News Release. Tuesday, July 12, 2011 Cate Contino at or

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1 News Release For Immediate Release: For More Information Contact: Tuesday, July 12, 2011 Cate Contino at or One in Three Payphones in Underground Subway Stations Did Not Fully Work in the Summer of 2010, Survey Finds Best And Worst on Same Line Best: 33 rd Street Station (6) With All Phones Working Worst: 77 th Street (6) Two-Thirds Not Fully Functioning Approximately one in three payphones in New York City Transit subway stations did not fully work in the summer of 2010, according to a survey released today by the NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign. The campaign tested 740 pay telephones in the 40 most-used underground New York City Transit subway stations and found 31% to be non-functioning (see Table One). This finding cannot be compared with our last survey published in June 2009 due to changes in our methodology. (See Methodology.) About a third of subway phones do not fully work, said Cate Contino, coordinator for the Straphangers Campaign. And that s a problem for many riders. Verizon s current contract with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority does not require any minimum number of payphones be kept in working order. Previous contracts called for 95% of phones to be fully operative and in service at all times. But language changed in 2005 reads: [Verizon] shall exercise good-faith effort to clear 95% of all known troubles within 24 hours. Underground stations do not allow for cell phone use. In July 2010, MTA New York City Transit gave Transit Wireless notice to proceed wiring the subway system for cellular service, allowing work to being on the 2007 contract. Riders can expect six stations to be wired by the more, more, more

2 middle of 2012 with the expectation that all 277 underground stations will be wired before the contract expires in The survey was conducted between July 14 and August 16, 2010 and gives a picture of the inadequate quality of service in the summer of Telephones were deemed non-functioning if the handset was missing or unusable; there was no dial tone; surveyors were unable to connect a call to a number; the coin slot was blocked; coins deposited did not register; or the telephone would not return a coin. Key findings of the survey include: The best of the most-used underground stations with 100% of payphones functioning is the 33 rd Street Station on the 6 train on the Lexington Line; The worst of the most-used stations with only 29% working phones is the 77th Street station also on the 6 train on the Lexington Line; The leading reason for phones being rated as non-functioning was no dial tone (33%) followed by: cannot connect to a test number (21%); coin falls through (14%); won t return coin (13%); coin slot blocked (11%); and bad handset (7%). (See Chart One); and In all, 740 payphones were tested. Of these, our surveyors found that 509 (69%) of these were in functioning order. A survey was conducted for the MTA by an independent contractor during roughly the same period (July and August 2010) as the Campaign s survey. It found 30% of payphones to have service affecting troubles, largely in line with the Campaign s methodology for classifying payphones as non-functioning. The Campaign believes these results to be consistent with the overall findings of the Straphangers Campaign. However, one regularly scheduled survey conducted by or on behalf of MTA New York City Transit found a better level of subway payphone performance, noted Jason Chin-Fatt, field organizer for the Straphangers Campaign. He noted that the survey used a different methodology, which could explain the difference in findings. For example, in its Passenger Environment Survey (PES), New York City Transit s Operations Planning Division found 92% of subway pay telephones to be in working order during the second half of Chin-Fatt noted the discrepancy between Straphangers and PES survey might have arisen from two major differences. First, the PES surveys are less thorough. Surveyors do not perform a coin drop to test the phones, rating telephones as functioning if the surveyor notes an undamaged handset and is able to contact a specific test number. Second, the PES draws its sample from the entire subway station population (468 stations) and does not restrict itself to the most-used underground stations. 30

3 Table One Best to Worst: Percentage of Functioning Payphones in 40 Most-Used Underground Subway Stations* Station Percent Functioning 33 St (6) 100% 34 St - Penn Station (ACE) 93% Canal St (6JNQRZ) 91% 14 St / 8 Av (ACEL) 88% Court St / Borough Hall (2345R) 85% Chambers St / WTC - Park Place (23ACE) 83% Brooklyn Bridge - City Hall (456JZ) 82% Lexington Ave / 59 St (456NQR) 81% 42 St - Bryant Park / 5 Av (7BDFM) 80% Crown Heights - Utica Av (2345) 80% 57 St - 7 Av (NQR) 78% South Ferry / Whitehall St (1R) 78% 34 St - Herald Square (BDFMNQR) 76% Grand Central - 42 St (4567) 75% 14 St - Union Square (456LNQR) 74% Kew Gardens - Union Turnpike (EF) 71% 168 St - Washington Heights (1AC) 69% Forest Hills - 71st Av (EFMR) 69% Rockefeller Center (BDFM) 68% Time Square - 42 St (1237ACENQR) 68% 34 St - Penn Station (123) 67% 68 St - Hunter College (6) 67% Jamaica Center - Parsons - Archer (EJZ) 67% Lexington Av - 53 St (6EM) 67% 23 St (6) 63% Bowling Green (45) 63% Woodhaven Blvd (MR) 63% 50 St (1) 60% 3 Av / 149 St (25) 58% 49 St (NQR) 57% 125 St (456) 56% 14 St - 6 Av (123FLM) 55% 125 St (ABCD) 50% 86 St (456) 50% West 4 St (ABCDEFM) 50% Atlantic Av / Pacific St (2345BDNQR) 44% Flushing - Main St (7) 40% 72 St (123) 38% Grand St (BD) 33% 77 St (6) 29% Top 40 Station Average 69% *Source: NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign survey of all MTA payphones in 40 most-used underground subway stations, July 14 - August 16, Survey did not measure payphones in stations under major construction.

