The first conductorless L trains were up and running yesterday, as the MTA moves to a more modern (and cost cutting - so they think) form of subway service. The One Person Train Operation is only for weekends and nights, and L riders have mixed opinions.
"Frankly, with a bicycle you don’t really get much help from operators anyway. It’s pretty much up to you. But it’s not good in terms of security." - Subway rider to NY1
"Once the door is closed, no one can get in again. Usually New Yorkers hold the door for the next person and the next person, and I think this will help people to work faster." - Another subway rider to NY1
"If somebody was being robbed or was sick, I wouldn't know it." - Anonymous motorman to the Daily News
"[I'm a] little nervous." - The L train's sole operator to the NY Post
"I very rarely even see a conductor on this train." - Subway rider to the NY Times
Of course, the NY Post details how a bunch of kids stormed the a conductor's booth and "pressed buttons for several minutes." Luckily, a key is needed for the buttons to work, but still, Gothamist imagines they were 20 minutes away from figuring out how to hotwire it. The Times also notes that the new signaling technology in the L ("radio frequencies and micro processors to communicate train movements") won't be rolled out until the end of this year, because the MTA doesn't want to get to futuristic...and because it's behind schedule, natch.
The MTA on OPTO; their brochure tries to reassure hipsters by saying, "One-Person Trains are already operating successfully on the G, Dyre Avenue 5 Shuttle, the Rockaway Park Shuttle, and in Chicago, Philadelphia, Paris and London." And Newsday has more details. Did you ride an OPTO L train? Notice any differences?
