The next stop is…

In the wee hours of 2:00 AM at the 149th Street-Grand Concourse station located in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx, a Wakefield – 241 St bound No. 2 train crept and screeched its way into the station.  The tired feet of weary travelers bounced down the staircase, from the upper level Woodlawn bound No. 4 train, and stepped through the doors just as they were closing.  By the high level of pedestrian foot traffic exiting and boarding the train throughout the station, you would think that it is 8:00 AM on a Monday morning.

Due to the lack of a No. 5 Lexington Ave Express train operating in Brooklyn, Manhattan and some parts of the Bronx after midnight for the past 58 years, crowded subway platforms and train cars are a common sight for straphangers throughout New York City. The late night service disruption affects more than hundreds of thousands of Bronxites traveling to Morris Park, Pelham Parkway, Gun Hill Road, Baychester Ave and Eastchester-Dyre Ave during late night hours.

“The No. 5 train running local after a certain hour for sure isn’t that bad of an idea,” said Cotter, a student at Bronx Community College. “It’s not just for those heading to the stops along the Dyre Avenue line, but for the heavily used stops in the South Bronx between Grand Concourse-149th St and East 180th St too.

All you need is a Metrocard to ride.

The only solution for Bronxites commuting after hours is a shuttle train that operates between East 180th St and Eastchester-Dyre Ave. According to the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) the last train to pull out of the Bowling Green station in Manhattan is at 11:08 PM ending direct service for those traveling to the Bronx.  It takes passengers a minimum of three subway transfers to travel through Manhattan to the Bronx.  Shuttle train service begins at East 180th in the Bronx at 10:13 PM and lasts until 5:10 AM on weeknights. On the weekends, service begins almost a half hour earlier at 9:32 PM and ends at 5:46 AM on Saturdays and at 7:42 AM on Sundays.

“I really dislike the fact that the No. 5 train doesn’t run in Brooklyn late at night,” said Sebastian, a resident of Brooklyn.  “This makes me have to take the No. 2 train and then transfer on the No. 4 train sometimes adding an extra half hour to my commute.”

During the day and into the early evening hours, the No. 5 train travels beneath the streets of New York City alongside the No. 4 on the Lexington Avenue Express line.  The No. 6 train also travels on the Lexington Avenue line, but it makes local stops along the East Side of Manhattan.  As these trains divert at the 125th St station located in the Harlem section of Manhattan, the No. 5 continues uptown and merges with the No. 2 train at the 149th St – Grand Concourse Station.  The No. 2 and 5 train cover the same stops until arriving at the East 180th St station.

The biggest difference between the No. 2 and 5 train is that the 2 train covers a larger section of the Bronx compared to the 5 train.  Once the No. 2 train pulls out from the East 180th St station, the train continues uptown for ten more stops before reaching its destination at the Wakefield-241 St station.  The total travel time between the two stations is estimated at 16 minutes.  On the other hand,  the No. 5 train makes five stops after East 180th St at an estimated time of 11 minutes.

Earlier in 2014, and for the second time in three years, the Straphangers Campaign, an advocacy group founded in 1979 by the New York Public Interest Research Group, voted the No. 2 train to be one of the worst subway lines in the city in their annual State of the Subways Report.  The No. 5 train finished as the fifth worse subway line in New York City.  According to the Straphangers Campaign, they graded each line based on their cleanliness, seat availability for commuters, frequency of service and mechanical malfunctions.

According to the MTA, in 2013, an average of 84,409 Bronxites made up the stops between 149th St – Grand Concourse and East 180th St.  Approximately 34, 808 commuters rode along the Dyre Avenue No. 5 line on a daily basis.  Heavy delays and overcrowded trains are a just a few of the reasons why many would like to see a restoration in 24 hour service along the No. 5 line.

“Sometimes the No. 5 train skips certain stops and you have to either go on an alternate route through the Bronx or transfer,” said, Ali, a long time New Yorker who now resides in Boston.  “There have been some nights that my commute was seriously messed up and it took me nearly two hours to get home!”

In order to successfully operate a 24 hour transit line such as the No. 5 Lexington Ave Express, the MTA would have to provide the necessary manpower such as conductors, motormen, transit electrical maintainers, and station booth agents, They would then have to compensate them accordingly.  According to the Empire Center for New York State Policy, “One out of every seven, MTA employees were paid at least $100,000 back in 2013.”  Hourly employees earned their six-figure salaries by cashing in on overtime earnings and various bonuses.

“When New Yorkers hear talk about a fare increase, they can check the MTA payroll database to see what they’re paying for,” said Empire Center President E.J. McMahon in a recent article in the New York Daily News.

In the age of a struggling economy, the MTA often responds by issuing a number of fare hikes in 2011 and 2013. The MTA plans to unload two more hikes – the first in the spring of 2015, followed by another increase two years later in 2017.  According to two New York city tabloid’s, the New York Daily News and the New York Post, in the impending fare hike, the MTA may plan to increase the price of a monthly Metrocard from $112.00 to as much as $116.50 as well as the bare fare for a single ride Metrocard from $2.50 to $2.75

According to recent budget data provided by the MTA, “These increases are estimated to net annualized fare and toll revenues of approximately $268 million for the 2015 increase and an additional $283 million for the 2017 increase.”

Subway fares made up 40 percent of the MTA’s total revenue back in 2012.  According to data obtained from the MTA’s Adopted Budget for the years 2014 through 2017, expenses obtained through fares and other sources of revenue were used to pay for employee expenses such as payroll, overtime, pensions, health and welfare which totaled well over $7 million dollars.

The MTA has the tough task of providing 24 hour service in the so called, “city that never sleeps.” On nearly every street corner in New York City you will find the entrance leading to the subway, either above or underground.  The subway can take you wherever that you may want to go with one simple swipe of a Metrocard.