By way of comment on Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing proposal and, perhaps, in response to Transportation Alternatives' recent bike vs. subway vs. taxi commuter contest, the author of Queens Crap, a blog focused on local development issues, conducted his own rush hour comparison test. Here are his results:
8:00: left house, walked to bus 8:03: arrived at bus stop 8:07: bus scheduled to arrive 8:23: bus arrived, packed* 8:55: bus deposited Crapper at subway 8:56: Crapper boarded Manhattan bound train 9:10: Crapper switched for uptown express 9:25: Train arrived, Crapper boarded** 9:40: Crapper emerged from subway and walked 9:45: Crapper arrived at work, 45 minutes late (and was out 3/4 hour pay) Total commuting time: 1 hr, 45 minutes Transit cost: $4 (including return home) Wages lost: $32 Total cost: $36 Number of times Crapper was late this month because of the MTA: 6
Alternate route taken by Crapper's neighbor:
8:00: Left house 8:10: Arrived at Queens Midtown Tunnel 8:25: Got to other side of tunnel 8:40: Arrived at parking garage 8:45: Had breakfast 9:00: Arrived at work Total commuting time: 40 minutes Transit & parking cost: $27 Wages lost: $0 Total cost: $27 Number of times neighbor was late this month because of traffic: 2 Yes, congestion pricing will improve the average New Yorker's commute and quality of life. The Crapper will now be carpooling with neighbor and splitting cost. * Reason bus was late: driver called out sick and there was no replacement for him ** Reason train was late: it was announced, but God knows what was said on the PA system
Perhaps Mr. Crapper wants to consider skipping the bus altogether and riding a bicycle to the subway station?
