Riders Find Improvements On J, Z Lines

Satisfaction with service on the J and Z subway lines increased among customers who gave the trains a C grade in the second-annual Rider Report Cards, it was announced by MTA New York City Transit. The grade was up from a C- issued by participants last year.

In all, 1,371 Rider Report cards were received in October by customers, including 1,304 submitted by mail and another 67 scored through the MTA's website, www.mta.info.

Commuters gave the J and Z lines a satisfaction index of 91 percent, up from 89 awarded last year. The number was tallied based on scores given by riders on 21 separate service attributes.

"We are pleased that J/Z line riders have given us a slightly higher mark this year than last. The move upwards is incremental, but it is movement in the right direction," said NYC Transit President Howard H. Roberts, Jr. "While this is the second Report Card that has demonstrated an overall upwards movement in the grade, several individual areas have shown grade improvements across multiple lines."

Riders of the J and Z lines gave their highest grade, a B-, to "ease of use of subway turnstiles" and availability of MetroCard vending machines." Other categories which improved in this year's report cards were "minimal delays during trips," "signs in subway cars that help riders find their way" and "lack of graffiti in subway cars," each of which rose from C to a C+.

Higher grades were also given by commuters to "train announcements that are easy to hear," "train announcements that are informative" and "lack of scratchitti in subway cars," each of which rose from D+ to a C.

Rising from a D+ in last year's survey to a C- in the 2008 report cards were "working elevators and escalators in stations," "cleanliness of stations," "cleanliness of subway cars" and "station announcements that are informative."

As in 2007, J/Z riders were also asked prioritize which areas they would like to see improvement. The top thre priorities in order were "reasonable wait times for trains," "adequate room on board at rush hour" and "minimal delays during trips."

Following them on the list were security concerns at stations and on trains, respectively.

The full results of the Rider Report Card survey can be found at www.mta.info/nyct/index.html.