BusTalk

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Nearly every day these past few weeks, there have been violent (and, sadly, sometimes deadly) assaults on New York's subway.

Passengers have been slashed, stabbed, and shot.

The National Guard and SWAT teams had to be called out to patrol the trains and the stations, and still the senseless violence continues unchecked.

Transit employees are also not immune to vicious assaults by the criminal element (this includes both subway and bus employees)

City bus drivers will soon be enclosed in bullet-proof "cockpits".

What has happened to our society?

Growing up in the 1960s, Mom and I frequently rode public transit, both during the daylight hours and well after dark, in both New Jersey and in New York.

Never once was my mother ever made to feel ill at ease, whether we were on a bus, a subway, or a PATH tube train, regardless of the hour of the day (or night)

Violent attacks simply did not enter our minds; there was no need to worry then.

Even after I started working in Lower Manhattan in 1979, I never once felt threatened or uncomfortable on mass transit.

I railfanned the subways frequently; only once, did I feel slightly "uncomfortable", and that one time was back in 1993.

Today, it seems the entire population is armed with a knife, a box cutter, or a gun.

We are not safe on the trains, the stations, the buses.......children are no longer safe in school.......no one is safe ANYWHERE these days.

A sad, sad commentary on today's society....or, rather, what remains of it.........

"NYO"

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

.....and, sadly, New York and Philadelphia are not the only cities where crime is out of control on the transit systems; both the CTA and BART have been slammed with violent crime for several years now.

A friend of mine who lives in California now absolutely refuses to set a foot into a BART station, as the risk to travel via BART is to great to risk riding.

A lot of serious issues with drugs, shootings, and stabbings, just like New York and Philadelphia.

A sad commentary indeed on the world of today, where violent crimes (and mass shootings) are now almost everyday happenings.

Something is seriously wrong, for certain......

"NYO"

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

These days, the Bronx and Brooklyn are particularly dangerous, especially regarding transit, particularly the subways.

Recall, that the Bronx section of the (IRT) 3rd Avenue El was closed in 1973; the Bronx, then, was already going downhill.

Former El riders were understandbly leery of waiting at corner bus stops, particularly at night, instead of at designated stations.

Brooklyn, also, has changed drastically since the long-agodays of B&QT streetcars and the BMT; like the streetcars and the old BMT "Standards", legendary Brooklyn venues such as Ebbets Field and Steeplechase Park have now been gone for many decades.

The Brooklyn cars last ran in October of 1956, Steeplechase closed after the 1964 season, and the last of the BMT "Standards" were retired in 1969, the same year that the Myrtle Avenue El (served by wooden "Q" cars) was closed.

Even then, parts of Brookjlyn was beginning to slide downhill...........

"NYO"

["4 SEA BEACH EXPRESS"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Just heard (on a somewhat related note) that TACO BELL is closing all of its dining rooms in the LA area, due to increased crime; only drive-through service will be available.

So much for a "progressive" society.

As I had mentioned earlier, the BART system has also been particularly hard hit with crime in recent years: drug incidents, homeless issues, and the like.

Ditto the CTA's "L" and bus lines.

Philly, as we know, is as now out-of-control as New York.........

"NYO"

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Speaking of Brooklyn...............

B&QT's streetcars, until the late 1940's, ran over the "Willy B" to the underground terminal at Delancey Street (like the lower level of the PS Terminal in Newark, the "platforms" were flush with the rails.

This station also had the distinction of being the only location where B&QT streetcars ran underground (with the possible exception of the brief dip down into the underpass at Ocean Parkway).......

"NYO"

["68 CONEY ISLAND"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Just heard on the news that a man was shot in the head (he is now in grave condition) on an "A" train at the Hoyt-Schemerhorn (IND) station.

News video showed passengers crouching and hiding under seats inside an R-46 "A" train.

So much for having the National Guard and the state Police patrolling the subways.....the gun insanity underground in New York (and also above ground) just keeps on escalating.

Sad.............

"NYO"

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Earlier, I heard on the news that more and more New Yorkers are (understandably) more than leery about riding the subways (and who can blame them?)

There was also a box-cutter slashing aboard an LIRR train, just within the past few days.

NO MEANS of mass transit is safe today, with everyone stoned, high, or "hearing voices", and armed with assorted weapons.

I'm glad I am now retired for the past 20 years, and no longer have to come into the city and ride the subways (or any transit, for that matter)

Riding transit today is loike playing Russian Roulette........

"NYO"

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Two more subway stabbings today (Monday).........

One took place at the Franklin Avenue ("S") station, while the other took place at a station on the "J" line.

The insanity just does not stpp...........

"NYO"

[traildriver]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

traildriver:

Your secret is indeed safe with me.

Indeed, cannot blame you for not wanting to be trapped inside one of these cars, had a serious situation arose.

Supposedly, the new R-211 "open gangway" cars are far safer than the aforementioned cars, as they are are entirely open between sections.

Then again, it was a far different society when the 44s and 46s began running on MTA rails, even though, even then, folks worried about crime underground.........

"NYO"

["INDEPENDENT 8TH AVENUE SUBWAY SYSTEM"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Just heard on 1010 WINS that a man was shoved onto the tracks at the 125th Street station in East Harlem (Lexington Avenue IRT #4/#5/#6), where he was hit by an incoming train.

And, though not transit-related, just heard that NYPD officer was shot and killed out in Far Rockaway.

Tragic....sad....and so damn senseless.....

"NYO"

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Yesterday, a man was struck in the face by a man brandishing a glass bottle on the platform at Columbus Circle/59th Street.

It just keeps on getting worse, with no end in sight.............

"NYO"