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If you're up for an additional dose of stupidity, consider the fact that London shuts down the Underground completely (with a few exceptions) every single night

If you're up for an additional dose of stupidity, consider the fact that London shuts down the Underground completely (with a few exceptions) every single night for maintenance and repairs. Every inch is inspected each 48 hours. Why the MTA can't do this kills me and partially explains why people screamed bloody murder about a complete shutdown. The signaling system alone is held together by the equivalent of tape and chewing gum. It's bloody murder, as you say, to turn NYC, whose delis/bodegas, restaurants and bars stay open until 12, 2, 4 am, all night, into London, where most bars end at 11pm, and restaurants much earlier. Part of that is cultural and part of that is that service staff can't necessarily afford Uber (which was banned too, wasn't it), or taxis, which cost a fortune. Yes, the night bus, that IS something London has that NY doesn't (the buses in NYC are atrocious). NYC would be a different city if they shut down subways at midnight. The existing maintenance is already a nightmare (and an alphabet soup of outage notices).

L_Rahman 8y ago
I agree that we shouldn't make the tradeoff that London does. I'm a NY lifer and being out in London past 10pm makes me feel like I'm skulking around in a period drama. But bus rapid transit is real and many of the people who make this city run (my dad for many years drove a cab he picked up from a garage in LIC) already depend on buses for their last mile commute. It is entirely possible to do five years or a decade of overnight subway shutdowns with BRT supported by real enforcement and protected lanes while preserving the city's culture.
- chrisfinazzo 8y ago
  To people who want to make the case for buses and cabs, I have one question, how is this actually better? By definition, it's still considered public transit, but you are subject to the same traffic patterns and congestion as private cars (admittedly, an additional expense). Subways and Light Rail avoid this mess entirely. Not that there aren't still problems (Signals, PTC v Permissive Blocks, etc.) but you're much less likely to be stuck somewhere for long periods of time not moving.

L_Rahman 8y ago

I agree that we shouldn't make the tradeoff that London does. I'm a NY lifer and being out in London past 10pm makes me feel like I'm skulking around in a period drama. But bus rapid transit is real and many of the people who make this city run (my dad for many years drove a cab he picked up from a garage in LIC) already depend on buses for their last mile commute. It is entirely possible to do five years or a decade of overnight subway shutdowns with BRT supported by real enforcement and protected lanes while preserving the city's culture.

chrisfinazzo 8y ago
To people who want to make the case for buses and cabs, I have one question, how is this actually better? By definition, it's still considered public transit, but you are subject to the same traffic patterns and congestion as private cars (admittedly, an additional expense). Subways and Light Rail avoid this mess entirely. Not that there aren't still problems (Signals, PTC v Permissive Blocks, etc.) but you're much less likely to be stuck somewhere for long periods of time not moving.