Thirteen Subway Lines Also Going on Vacation This Weekend
It’s a good thing everyone has already left for Montauk, Jersey, and Cape Cod for Labor Day, because you do not want to be in town this weekend! What’s that? No second home you say? Hmm. Well, at least you don’t rely on the subway to get around. You do?? Oh jeez. Then we hope you’ve got a bike—or at least a skateboard—because thirteen subway lines will be affected by MTA service changes this weekend.
Lines affected in some way include the N, Q, R, A, E, D, F, G, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. So, those are pretty important. On the one hand, it’s logical to heap construction on a weekend when the city’s population is down by an estimated 37 percent. That’s 37 percent fewer angry people! It stands to reason, too, that many of the people not going away this weekend are the ones who most need reliable, cheap transportation. This is the same population affected by overnight and weekend service changes: people who need the subway to get to and from work at “atypical” hours—anything other than rush hour. Getting off work at 2 am is no fun, and it’s even less fun when you find out you’ll need to take a bus to a train to a different bus just to get home.
The work has to get done some time, sure, and in the city that doesn’t get the recommended six to eight hours of sleep, construction always affects someone. But this weekend’s subway acrobatics bring the demographic divide of construction hours into even sharper relief: Y’all aren’t leaving for the weekend, and you get to be mad at the trains. Happy Labor Day!
The good news is that the weather’s nice, so if you have alternate above-ground transport, take full advantage. Check the MTA’s Weekender for the most up-to-date info on service changes, bring a book, and take deep, calming breaths.
Follow John Sherman on Twitter @_john_sherman.