Charting the New York Subway's Plunging On-Time Rate

If you’ve had the sneaking suspicion that service on the New York City subway has been slower the past couple years, the New York State Comptroller has some vindication for you. Last week Thomas DiNapoli’s office released an analysis of the subway’s on-time performance—with “on-time” defined as reaching the end of the line within five minutes of scheduled arrival—in 2013 and 2014. The charted results (spotted by Ben Kabak) point to a “persistent decline”:

DiNapoli’s office reports that the subway failed to meet its on-time goal, set at 91.9 percent, either year. In 2013, the average on-time performance was around 80 percent during the week and 85 percent on weekdays; in 2014 those rates dropped to 74 percent and 81 percent, respectively. Worse yet, according to the report, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority that operates the subway lowered its on-time goal to 75 percent out of the blue in March 2015—against its typical practice or industry standards: