I’ve taken the PATH over 1,000 times easy.
I’ll be the first person to defend any sort of NJ or NYC public transit.
I have no fucking clue what Francis (6'3", D1 athlete) is talking about.
The subway he takes home must be in an entirely different realm than mine.
Worst thing I ever have to deal with is the rare 5-10 minute delay, or homeless people.
And 90% of the time the homeless people completely mind their own business.
Sometimes they’ll be stretched out asleep across a few seats.
Sometimes they’re muttering to themselves, or incorrectly reciting scripture.
Sometimes they’re smelly and I move a few feet to the left until they’re out of nose-shot.
If I ever actually felt unsafe I would simply change cars or get off at the next stop.
And I’m not some hardo New Yorker.
3.2 million people ride the subway in New York every day.
Take any random sample of 3.2 million people and there’s going to be some incidents.
I draw the line at track fires causing my subway car to fill up with smoke.
I mean… not literally.
I’ll still take the PATH train home from work tonight.
I’ll risk my life before paying $70 to take an Uber that doubles my commute time.
But that video is a true public transportation nightmare.
My first thought was why the hell did those people stay on the train.
Unless the smoke was so bad in the tunnel that wasn’t an option?
Was the enclosed train the only thing keeping the air somewhere breathable?
Were they truly at the mercy of however quick NYFD could get there to put out the fire?
I can’t believe how calm everybody on that that train was.
There was some panic, but I was expecting way more screams of terror.
Maybe the videos make the smoke seem worse than it did in person.
But if I were on that train, I would have thought I was going to die.
I’d be thinking it was a terrorist attack.
I’d have thought the drones flying over New Jersey finally made their move.
Not in real time.
And considering they eventually got everyone home, I suppose they could have done a worse job.
That counts for something at least.
Their social media account sure didn’t do shit.
They tweet out an update every time a station elevator is down for 10 minutes.
Fuck all of that.
Now it’s about time for me to pack up my things and head to the PATH.
I’m sure it’ll be fine for me…
