Hah, the list of things wrong with the NYC subway that would have millions of people screaming (in other cities or countries) is already very long -- dirtiness,

Hah, the list of things wrong with the NYC subway that would have millions of people screaming (in other cities or countries) is already very long -- dirtiness, lack of punctuality, or even a fixed schedule, no notifications of arriving trains, constant rerouting of lines due to construction, bums and panhandlers, etc. Lack of phone service is just one more thing to deal with. The only (slight) benefit of the NYC subway is that it runs 24 hours.