Bed-Stuy Subway Lines Top the List of "Best" and "Worst"

NYPIRG's Straphangers Campaign released its 14th Annual "State of the Subways Report Card" [PDF] yesterday, and two lines that run through Bedford-Stuyvesant—the J/Z and the C—top the list as the best and the worst of all 18 subway lines.

The NYPIRG report cards provide a picture of where the subways are by examining three measures and comparing them with the service of other lines—car breakdowns, car cleanliness and announcements.

Good news first: This year's winner of best subway line in the city was the J/Z, ranking number-one for the first time since the Straphangers Campaign Report Card started in 1997.

The J/Z , which runs between Broad Street in Manhattan and Jamaica Center in Queens, ranked highest because it performs best in the system on regularity of service.

It also performs above average on three measures: delays caused by mechanical breakdowns, seat availability at the most crowded point during rush hour and subway car announcements. However, the J/Z performed average on subway car cleanliness and amount of scheduled service.

On the flip side, the C was ranked the worst subway line for the third year in a row, tying with the 2 line for last place.

The C line, which runs between Euclid Avenue in Brooklyn and Washington Heights in Manhattan, performed worst in the system on three measures: amount of scheduled service, delays caused by mechanical breakdowns and subway car announcements.

However, oddly enough, the C ranked best in the system on subway car cleanliness and above average on service regularity and chance of getting a seat at rush hour.

While the J, Z and C lines earned blue ribbons as the best and worst, Bed-Stuy's two other lines—the A and the G—also deserved a few honorable mentions:

The G line ranked the dirtiest, with 13 percent of its cars reported as having "moderate" or "heavy" dirt, three times more than the C. The A train ranked next to worst as the dirtiest. And despite popular belief, the G line ranked above average on regularity of service.

Also, you're more likely to get a seat on the A train the overall average, but its cars reportedly break down more than on the average-ranked line.