By Ben Fractenberg, MIDTOWN — The average number of subway delays has increased a whopping 237 percent, from about 20,000 per month in 2012 to more than 67,450 in May of this year, according to an Independent Budget Office report released Thursday.
The report verifies what commuters have experience for years, that subway service has deteriorated precipitously during the past few years.
Riders lost about 35,000 hours annually of personal time from morning delays during that period, which translates to $300 million annually, the IBO found.
“After two days of major breakdowns upended subway service on a number of lines and left many commuters irate, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams asked IBO to estimate the time being lost to riders because of these disruptions and to put the lost hours into monetary terms for riders and the local economy,” the report said.
“That the magnitude of subway delays is getting worse is not just a matter of perception.”
The 5, 6 and A trains had the worst on-time performance of all the trains, missing their expected arrival times at least 24 percent of the time.
In another finding about how service has been upended, the G train was found to have the least amount of service gaps per month, with 83 percent of trains running without major delays.
The D train came in second with 80 percent of trains meeting service standards and the Q in third with 79 percent.
Adams tweeted that the bad service was hurting the local economy.
An MTA spokesman said their new action plan was beginning to improve the system.
“The subway and our unparalleled 24-hour-a-day mass transit network are the engines that power a city economy that continues to grow and outpace the nation,” spokesman John McCarthy said.
“Chairman Lhota’s subway action plan is stabilizing the subway by targeting the biggest drivers of delays across the system.” dnainfo.com/new-york