C Train Petition Aims To Keep Up The Pressure For Subway Improvements

The push for better and more frequent C train service continues apace, with straphangers and politicians alike signing a petition and attending rallies calling for “increased frequency, more reliability and better communication with riders.”

“The MTA agreed to study the line in a full line review – now it’s up to us to make sure we see real improvements,” exclaims the text of a new petition making the rounds, written by straphangers advocacy group Riders Alliance and carrying nearly 3,000 signatures.

The C train, rated the worst line by NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign four years in a row, runs at a frequency of 8-10 minutes in the morning rush, according to the MTA’s own schedule.  Other lines, like the F train, have a morning frequency of 4-6 minutes. Riders say the C train should run more often during rush hours.

This campaign “really resonates with me because the issues affect me,” said Joseph Salas, 27, of Clinton Hill. “The very old cars are not only unpleasant, but unreliable — loud, slow, no air conditioning or air circulation, infrequent. . . I have to take three trains when I could just take the C — and it’s still faster.”

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has already committed to conduct a full line review of the A and C lines by the end of this year, and have installed lower turnstiles (the normal ones, replacing the full-body ones) in an effort to lower congestion. They have also suggested that new cars may arrive for the C and A lines beginning some time in 2017, although that has not been confirmed as guaranteed.

“We have to keep the pressure up to make sure whatever comes out of the line review, that it does impact us,” explained Salas, who is a member of the Riders Alliance. “We need to l et them know people are paying attention. There’s power in numbers.”

The petition’s nearly 3,000 signatures also includes those of local officials — Assemblymember Walter Mosley, Councilmembers Robert Cornegy Jr., Laurie Cumbo, and Stephen Levin, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, Congressmember Nydia Velazquez, and State Senators Daniel Squadron and Martin Malave Dilan.

“As Brooklyn moves forward into the 21st century our public transportation must keep pace with the increasing demand for fast, efficient, and reliable service,” said Mosley. “We have seen an exponential increase of new members to our communities of central Brooklyn which in turn has put higher stress on our aging transportation system. Crowded platforms, dirty stations, and delay in services can no longer define outer borough service and that’s why I stand behind the full line review of the A and C lines.”