July 17, 2017
New Yorkers unlucky enough not to be on vacay this week were, once again, caught up in the MTA’s “Summer of Hell.” Today’s installment featured a track fire on the A line near 145 St. station coinciding with the morning rush. As if Monday mornings weren’t bad enough already! It was midmorning before the MTA declared a return to ‘normal service’ albeit with delays. Some may, understandably at this point, regard delays, derailments, and track fires themselves as normal service. A second fire, on the East Side, was just in time for the evening rush, making this another perfect day in the MTA’s Summer of Hell.
Morning Twitter buzzed with the exasperated tweets of trapped victims inconvenienced riders. Uber stepped up in the crisis, jacking surge fares to stratospheric highs. A ride from Inwood to UES would cost around $60, if a driver was even available. A 5 minute hold for 1st Class concluded with disappointment when it was learned that no rides were available. Robert Jackson himself appeared to be stuck underground, tweeting pics of a herdlike mass of unhappy New Yorkers squeezing through a narrow chute in the 181 St. station on the IRT 1 line. At 168 St the masses (mostly) held their fury, piling up like sardines in the passageway, making their slow way to the station’s ancient elevators. A groundswell of rancor was rising this morning, with many commuters clearly fed up with the MTA, Governor Cuomo, crummy service and high fares. Something’s gotta give.
