It was hardly paradise. The systems of the various companies had separate fare collection and few interconnections, and the maps from those days look thoroughly

It was hardly paradise. The systems of the various companies had separate fare collection and few interconnections, and the maps from those days look thoroughly incomprehensible. After the consolidation, it took a major project to provide the modest amount of interconnection we have today, via the Chrystie Street Connection [1], and that only united 2 of the 3 legacy systems. We're still left with bizarre redundancies in some parts of the system and lack of service in others, and two entirely separate systems (known as the A-divsion and B-division) that will likely never be fully consolidated. Today, as much as I can find plenty to criticize about the system, after many decades of public stewardship, NYC's mass transit system is by far the best of any city I've ever been to. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrystie_Street_Connection http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrystie_Street_Connection