4 Chart One Why Straphangers Campaign Rated 231 out of 740 Payphones as Non-Functioning can't call 800 number 21% coin slot blocked 11% coin falls through 14% Functioning 69% Non-functioning 31% no dial tone 33% bad handset 7% won't return coin 13% Source: NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign survey of all MTA payphones in 40 most-used underground subway stations, July 14 to August 16, 2010

5 Methodology: Straphangers Campaign 2010 Survey of Underground Subway Station Payphones This survey is intended as a follow-up to nine previous NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign payphone surveys conducted between 1999 and During this period, we conducted two kinds of surveys. In one, we randomly rated 100 stations. In the other, we rated between 15 and 25 of the most used stations. 1 For the 2010 survey, we decided not to choose any stations on a random basis and instead to rate the 40 most-used underground stations in terms of ridership. Therefore, this report documents a survey of all MTA payphones in the system s forty most-used underground New York City Transit subway stations and reflects the observations on the functionality of 740 individual subway payphones. 2 The Straphangers Campaign trained and deployed eleven staff and volunteers over the period July 14 to August 16, Volunteers were instructed to test every payphone in each station of the sample and record all data on survey forms. A telephone was rated as non-functioning if any of the following applied: the handset was missing or unusable; there was no dial tone; surveyors were unable to connect to a number; the coin slot was blocked; coins deposited did not register; or the telephone would not return a coin after no call was connected. All data was consolidated and analyzed in the aggregate in the period following the survey. 1 In November 2001 and again in August 2002, we released reports in which we tested all payphones in 100 randomly selected New York City Transit subway stations, as well as those in the 25 most-used stations. In addition, in February 1999, we released a report in which we tested the payphones in 100 randomly selected subway stations; in February 2004 we released a report on the testing of all payphones in 100 randomly selected MTA Metro-North, LIRR and New York City Transit stations. In December 2000 and again in February 2005 the campaign tested payphones in the 25 most-used subway stations. In May 2006, Straphangers Campaign released a report on the testing of payphones in 100 randomly selected subway stations, along with those in the 15 most-used stations. In February 2007 and again in June 2009, the campaign released a report in which we tested all payphones in 100 randomly selected New York City Transit subway stations, as well as those in the 25 most-used stations. 2 In determining if a station was underground, we used historical information from and confirmed upon surveying a given station.

6 During the survey period, several of the most-used subway stations were undergoing construction and/or improvement projects, and were not tested by our survey team. 3 In all, 740 payphones were tested. Of these, our surveyors found that 509 (69%) of these were in functioning order. This figure cannot be directly compared to findings in previous reports, including our last report conducted in Two other regularly scheduled surveys also measure payphone performance in MTA stations. New York City Transit conducts its own semi-annual telephone rating in its respected Passenger Environment Survey (PES). During the second half of 2010, PES surveyors found 92% of phones to be functioning properly. Results cited in the PES are not comparable to those in this report, as PES surveyors do not use a coin to test the functioning of a telephone. PES rates a telephone as functioning if the surveyor notes an undamaged handset and is able to contact a specific test number. Interstate Telecommunications also performs a monthly payphone test of 100 randomly-selected MTA Verizon payphones, using a methodology which does include a coin-drop test. During July and August 2010, Interstate s survey found 140 of 200 (70%) of phones to be free of service affecting troubles. 4. Credits The NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign wishes to acknowledge the volunteers and staff who conducted this year s survey: Lindsay Bernard, Ben Callinder, Jason Chin-Fatt, Tamar Davis, Sabrina Fong, Stanley Fritz, Lovia Gyarkye, Julia Lee, Leticia Negron, Kyle Remy, and Chelsea Weinberg. 3 Seven of the system s most-used stations were not measured due to construction, and were replaced in the survey by the seven next most-used stations. These include: 59 St Columbus Circle (1ABCD), Fulton St Bway Nassau (2345ACJZ), 74 St Bway/Jackson Hts Roosevelt Av (7EFMR), 96 St (123), Broadway Lafayette St/Bleecker St (6BDFM), Jay St Borough Hall (ACFR) and 161 St Yankee Stadium (4BD).