[yakovsi]

I don't understand infatuation with NYC subway. Moscow subway, while being very old, very deep and in supposed third world country had count down clocks for 25 years, all major carriers LTE for years, very fast wifi on stations and in tunnels for forever, doesn't even require stupid login, just connects, imagine that. The only feeling I have for NYC subway is shame. That pride that some people have is apparently because they never visit anywhere. Oh, and trains are very fast, and come every 3 minutes

[ucaetano]

> I don't understand infatuation with NYC subway

Despite how bad it is, the NYC subway is still the best public transit system in the US, so Americans are infatuated with it, especially those who never user other subway systems.

So New Yorkers are like "BART sucks, my subway is way better, itś amazing", while the rest of the world is like "oh, you have shitty dirty metal boxes that break down all the time and you call it public transit, how cute..."

[cylinder]

And just shows the provincialism in a supposed "world capital" that is NYC. New York shouldn't be compared to San Francisco, it should be compared to London, Hong Kong, Tokyo, etc.

NYC subway is complete trash, it's one of the most depressing aspects of living in New York. Any impressiveness that comes from it is not from the system itself but rather the density of the surface above it. You feel like you just got from one side of the city to another quickly, but that was in spite of the crappy subway system; it was because so much is crammed within 2 miles above you!

[L_Rahman]

I promise you that most New Yorkers are deeply unhappy with the subway.

The pride that we feel in the MTA is in carving out a non-automobile based way of life in a country where the ability to drive and own a a car is synonymous with independence and coming of age.

We're also a little proud of the fact that it never stops running even if the trains are only running every twenty minutes. I can not describe how freeing it is to not feel bound by a metro closing time (as I so often do when I visit London or Seoul or Hong Kong).

[yakovsi]

The fact that Moscow's subway outperforms NYC in every metric despite rampant corruption and embezzlement (buddy of mine used to be an engineer there) means one thing: MTA is inept beyond any measure and any repair. Some changes are in order to unshackle NYC Subway, so we all can be proud of it

[chimeracoder]

> Moscow subway, while being very old, very deep and in supposed third world country

Moscow is not in a third-world country, in either sense of the word. It's not in a developing nation (colloquial contemporary use of the word), and it's not in a country that remained unallied with the US and Russia during the Cold War, which is the original meaning of the word.

[yjftsjthsd-h]

I was going to mention this, too: Russia is definitively a second world country:)

[oldcynic]

The Moscow subway is astonishing for the architecture. Some stations look more like the interior of the Hermitage than a subway. Marble, art, chandeliers!

In that respect I think it's truly unique.

If you don't know of this try an image search for moscow subway

[WaxProlix]

I lived in Moscow for a while as a kid and the Metro system was such a joy in retrospect that it's really soured me on some other cities' transit systems. Living in Seattle right now while we struggle to achieve a single-route light rail system is especially saddening.

Crazy that Moscow's system is almost 100 years old, dating from 1935. (I just checked and London's Underground has it beat by a margin though - 1863)

[seanmcdirmid]

Depending on how you count it, nyc metro started in 1863 also (as an above road rail).

[DoreenMichele]

HN is a US-cetric forum. Americans are bad about being oblivious to the existence of anything outside the US. New York is, by far, the largest US city and one of the oldest. It is hugely influential here and has essentially legendary status in the minds of many Americans. To most Americans, New York is kind of The big city and symbolizes anything and everything urban. I am not sure if we even have subways elsewhere (which just may be my own ignorance showing). If we do, they wouldn't be as extensive.

[chimeracoder]

> I am not sure if we even have subways elsewhere (which just may be my own ignorance showing). If we do, they wouldn't be as extensive.

There are subways in other US cities, but nowhere near as extensive. One-third of all subway stations in the entire country are within New York City itself.

New York City has more subway stations than any other subway system in the world, and that's not counting the non-subway transit (commuter rail, PATH, etc.)

[totalZero]

> Americans are bad about being oblivious to the existence of anything outside the US.

That seems like a pretty hefty generalization.

> I am not sure if we even have subways elsewhere (which just may be my own ignorance showing).

Maybe you should visit nearby Boston, DC, or Philadelphia.

[seanmcdirmid]

LA has a subway with a couple of lines.

[toomanybeersies]

Without trying to stir up a debate about the merits of various political systems, could this be due to the strong state control in the Soviet era?

I'd imagine it would be a lot easier in Soviet Russia to just say "we're upgrading this, the line will be down for a week, deal with it". It was an authoritarian state, you're not running for reelection, it didn't matter if people got a bit miffed at delays due to an upgrade.

[csydas]

Well, nothing you said is wrong, but the reason is wrong. Both St Petersburg and Moscow have a very well distributed and supported above ground public transit system as well, going back to the early years of the Soviet Union. Trams, trolleys, buses, and the pay vans (Marshrutki) are extremely prevalent and help people get around fast and relatively cheaply. I live in spb right now and am riding a tram where the placard lists the commissioned date as 1958. The wagon of the metro train I moved to while writing this post says 1972; point is this infrastructure has been around a long time.

So yeah, people had no say if a district shut your metro station down for 4 months for repairs (which still happens today), but you had and have many alternatives to get where you want to, so at best it's a minor inconvenience.

Compare this to where I grew up in the Midwest, if the buses there broke that was it. Hope you knew someone with a car who was home or liked walkjng (and I've done a few 7 mile walks home when buses broke down, since my choice was wait an hour in the cold for the next bus or just walk)

Deal with it now in russia and in the ussr basically meant "pick one of these other services".

[Piskvorrr]

Decades ago, perhaps. LTE is not decades old...

[cylinder]

uh, the MTA doesn't put things like "install countdown timer signage" up for democratic referendum.

[tty7]

Its not 24/7 (closes 1am every night)

Nyc subway is unbeatable in that regard. And I prefer 24/7 service than being able to use the wifi to book an uber ;)

[razorunreal]

24/7 "service". Sometimes I feel like I'm stuck in the middle of a tunnel just so some middle manager can claim that the line is still running. I would prefer they closed the thing at night and put some serious effort into improvements.

[gaadd33]

The stations in Moscow seem amazing, but they have half as many as in NYC. Plus I don't believe they run 24/7 do they?

I believe Moscow has traditionally had way more support from the overall country as opposed to just being funded from Moscow proper. Has there ever been something similar as "Ford to City: Drop Dead" with Moscow/the metro system?

[usaphp]

And it’s much cleaner