As New Yorkers, we're all used to being jerked around by the MTA, often literally. When not swaying back and forth as trains veer around a sharp corner or lurching into the elderly person in front of us when the contraption makes a too-sudden stop, we find ourselves watching as our stop whizzes by and experiencing the sinking feeling that our carriage has unexpectedly gone express.

But by far the worst torture contained in the fiery circles of mass transportation is finding yourself stranded in some remote, godforsaken station, the victim of a service change. Nothing can touch that sensation of nausea when your realize that the train you thought would be taking you to your door will instead be stopping for good in B.F.E (Beyond Far Egypt). This sudden sickness is quickly followed by rushed calculus carried out over a creased, stained subway map, as you hurriedly attempt to discern what magical combination of letters and numbers will get you within a mile of your home. Since this whole mess usually occurs late at night or on weekends, navigating the tangled geometry of the subway system is often made harder by a fuzzy brain. This at least numbs the frustration at having to go through a Midtown station in order to get to an outer borough.

The MTA has tried to ease the troubles of harried commuters by making transfers between some adjacent subway stations free. This is now being done between the Court Square G and 7 trains, two lines long beleaguered by shutdowns and circuitous re-routings. A recent movement in Brooklyn has been agitating for similar measures for the G and J/M lines.

We think the MTA should abandon such piecemeal efforts and give overloaded commuters the whole hog. We say transfers between all stations within blocks of each other should be free.

Of course alert readers will reply that the MTA has been wearing the proverbial barrel for a shirt lately, and will thus look unkindly on giving away anything for free. But instituting free transfers between nearby stations will not cost the Authority much money, and it will save commuters a heck of a lot of time. Rather than suffer the indignity of walking a few blocks for a more convenient connection, only to have to shell out two more hard-earned dollars, most people we know will choose to stay put and take the longer route, swearing under their breath the entire time.

Additionally, free transfers won't affect the regular commuters who buy unlimited Metrocards, as they aren't charged on a per-swipe basis. Judging by how forcefully the MTA hype machine pitches these cards, they must make up the lion's share of the Authority's income.

So free transfers wouldn't overly affect regular riders or take food out of people's mouths. It would simply benefit infrequent riders, people who spend a lot of money in the City, such as folks who like to go out on weekends and tourists. It would also lessen the absurdity of having to rely upon a turn-of-the-century system to lead a 21st-century life. Really, MTA, is that too much to ask?

Copyright 2004 Greenpoint Star/Queens Ledger. All rights reserved.

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