Try doing this on any other line. via The Brooklyn Paper

Look, we all like to goof on the G train and how the approximate wait time for one is “eons” and how it’s always split into two because the MTA hates it and Brooklyn. You can’t blame the G train for everything though, like getting in the way of your lousy romantic choices, yet that’s exactly what a bunch of people whining to DNAInfo did this morning. Shut up, you babies, the G train isn’t killing your love life. (more…)

It WILL exist. via Brooklyn Pix

Well, OK, we admit it, we were Skeptical Sallys about the Smith-9th Street station ever re-opening. Can you blame us? Oh really, you can? Because we all know the MTA just moves sooo fast on things. Well, whatever, let’s stop fighting and just focus on the good news: the Smith-9th Street has an official opening date, Friday, April 26 at 10:30am.

We will reopen the Smith-9th Streets station next Friday at 10:30am. #MTA

— Kevin Ortiz (@MTA_NYCT_Vocero) April 19, 2013

So, which transit nerd is gonna be the first one through the turnstile?

Everyone wants a piece of it. via Flickr user gmpicket

Transit nerds across the city rejoiced today, because the MTA released 2012′s ridership figures today. Data, precious data! What are some things we should care about here? Weekday ridership went up 1.8% from 2011, which is why you struggled to find a seat two out of every seven days you rode the train. Also, Atlantic Av-Pacific Street (nope, not calling it Barclays) was the busiest station in all of Brooklyn, moving an astounding 11.5 million people through its turnstiles. And last but not least, the G train had the biggest increase in ridership out of all the lines in the system. Suck on that, 2 train! (more…)

It DOES exist. via Brooklyn Pix

It’s always weird to report on good news about the G train. In part because no matter what the good news is, it’s never “The MTA has decided waiting six years for a G train might be too long.” But, you take what you can get we suppose, and we will certainly take this news. After an endless era of construction, the Smith-9th Street station will finally be ready for you to stand around and crane your neck down the tracks. (more…)

Study hard, guys, study hard. via Flickr user The Eyes of New York

The Riders Alliance has been working tirelessly to publicize the plight of the humble G train rider, from the lack of reasonable transfers to insane service disruptions to waiting for 100 days and 100 nights for the train to show up on a weekend. According to the Daily News, the MTA finally heard your cries and has promised action. Are they going to increase service? Give you a transfer between the G and the J? Even better: they’ve commissioned a study! (more…)

Wait for it…wait for it… via Flickr user Stephen Rees

The Helvetica-laden notes from the MTA’s January Transit & Bus Committee meeting are out, and boy, are they scintillating. Besides discussing cash deficits, ridership statistics, and something called the “obsolescence reserve,” they also released some handy charts detailing wait times that subway riders have been subjected to in the last two years. So if you felt like G train service was especially crappy last year, well, you might be right. (more…)

It’s a noble train, yes it is. via Flickr user gmpicket

We’ve got to hand it to the Riders Alliance: they want better service on the G train just like you and I do, but instead of drunkenly bitching about it on the platform late at night, they’ve been out on the streets fighting for it. It looks like their push is gaining momentum, because after holding a meeting and petitioning about it, they’re taking the next, funnest step in public advocacy: they’re holding a rally, what with the chants and the signs and the feeling of bonhomie, this Sunday. (more…)

That’s gonna be me up front. via Flickr user Se Mo

When it comes to New Year’s resolutions, I try to avoid them. Just not that big on self-improvement. Yet there’s still so many things I haven’t done in Brooklyn, or haven’t done enough that I’m willing to try to commit to making them happen. Like, say, staying on the Cyclone after riding once and sitting up front the second time. Eating more vegan comfort food. Going to the Rockaways more than just one or two times this summer. Drinking at every dive bar. I’m gonna determine once and for all whether or not East Williamsburg is a neighborhood and bite the bullet and go to a Nets’ game (and boo the crap out of them). Help rebuild. Stand up for the G train. Actually go to brunch sometimes, weekend or weekday. See more than one movie outdoors this summer, since you never know who’s gonna be there. Have an affair (which can be helped along by $1 oysters). Hell, maybe I’ll even try playing soccer since we have those new fields. What about you? How are you going to make 2013, if not better, at least more interesting than 2012?

You don’t have to resort to anything this desperate…yet. Photo via Flickr user deltacbravo

If you’ve spent any time standing on a G train platform and staring down the tunnel, wondering where the hell the train is, we’ve got a way for you to make a dent in the waiting game. Fresh off their meeting to sketch out plans for getting better G service, the Riders Alliance is taking things to the streets this weekend with a petition drive. (more…)

Skipping down the platform? More like sprinting. Photo by mili005 on Instagram.

Ah the G Train, the line that we love, except when we hate it. Did you notice it was normal, full platform, length for a hot minute last week, quickly become comfortable with the reasonableness of that, and then miss the train after wildly sprinting a half mile when it resumed short bus service just as suddenly? If are one of the flailing fools dependent on the G Train you can attend a meeting of the Riders Alliance–a grassroots NYC transit improvement advocacy group–for a G Train Planning Meeting tonight, Nov. 27, at 6:30pm (El Puente Che Institute, 289 Grand St., RSVP).

(more…)