NYC | Subways Slower–Best and Worst Lines

Three of the five worst subway lines in NYC for delays in 2014 are the 4, 5
and 6 lines on the East Side.

I have previously posted asking whether Uber has created more congestion in New York City by putting more cars for hire on the city streets. That idea has since resonated among some readers and city officials.

The Straphangers Campaign has meanwhile since the 1970s been rating NYC's subways. Now State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli is doing his own research.

He found that the percentage of on-time trains during the week fell from 80.5 percent in 2013 (using a fiscal year ending in March) to 74 percent in 2014.

The Worst Five Subway Lines
4 - 49.2% on time (FEWER THAN HALF OF THE TRAINS WERE ON TIME)
5 - 51.1%
2 - 51.2%
F - 66.1%
6 - 66.9%
Three of these lines - the 4, 5, and 6 - connect the Upper East Side with Wall Street.

The Best Five Subway Lines
L - 93.7% on time
J/Z - 92.1%
C - 88.9%
R - 88.7%
7 - 88.2%

Why Are NYC Housing Prices Holding Up?

There has been some weakness in the New York City housing market, but Manhattan's housing prices have remained surprisingly strong. The conventional wisdom is:
- The decline in the value of the dollar makes U.S. properties look very cheap to foreigners.
- Foreigners are looking for quality and Manhattan is the apex of quality.
- Aggressive lending policies were much more prevalent in Florida and California (along with Nevada and Arizona) than in the Northeastern United States.
- NYC coops maintained their credit standards even when mortgage lenders did not.

Here's another possible explanation: New York City is the densest city in the United States, with the best transit system, and a transit system is becoming more valuable. Higher gas prices are making the automobile commute look wasteful. After World War II, the rest of the United States plunged into the creation of highways, purchase of cars and the auto-dependent suburbanization of big cities. NYC already had its subways and commuter trains in place. With the rise of the price of gasoline, the suburban model is being reexamined. For middle-class people under pressure of higher prices, NYC is becoming steadily more attractive.