 18:41:43 2026, in response to Re: Is the subway in NYC really that bad?, posted by Spider-Pig on Tue Jun 9 14:11:32 2026.* I remember seeing those in lower Manhattan in the late 60s.
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Re: Is the subway in NYC really that bad?
Posted by Stephen Bauman* on Tue Jun 9 19:13:01 2026, in response to Re: Is the subway in NYC really that bad?, posted by gbs on Tue Jun 9 02:37:12 2026.* You left out the most iconic red-green traffic signal of all - the one's on Fifth Avenue with the statue of Mercury on top.
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