Commuting Part 2 - The Subway

Part 2 of this series on commuting is about being a 'Strap Hangar' as they call it. Riding what used to be called the Electric Sewer back in years before Sheriff Rudy cleaned up the town. It is interesting to see that he is likely to be a candidate for President. The 2008 presidential race may be the most interesting in my lifetime.

For those who are interested in how that subway and NYC turn-around happened there are good write-ups in the social engineering book The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference and in the business strategy book Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant. Each provides a different angle on the turn-around that make for good life lessons. The books are 'must reads' for relevant information and ideas.

On with the tale of my subway commute. I take the 1-train from 34th Street at Penn Station to 116th and Broadway where I am greeted with the tile mosaic shown in the photo. That is my to work route. Coming home I take the 1 to 96th Street and switch to the 2- or 3- express to 34th Street/Penn Station, I found that was on average the quickest way coming and going.

I sit at the front of the NJ Transit train as that positions me closest to the subway platform to get there quickest without running the maze of people in the central corridor. I stage myself at a particular place on the platform where I know the door will open and also will let me out closest to the exit. I have the same landmarks for the ride back, again optimizing my time as much as possible. It only took a couple of weeks of crowds to learn the best approach.

While in the subway I either sit or stand but always try to be near the door for my departure, I have only had to get caught by the doors a time or two to avoid that if possible.

There are all types of people riding the subway as I hear they have about 7 million passengers per day. The ones I particularly dislike are the people who seem to be bucking for a fight, whether man, woman, black, white, young, old, or ethnicity. Seems to be just frustrated people who can't control their anger and need to lash out.

The thing that always amazes me about the subway is when young kids ride alone to school. Seeing them get on and off unescorted has me think of Danny or Steve at 7 or 8 and how they may have reacted to that. And then there was the time I saw a young boy of 8 or 10 reading 'Silence of the Lambs' on the subway with eyes wide as saucers. Poor kid! There is much humanity to observe on the New York City subway. That is not even nighttimes, which I have yet to experience. Enjoy strap-hangers everywhere!

By the way, there are no straps to hang from for the subways I ride, however there are poles to hold onto. Maybe somewhere there are still straps so the name is not lost to obscurity.