Have you taken a ride on the New York City subway lately? It's not the most fun way to travel.

 Let's put it this way. It's essentially a sh*thole that gets you, and hundreds of thousands of other New Yorkers, from point A to point B (maybe) for $2.75 a ride. 

In spite of our subway system transporting a massive number of riders each and every day, it's almost laughable in comparison to similar transit systems. 

Today, Governor Cuomo just announced some pretty big technological advances that allow riders to charge/use their phones underground, but don't address the rapidly growing ridership rate. 

Sure, it'll be nice to be able to read spoiled NYC heading downtown on the 1 train every morning, but we're really not so sure if that'll distract us from the fact that our faces are shoved up in someone's armpit as more people try to clamber onto an already overpacked subway train. 

The technological advances announced include LCD countdown clocks, real-time data, digital ad boards, improved information kiosks, and new lights. 

Oh, he also announced that, by 2018, the metro card will be a thing of the past, replaced with mobile payment and ticketing methods. 

Cuomo stated, "I don't want to get on a train and feel like a sardine for an hour and half on the way to work... I want to be able to sit in a seat, I want to be able to listen to my music, I want to be able to make a telephone call, be connected to Wi-Fi. I've come to expect that."

[anad]

While we're unsure as to whether or not our Governor has actually ridden a NYC subway, judging from this statement, we're confused as to how his plans are actually going to help him accomplish any of what his vision of the ideal subway ride clearly is. 

Cuomo's plan addresses these creature comforts, but not the blatantly obvious issue of a growing population and subway ridership without dealing with the capacity to cope with these numbers. 

Additionally, Governor Cuomo's plan glosses over the real issue that in order to make these technological advancements, he will be shutting down whole subway stations for an average of 6-12 months at a time, instead of the current process of performing these tasks during off hours.

If you'd like a list of these stations, check it here. These stations are slated to be refurbished by 2018, with all finishing by 2020. 

Governor Cuomo, we don't know about you, but we'd rather you figure out a way for your general population to use the subway system without, as you said, packing in like sardines, rather than figuring out how we can check Instagram. 

Check out This New South Bronx Series Coming to Netflix. 

[via MTA]