Guess what, New Yorkers? These so-called updates that the MTA is forcing down our throats isn't helping anyone, and it's unfair to lay that blame on the millennials who are simply trying to get from point A to point B.
We want the same basic things you want, and that is, first and foremost, an effective, affordable, safe, and reliable transportation system for all New Yorkers to use, not just creature comforts that won't do anything but break and cost the MTA more money.
If anything, we're blaming those in previous generations, thinking that in order to please one of the largest generations, they have to resort to stupid, superficial 'improvements' that we neither want nor need.
Not all of us are attached to our phones and tablets like they're our life sources, but we do rely on mass transit each and every day to get us around.
Here are some of the things that we'd much rather have the MTA focus on than USB charging ports. Keep your eye on the ball, guys.
Timeliness
Uh, no-brainer. We're trying to keep our jobs here, so we'd appreciate a transportation method that can be mostly punctual. No big expectations. Any reliability would be a step up.
[anad]
You could even get rid of the schedule all together. You're already not following it, so what's the point of having one at all?
An MTA app
Imagine a life where we could open an app to see exactly when a train or bus was arriving, use it to add money to our MetroCard, or even just a friggin' countdown clock.
Of course, we would still need for everything to be on time, but at least knowing how late we're going to be to work is better than not knowing anything.
Clean the trains and buses once and a while
Look, we know you've got a lot on your plate with the delays of the 2nd Avenue Line and the looming L-pocolypse, but is it too much to ask that you clean the trains and buses just a tad?
We're pretty sure that we're risking the plague every time we're forced to touch a subway pole. No offense, but we're trying to get some sh*t done before we die of the next pandemic.
Accepting more methods of payment
Yea, so sometimes we'd really like to be able to pay for a service the good old fashioned way: cold, hard cash. Sure, we don't want to pay for it on the subway. Keep the MetroCard. But at least let us pay for the bus when we forget our MetroCard is empty.
Heck, you know that app we spoke of? Let us pay for the bus on that. It's sort of an effective form of payment that we can automatically add money to.
A way to estimate delay times WHILE on the delayed train
How many times have you been sitting on the subway, waiting "momentarily," only to realize you're not going to be moving anytime in the next half hour.
[anad2]
More than having W-iFi or USB ports that are only going to be vandalized out of spite, we'd much rather know how screwed we are before we're actually fired for being an hour late.
Bathrooms that won't give us diseases
To all the Baby Boomers and Generation X'ers out there, remember when you were in your twenties and you would go out partying in NYC?
Yea, so don't get on us for having a good time and needing to empty a half a six-pack of beer from our bladders, only to realize we'll get tetanus from the few facilities around.
Plus, this spans all generations. Everybody's gotta go, might as well help us out a little here, MTA.
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Bus lanes
Let's rephrase that: designated bus lanes that are actually used by buses and not cars/bikes/hoverboards/whatever does not constitute a bus or emergency service vehicle.
[anad]
It would make mass transit a heck of a lot faster.
Bar cars
Self-explanatory. But to clear it up: the old school had subway bar carts, but now we're not even allowed to drink on our stoops without getting fined? Weak.
For those of us who want to have a good time on our hour-long commute home, we'd love to be able to sip on some booze. Hell, we'll even settle for a coffee.
Not shutting the L train for years, maybe?
You'd think that in a city as incredible as ours, we'd have some way to get people from point A to point B without just saying, "Yea, good luck buddy."
Deal with the pervs
Do you know how many times women have been groped, harassed, propositioned, or god knows what else on the buses or subways?
How about we focus on stopping perverts, rapists, and slashers before we worry about our phones running out of power, mk? Thanks.
Get rid of showtime
We're already giving up enough of our paycheck to the MTA on a weekly basis, we don't need to be pressed for more while we're just trying to get home.
[anad2]
Plus, we don't need any hospital bills from a less than semi-talented street performer giving us a rogue kick to the face. Hard pass.
A system that focuses on transporting people in an efficient manner rather than one that wants you to be comfortable as you're stuck on your two-hour delay due to a sh*tty, outdated, overcrowded system
Yea, that'd be great.
Check out 8 Best Ways to Get the Most Out of NYC's New Public Boozing Policy.
[Feature Image Courtesy RTD]