Everyone told me how advance the subway in Hong Kong is nowadays, now that I have a first hand account. I can say yeah it’s true, but honestly though, not a giant leap forward that i expected. The train of course is much cleaner, and the signs and directions are clearer and easy to understand, the commercials on the train just keep on coming at you from the digital board. I guess because I am used to ride the most advanced subway lines out of the NYC subway system – L and 4,5,6 – the different is not that much. (Of course when you compared HK subways with the E line or J/M lines, the difference is humongous) I think the advancement of the subway in Hong Kong that truly is impressive lies with their stations~ Glass door at the platform, instant countdown of train arrivals, in tunnel hologram commercials that you can see clearly even when the train is fast moving, subway stations as giant underground shopping malls or connectors of every fame buildings or landmarks, cellphone signal everywhere within the station, clear sign-ages that point to the right places, maps with pictures of places, octopus card that let u ride every type of transportation besides the subway, and as simple as air-conditioned station……these are what the NYC subway stations will never be able to catch up unless they rebuilt the systems entirely.

Speaking of subways…..it’s not possible to not talk about the transit strike here back in Mid-December~ I was caught in the middle of it right immediately after I come back to NY, and guess what? the only 4 days that I have to work in December – landed on that week of the strike!!!! talk about my luck! first day of the strike I had to walk 2 hrs from Greenpoint down to Williamsburg, cross the bridge, walk past Chinatown to Fulton!!! and the campus wasn’t even open yet!! That night i was like, nah-uh, i ain’t walking in the cold like that again, so I moved back to my parents, because at least Flushing got 3 type of transportation going on – Chinese Bus to Chinatown, Korean Bus to Koreantown, and the LIRR to Penn Station. I rather spend an hour and a half in traffic jam than spend 2 hrs walking in the cold! As for the Union and the transit workers, all i wanna said is that don’t you know 7 millions of people depends on you??? not everyone can have an alternative way to go to work or get to whichever they need to go!! I remember clearly there were signs in the subway or buses that said the NY law offer the same protection to MTA workers as the Police or firefighters – that assaulting them is criminal offense or something like that~ I gotta said yeah they need that protection, but at the same time if they are offered the same protection they should be as responsible as the Police and the Firefighters!!! You don’t see the cops and the firefighters go on strike and totally ignore the needs of the public!!! And seriously, these transit workers actually earn a lot more than a whole lot of people in the city, self included~ and going on strike in the cold right before X’mas?? that’s just not cool~

Related posts:

1. New Subway Trains
2. Subway? nah, it’s underground water
3. DC impressions: transportation deadmatch
4. Even newer subway car on the L
5. The Subway has its own….what?

Tagged: Hong Kong · New York · Subways