MTA faces criticism as R train wait times fail to meet expectations
Dennis Badillo says waiting for an R train takes a while.
"I've been here for about like about 10 minutes and I know normally when I come there's trains back and forth. So I'm just trying to catch the first one," Badillo said.
Badillo isn't alone, Brooklyn State Senator Andrew Gounardes reached out to the MTA after getting wait time complaints from his straphangers in his district.
Last month, MTA officials announced that midday service for the R would be every eight minutes beginning at 10 a.m.
"We heard from so many constituents that they were waiting not 8 minutes but 12, 15, 16 minutes in some cases. Totally the opposite of what the MTA promised," Gounardes said.
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John Brown can relate.
"I come all the way here from the Bronx to catch the R train, and it can feel like an hour sometimes," Brown said.
Gounardes says he was told track work on the F line has forced crews to redirect work trains on the R line.
Parts of the F line service between Manhattan and Queens have been suspended so that repairs to the tunnel and wiring updates can be done.
In a statement to FOX 5, the MTA said:
"Wait time for many riders between 11:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. is down to 8.5 minutes from 10 minutes. And we will reduce wait times even further in the coming months after completion of necessary track work. We’re grateful to elected officials for their continuing support."
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The promised boost in R train service was partly a result of the $35M bail-out pkg state officials gave the MTA to balance it's budget and to keep the trains on the track.... LITERALLY.
Gounardes was one of those who voted FOR the bailout but says he's waiting for some return on his investment
"I just think that at a time when we need to boost ridership, it's not back to pre-pandemic levels yet, we have to do everything we can to take away every excuse possible that people have to not get back in the subway," Gounardes said.
The work on the F line is slated to take 6 months.