Survey Skill-Building
Public transportation in New York City is very important. Not everyone may have a car with which to use to get around the city. Taking the subway or the bus is a great alternative. However, subway service in NYC isn’t the best. Every New Yorker knows how exhausting a task using the subway can be. This is because of the many problems that the subway has. With frequent delays, overcrowded trains, and unsanitary stations, many wonder what the MTA is doing in order to make sure the subway runs smoothly. In order to gain insight on what the public feels about the subway system, a survey was conducted at the 145th street and St. Nicholas Avenue subway station of the A, C, D, and B trains.
In order to gain valuable data, the questions asked on the survey were geared towards the overall experience of using the A, C, D, and B subway lines. As previously stated, the survey was conducted at the 145th street subway station of the A, C, D, and B trains. This location was chosen because it was convenient and there are four different subway lines that go through the station. The survey was conducted on Tuesday, April 16, 2019 between 2:35 pm and 2:55 pm. Convenience sampling was used in order to gain a variety of responses from the general public. In order to participate in the survey, participants had to be at least 18 years old and lived at least one year in NYC. The survey was, for the most part, participant self-administered with a response rate of about 75%. Limitations for the survey include a lack
The survey focused on three main topics surrounding the MTA. Questions 4, 5, and 6 sought to gain insight on the public’s experience with subway service. Question four specifically aimed to gauge the public’s satisfaction with train service. People were asked on a scale of 1-5 how satisfied they felt with train service. A score of 3 is neutral, so anything below 3 is dissatisfied while anything above 3 is satisfied. The survey found that of the 21 respondents, 12 (57%) of them felt neutral. Five (24%) felt dissatisfied, while only four (19%) felt satisfied. Question five dealt with the frequency of delays that occur on the A, C, D, and B lines. In order to gain the most valuable data, only responses from those who frequently ride the train were used. Of the 21 respondents, 18 answered that they frequently ride the train. Of these 18 respondents, 13 (72%) found the trains to be often delayed. Three (16%) found them rarely delayed, and only two (11%) found the trains to be frequently delayed. These delays could be caused by the constant repairs taking place on the subway lines.
Figure 1: Shows the responses from the 18 respondents who frequently ride the train. Rarely delayed means 0-1 days/week. Often delayed means 2-3 days/week. Frequently delayed means 4-7 days/week.
Question six was asked in order to determine to what extent the public feels that re-routing or repairs causes delays. Once again using data from only those who frequently ride the train, it was found that 13 (72%) blamed re-routing and repairs for the delays.
Question seven on the survey aimed determine how much commuters spend every month on MTA service. Participants were given five choices ranging from <$60 a month to >$121 a month.
Figure 2: Respondents had five choices to choose from. <$60, 30 day unlimited – $65.50, $61-120, 30 day unlimited – $121, and >$121.
Of the 21 respondents, a majority of respondents (38.1%) answered that they spent $121 dollars per month on MTA service. Five (23.8%) spend between $61 and $120 per month. Four (19%) people answered that they spend less than $60 per month and another four people answered that they spend $61 a month for MTA service. No respondents answered to spending over $121 a month for service.
Question eight of the survey asked the respondents to rate how much they feel the cost is worth the service. The question was on a scale of 1-5. Therefore, anything below 3 means that it is not worth and anything above 3 means that the cost is worth the service. A score of 3 means that the respondent is neutral.
Figure 3: A score of 3 means neutral. <3 means the price is not worth the service and >3 means that the price is worth the service.
The majority (10, 47.6%) of respondents answered that the price is not worth the service. Seven (33.3%) answered that the price is worth the service. Four (19%) respondents answered neutrally.
The results of the survey were somewhat expected. The MTA is notorious for its various delays and it’s seemingly unending repairs. Therefore, public opinion of the MTA was expected to be not so great. The results only seem to solidify these expectations. Furthermore, the MTA fare is greater than it was a couple of years ago. Because the fare has changed dramatically over the past decades, it was expected that commuters would spend a lot of money to use the subway. The survey found that the majority of commuters surveyed spent $121 a month in order to purchase the 30 day unlimited Metrocard. Furthermore, the high cost combined with the frequent amount of delays results in many respondents feeling as though the cost is not worth the service. These results show that commuters of the A, C, D, B subway lines at the 145th street and St. Nicholas Avenue subway station feel that the cost isn’t worth the service often due to delays and just how expensive the fare is. The survey itself is only representative of a small population of commuters. Therefore, it would be recommended to repeat this survey, but with a larger sample size.
