Signals Messed Up 9 Out Of 10 Morning Commutes Last Year: Report

NEW YORK — Straphangers bore the brunt of the subways' aging signals on nearly every workday last year, a new analysis shows. Signal problems assailed about 9 of every 10 morning rush-hour commutes in 2018, indicating the system is still struggling to serve riders despite efforts to fix it, according to a Riders Alliance report published Monday.

"Regardless of adjustments to operational management of the subways, the core infrastructure that relies on 1930s-era signal technology has continued to fail regularly, with relentless impact on riders’ day-to-day lives," reads the report, titled "As Bad As We Thought."

The transit advocacy group examined MTA service alerts to evaluate how frequently signal-related delays occurred on non-holiday weekdays during the morning rush period of 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.

The group found signal problems messed up commutes on 230 — or 92 percent — of the 251 morning rush hours in 2018, including every applicable morning in January in February.

The F line was the worst offender with signal delays on 72 mornings, meaning its riders encountered signal problems on more than a quarter of their morning rush hours, the report says. Six lines saw more than 50 days with signal problems and another 10 lines recorded more than 30 days, according to the report.

The extent of the signal problems underscores the urgency of funding a plan to modernize the beleaguered subways, as the issue has not improved despite the MTA's short-term Subway Action Plan, the report argues.

New York City Transit President Andy Byford's "Fast Forward" plan to overhaul the city's public transportation would install modern signals across most of the subway system within a decade. But the plan, which also includes several other upgrades, has a potentially huge price tag of about $40 billion over 10 years.

"The MTA’s proposed upgrades are essential to meeting contemporary expectations for transit service and restoring New Yorkers’ trust both in the transit system and the elected leaders who determine its fate," the Riders Alliance report reads.

The subways have shown some signs of improvement under Byford — on-time performance has gotten better in recent months, and NYC Transit exceeded its target for reducing delays for a third straight month in November, MTA documents show.

The MTA recently finished installing a new signal system, known as communications-based train control, on the 7 line. And NYC Transit has taken steps to increase subway speeds through Byford's "Save Safe Seconds" campaign.

In response to the Riders Alliance report, MTA spokesman Shams Tarek said Byford's Fast Forward plan "will modernize the signal system and rest of NYC Transit for decades to come" if it is funded.

"The New York City subway system is one of the largest in the world and the Subway Action Plan, along with President Byford’s Save Safe Seconds campaign, have improved performance for millions of riders, with on-time performance reaching four-year highs recently," Tarek said in a statement.

(Lead image: People wait on a subway platform at the Jay Street-MetroTech station in Brooklyn in June 2017. Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)