New York Subway System Flooding Takes New Yorkers-And MTA-"By Surprise"

There isn't much that will slow down a New Yorker, or keep a New Yorker tucked away at home for the day. With arguably the best public transportation system in the United States, New Yorkers almost never have an excuse to stay home from work or school because of inclement weather. Growing up in Manhattan, I had only one snow day (during the famed "Blizzard of 1996"), and New Yorkers generally roll their eyes when the national government shuts down and Washington, D.C. comes to a halt because of half an inch of snow.

All that changed on August 8, 2007. Heavy rains in the early morning caused severe flooding that crippled the city's transportation system, flooding and/or shutting down nearly every subway station. Without the subways to rely on, the streets were teeming with people, as commuters resorted to means of surface transportation instead. But with buses either canceled or too crowded to board and the severe competition for cabs, many were forced to either walk or simply stay at home for the day.

For many New Yorkers, the realization that something was wrong came when they stepped outside and found massive crowds on the streets. This was the experience of Amanda G., who made three attempts to get to her office before giving up and deciding to work from home for the day. Amanda left her apartment, approximately 40 blocks (or two miles) from her office, at approximately 8:30 a.m, expecting her commute to take the usual thirty or so minutes door-to-door. "The first thing I noticed were the throngs of people on the street," Amanda reports. "It's never that busy in the morning-or at any time. At first I thought there was some kind event-a parade, for instance-going on that I didn't know about. Then I tried to get on the subway and found out it was closed." Amanda tried to get a taxi, but even with people car pooling in taxis, the competition was too fierce and she wasn't able to locate one. After waiting 40 minutes for a bus that never came, Amanda went back to her apartment to wait out the transit crisis. Thinking the city's transportation problems would surely have been solved by the afternoon, Amanda attempted to reach her office again at 12:30 and 3:00 p.m., but found that the situation had still not improved.

Many New Yorkers wondered why the morning news did not include more information about subway closings, and why the subway stations did not have any signs or announcements posted or MTA employees with helpful information. One frustrated commuter, Carol G., complained that while the morning news talked at length about airport and train cancellations and delays, there was no mention of the fact that almost every subway station in New York was flooded and/or closed. Moreover, when she found that her usual subway station was closed, the MTA employee located at the station could not tell her if other trains were running or provide even a general description of the problem. "I think the MTA needs to find a way to communicate to its employees, so they can communicate to the commuters. It was really frustrating this morning not to be able to get any information about the transportation situation. I basically had no idea what was going on."

This experience has led some New Yorkers to place less trust in the city's public transportation system. Carol G. expressed her surprise that rain was able to cause such havoc: "New York public transportation is always running. It's the best in the country, right? Well, now I'm not so sure. I never would have thought that something as simple as rain could shut down the whole system like this. It's shocking-and embarrassing."

So what is the MTA's explanation for the subway shutdown? The MTA admits that the storm "took them by surprise" and their pumps just simply weren't up to handling the amount of rain that the city received. Governor Spitzer has tasked the MTA with "investigating" these problems.

Sources: Interviews with commuters and New York 1 (http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=72434).