MTA Apologizes For 'Incredibly Frustrating' Rush Hour

NEW YORK, NY — The MTA is very sorry for ruining your Thursday evening. The transportation authority apologized for rush-hour delays that rankled travel on about a dozen lines and left some G train riders stranded for nearly five hours.

Sick passengers, mechanical issues, investigations and signal problems caused delays or service changes on at least 12 subway lines Thursday from the early evening rush into the night, according to MTA alerts posted on Twitter.

The G line was fully shut down from 6 p.m. until nearly 9 p.m. because a "defective piece of equipment" that shut down the signaling system for F and G trains, New York City Transit said in one of its apologetic tweets. G service remained halted between the Chuch Avenue and Bedford-Nostrand stops until almost 11 p.m.

Trains hitting people on the R, 7 and D lines were also partially to blame for the "significant challenges," NYC Transit said. The agency pledged a "full investigation" into the catastrophic signal failure.

"For those impacted, we know your commute was incredibly frustrating and apologize for letting you down," the agency tweeted at 10 p.m.

The apology appears part of NYC Transit President Andy Byford's efforts to communicate more clearly with straphangers. Four years ago he made a video apologizing for a messy evening rush hour as head of the Toronto Transit Commission.

But city commuters weren't impressed. The replies to NYC Transit's apology tweet were filled with angry riders saying the statement was too little, too late. Some complained that transit workers didn't communicate the problems well enough as they were unfolding.

"Actions speak louder than words — we expect for you to follow up and tell us the root cause of the problem once you figure it out," Jeremy Ford wrote. "How will we be compensated for our time and headaches?"

But one person, Olivia Cox, seemed to take the apology to heart.

"I forgive you for now... or at least until tomorrow morning when the G makes me 70 min late on my 30 min commute," she tweeted.

(Lead image: Photo by David Allen/Patch)