D Line Ranks Lowest in Subway Satisfaction

Commuters taking the B or the D train are met with two very different looking trains. The B has shiny blue seats, highly pumped air conditioning, and designated handicap seats. The D has train cars from the 1980s with matted orange seats and non-digital signs for upcoming stops. 

The stark contrast between the two lines is an example of upgrades to train cars that are slowly being rolled out across the city’s subway system. 

Marc Chasez stood at the 161st Street Grand Concourse stop on July 28, and waited for the downtown B train. He moved to New York from Jamaica in the late '80s and said he’s seen the subway improve drastically since that time. 

”If you weren't alive at that point, you didn't understand what the state of the New York City subway system was like, or MTA and the transit system in general,” Chasez said. “It was horrible.”

According to a new report from the MTA, 63 percent of New Yorkers are satisfied with the overall subway system – a 6 percent increase from last spring. However, the stats differed when riders were asked about their specific train line. Approval ratings on safety, delays, and crowding largely remained largely unchanged. 

The D line landed at the bottom for all the lines with a 59 percent customer satisfaction rate. Passenger Dana Frishkorn was also waiting at the 161st Street platform and described the D as unreliable. 

“It seems that it's never running on a routine schedule," she said. "There's always some issue.”

The MTA announced earlier this month that the D train is set to have the same renovated cars as the B line, but there is no date for that rollout. This news also comes as the MTA announced a planned upgrade to the orange line’s tracks to make the trains go faster.

This story ran on the What's What podcast from WFUV News on July 28, 2026.