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Ignoring what? MTA is more respected and acknowledged than CTA. That’s all that matters really!
We have legit express service which basically no subway in America has and we have a diverse look unlike the bland look that the CTA has which is why subway enthusiast are obsessed with NYCs subway
I still think for NYC being Americas largest city, I was not impressed at all with the subway system.
It was my first time in NYC in 2016 and flew into Laguardia, I was amazed by how low the standards were in that airport, it was literally below standards in every way. I will give NYC the benefit of size and quantity, but even walking around Brooklyn with trash all over and the massive poverty in the subways, the ****, lack of sanitation, I just did not see any benefit other than pure size. I dont see how the MTA is beneficial in any other way than the pure ridership.
I can tell you that my brother and I ran into several lines that closed early and research on wiki and apps didnt seem too beneficial.
I have nothing against NYC, I just dont think the transportation is efficient and its depressing being underground.
I just think the CTA is a much nicer mass transit system and little hassle. I grew up in the suburbs not really taking CTA but I used Metra and the first time i used CTA was to take the orange line from Midway airport directly to the loop without needing to switch lines.
My wife and I recently stayed in Avondale, we didnt need a car, just flew into ohare and took our luggage to the basement, bought a Ventra card from the machine and scanned through the gates, caught the train which the blue line took us right to avondale to the belmont station which took about maybe 25 minutes? the lines in the middle of the expressway and from there 5 minute walk to the house. If we wanted to go downtown, we would just go to belmont station which is one of the few underground stations and ride directly to the loop and get some beautiful scenery.
NYC to me was confusing to navigate and expensive. I have only been to one other east coast city and that was Washington DC which I will say was a pleasure to ride, the Metro is beautiful and world class.
Yeah that is why New Yorkers tell me how filthy and noisy and dangerous and full of rats the MTA is why how endorsing no wonder you love it
Quote:
Originally Posted by prhill
So you admit it is expensive that says a lot that they charge so much for such a bad system
Filthy, noisy and full of rats is applicable to a lot of the NYC subway, but dangerous and expensive are not.
The NYC subway does have a lot of issues, but it is still by far the most extensive subway system in the US and has 24/7 service. Its ridership is massive. It is in dire need of modernizing, fixing and expansion, but that’s true for a lot of dense urban US cities as our country’s investment in mass transit infrastructure has been disappointing for quite a while.
I have several friends in NYC and my brother lives in Brooklyn, seems most absolutely hate the MTA.
Not surprised I talk too new Yorkers all the time who hate the MTA. I think the favorite I hear a lot from people in fact way too often is that the trains there smell like ass! I mean seriously too many people have said those exact words! I think I even saw a video on youtube of a lady saying that too.
No doubt. True story from a friend of mine who was dying to get out of Florida and he wanted to live in a big city so he went too NYC for a visit and was disappointing in many ways but decided he would move there anyway. Then he was curious about Chicago and looked up some videos on youtube and loved what he saw and was especially really blown away by the El train videos and decided to visit Chicago so he did which is how we met and stayed in touch.
And he loves the food and architecture and river walk and the people in Chicago and everything but he really LOVES the CTA trains. He loves the views he got from it especially while riding the famous Loop. And he loves watching them from the outside as well. Anyway he is now in the process of looking to move too Chicago instead.
I still think for NYC being Americas largest city, I was not impressed at all with the subway system.
It was my first time in NYC in 2016 and flew into Laguardia, I was amazed by how low the standards were in that airport, it was literally below standards in every way. I will give NYC the benefit of size and quantity, but even walking around Brooklyn with trash all over and the massive poverty in the subways, the ****, lack of sanitation, I just did not see any benefit other than pure size. I dont see how the MTA is beneficial in any other way than the pure ridership.
I can tell you that my brother and I ran into several lines that closed early and research on wiki and apps didnt seem too beneficial.
I have nothing against NYC, I just dont think the transportation is efficient and its depressing being underground.
I just think the CTA is a much nicer mass transit system and little hassle. I grew up in the suburbs not really taking CTA but I used Metra and the first time i used CTA was to take the orange line from Midway airport directly to the loop without needing to switch lines.
My wife and I recently stayed in Avondale, we didnt need a car, just flew into ohare and took our luggage to the basement, bought a Ventra card from the machine and scanned through the gates, caught the train which the blue line took us right to avondale to the belmont station which took about maybe 25 minutes? the lines in the middle of the expressway and from there 5 minute walk to the house. If we wanted to go downtown, we would just go to belmont station which is one of the few underground stations and ride directly to the loop and get some beautiful scenery.
NYC to me was confusing to navigate and expensive. I have only been to one other east coast city and that was Washington DC which I will say was a pleasure to ride, the Metro is beautiful and world class.
