I would like to ask if the Woodlawn Taxpayers has met with Metro-North recently. As everyone is probably aware, Metro-North undertook a sizable expansion of weekend service about 2 years ago. But when they did this, they did not include any of the Bronx stations except for Fordham.
If you look at a Metro North schedule, every station between White Plains and Mount Vernon West gets half-hourly service all day Saturday, and most of the day on Sunday. Woodlawn only gets hourly service (with the exception of inbound trains departing Woodlawn between 3:33 and 7:33).
As a daily and weekend Metro-North commuter, I find this extremely frustating. My weekend schedule is basically forced into 1-hour increments if I need to go down to the city or up to White Plains. Perhaps at one time, this made sense for the railroad since ridership may have been lower from Woodlawn, and we also have the subway kind of nearby. But when I go down to the station now on weekends, I see lots and lots of people waiting for the train (and getting off the train). Way more people than you would typically see at a station like Crestwood which benefits from half-hourly service.
Yes, it is true that I could also take the subway, but honestly it doesn't suit my needs. Weekend metro north fare is $4.25 and the subway is $2.75. So the extra $1.50 is easily worth the faster trip time. The subways are so slow that it almost makes more sense to wait an hour for the next Metro-North (thus forcing me to contort my scheudle to fit their hourly schedule). I even use Metro-North for intra-Bronx travel, like when I need to go to Fordham or even Gun Hill Road.
If no discussion has been had with Metro-North in a while, I recommend that the Taxpayer Association consider inviting them to a meeting. Having Woodlawn added as a second Bronx stop along with Fordham for these extra trains would benefit our community immensely. Our neighborhood continues to change as young families move in. Extra rail service could mean the difference between a household owning 1 car versus 2 cars (thus freeing up more parking). Or maybe even no cars! (My family owns NO car...we just use the train. We specifically moved to Woodlawn for its Metro-North station).
Metro-North's current schedule expires April 2, 2016. So they are no doubt working on preparing the new schedule which will take effect in spring. Perhaps it would be a good time to reach out to them to see if the new schedule can give Woodlawn more service? I will certainly reach out to them as an individual, but if the Taxpayers can do this, it would be a much louder, and much more effective voice.
Thank you for your consideration!
