Hipsters Are Wrong and G Train Service Is Pretty Great, Says Actual Data
I think we all owe someone an apology, don’t we? Hmm? After years of our grousing, a concerned nerd has done the math, and it turns out that service on the G train is actually better than the F, B, L, and Q trains. Huh.
According to programmer Alex Barkan’s research, the poor, friendless line is less likely to encounter service disruptions, skip stations with no explanation, or or run in segments than many of its slow-moving, unpredictable brethren. This is cold, hard math, guys! Barkan has seriously spent the past two years monitoring MTA announcements and creating a comprehensive data visualization of problems on each line.
Why, then, does everyone complain so much about the train, seemingly every minute of every day? Probably because of all the disease-ridden rodents. “Some of the G train stops are packed with rats,” theorizes Barkan. “An extra minute there is more excruciating compared to a station that merely smells like piss, or is perhaps outdoors.” That, and all the hip youngsters who live on the line tend to stay out later, meaning they’re experiencing the train at its very slowest service hours.
So. Can we all be adults, say we’re sorry, and move on? No? Alright, just thought I’d ask.
Follow Virginia K. Smith on Twitter @vksmith.
