“F” is for furious, frazzled, and frustrated – and full up.
The F subway line along Sixth Avenue has attracted huge numbers of new passengers in recent days – most former passengers of the newly abbreviated B and D lines.
A fight broke out yesterday morning on a dangerously crowded platform at the F line’s Second Avenue station. Several people nearly got shoved onto the tracks during the melee, which began after a train went out of service and disgorged its passengers.
Elsewhere on the F, jammed platforms and skyrocketing temperatures have commuters’ blood boiling.
“I’ve been so frustrated,” said straphanger Beverly Hartman. “Last night at the 34th Street station, there was such a mob scene, I couldn’t get down the stairs. It was crowded and extremely dangerous.”
The 34th Street-Herald Square station has become one of the most popular spots in town.
The station is now the last stop for the southbound B and D lines. Passengers from upper Manhattan and The Bronx who want to continue south have to transfer to an F or S to go down Sixth Avenue or to an N, R, Q or W to go along Broadway.
That means “people are changing from one platform to another, which [they] aren’t used to,” said Lisa Schreibman of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign advocacy group.
Transit Authority spokesman Bob Slovak acknowledged that the 34th Street station has problems, some of which are due to flawed signs.
Slovak also said “if people are finding 34th Street platforms crowded, they have the option of changing [trains] at 42nd Street or 50th Street-Rockefeller Center.” Both serve the B, D, F and S lines.
But overcrowding is just one of several problems. Many commuters are confused by explanations of the new routes.
“I knew there were going to be a lot of changes. I’m taking it in stride, but a lot of people are getting upset,” said Lee Freeman, a city worker.
Colombe Jacobson, 23, an actress from Little Italy, said, “Another problem is the PA system. It’s not very clear, so when you need to transfer you get completely lost.”
Slovak disagreed, adding that the morning rush hour went smoothly. “And as people get to use the system, they’ll find their best route,” he said.