The MTA is by far more innovative than the CTA and its 2018 the MTA subway has changed a lot even since 2016.
More new subway cars and massive upgrades to stations. For example in 2016 most stations didn’t have countdown clocks and now in 2018 they do. The MTA recently introduced the r179 trains which are currently running on the J line and testing on the A train!
Now the subway stations are being renovated with hi tech subways like the videos I posted which blow any regular Chicago subway out of the water.
So your 2016 visit has quickly become outdated. It’s no wonder Subway enthusiast respect the MTA much more than Chicago. It’s a system that’s changing every other year while Chicago subway looks bland
****btw you didn’t ride many lines in NYC if you keep mentioning that the subways are underground. Subways are mostly underground in Manhattan and for the most part elevated in other boroughs. NYC also has more track that’s above ground than Chicago but that’s because our system is much larger. You can’t really give a broad perspective on the subway if you barely ventured it!
Last edited by BrooklynJo; 04-12-2018 at 05:54 AM..
I have several friends in NYC and my brother lives in Brooklyn, seems most absolutely hate the MTA.
That doesn’t mean anything actually. If you ask your friends which city in America had a better subway system which this thread is asking, they would probably give your blank stare.
No doubt. True story from a friend of mine who was dying to get out of Florida and he wanted to live in a big city so he went too NYC for a visit and was disappointing in many ways but decided he would move there anyway. Then he was curious about Chicago and looked up some videos on youtube and loved what he saw and was especially really blown away by the El train videos and decided to visit Chicago so he did which is how we met and stayed in touch.
And he loves the food and architecture and river walk and the people in Chicago and everything but he really LOVES the CTA trains. He loves the views he got from it especially while riding the famous Loop. And he loves watching them from the outside as well. Anyway he is now in the process of looking to move too Chicago instead.
The El train is boring plain and simple. The same boring look running around the city and the same boring local services all throughout as well.
NYC has a diverse car system which subway enthusiast love and keep coming back for more each time NYc introduces new trains. The stations in NYC have more history and the express runs we have our city get most subway enthusiast excited. You can’t go from Midtown to Harlem in a blink of eye in Chicago like you can in NYC!
And as far as city views, it’s already been discussed that NYC has more track that’s elevated. The F/G/J/M trains offer the best views of the NYC skyline.
It seems that the Chicago boosters will go hard just to defend mediocracy. It’s a cool subway for people who might be boring but for cool people who like adventure the MTA is without a whole league above!
The El train is boring plain and simple. The same boring look running around the city and the same boring local services all throughout as well.
NYC has a diverse car system which subway enthusiast love and keep coming back for more each time NYc introduces new trains. The stations in NYC have more history and the express runs we have our city get most subway enthusiast excited. You can’t go from Midtown to Harlem in a blink of eye in Chicago like you can in NYC!
And as far as city views, it’s already been discussed that NYC has more track that’s elevated. The F/G/J/M trains offer the best views of the NYC skyline.
It seems that the Chicago boosters will go hard just to defend mediocracy. It’s a cool subway for people who might be boring but for cool people who like adventure the MTA is without a whole league above!
Good thing you're only speaking for yourself, here. People can disagree with you. If you are the definitive expert here, please share with us the reason for your expertise. Extreme homerism (like that displayed in this thread), lessens the credibility of those involved.
The MTA is by far more innovative than the CTA and its 2018 the MTA subway has changed a lot even since 2016.
More new subway cars and massive upgrades to stations. For example in 2016 most stations didn’t have countdown clocks and now in 2018 they do. The MTA recently introduced the r179 trains which are currently running on the J line and testing on the A train!
Now the subway stations are being renovated with hi tech subways like the videos I posted which blow any regular Chicago subway out of the water.
So your 2016 visit has quickly become outdated. It’s no wonder Subway enthusiast respect the MTA much more than Chicago. It’s a system that’s changing every other year while Chicago subway looks bland
****btw you didn’t ride many lines in NYC if you keep mentioning that the subways are underground. Subways are mostly underground in Manhattan and for the most part elevated in other boroughs. NYC also has more track that’s above ground than Chicago but that’s because our system is much larger. You can’t really give a broad perspective on the subway if you barely ventured it!
Eh, the state of good repair and general cleanliness and punctuality of trains in Chicago is actually significantly better than MTA at this point. I know that wasn't generally the case several years ago, but CTA did a lot of significant repairs of the years while MTA really nose-dived with its delays in the last few.
I think the respect for MTA has more to do with its sheer size and history (and size/comprehensiveness is an important and very good attribute of NYC's system especially compared to the much more limited smaller single hub system that Chicago has). I think it makes sense to give Chicago's system for credit where it's due and to ding MTA for where it's lacking right now.
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