TRAIN OUT OF ORDER
Says wrong stops
The automated announcements on the F line have been wrong for months, confusing riders and sometimes conductors, who then repeat the false information to passengers.
The announcements are chronically a station off through most of Manhattan when the train is headed uptown, riders have told The Post.
For example, when the train pulls into the Broadway-Lafayette station, the automated script says the train is now at West 4th and the next stop will be 14th Street. Once the train gets to West 4th, it claims the next stop will be 23rd Street. When the train hits 57th Street, it tells passengers it is at Lexington-63rd and about to leave Manhattan.
The issue has been going on for a couple of months, riders lamented.
“This happens all the time,” said Malek Apieu of Jackson Heights. “I don’t even pay attention to the announcements anymore. I just look out the windows until I see my stop.”
Most of the time, the conductor will jump on the microphone to give riders the correct information, but sometimes even they get it wrong. During a morning commute this week, the conductor fumbled with delivering the right information for several stops in a row, according to a witness.
“Every day for a while now, the announcements are on the wrong stop, but this is the first time I’ve heard the conductor get confused, too,” said a regular rider who declined to give her name. “How hard is it? All he has to do is look out the window.” Meanwhile, riders who have their head buried in a book or their phone jump up and run out the car doors, thinking they’ve missed their stop, only to sheepishly get back on. The scene has repeated itself numerous times over the past several weeks.
“It’s great watching people get off, look around in confusion, then get back on,” said James Schneider of Borough Park. “Makes my morning, really. I hope they never fix the system.”
MTA spokeswoman Beth DeFalco said, “We haven’t heard widespread reports about this, but we are looking into the issue now to make sure passengers have accurate information.”