The f*#^ing "door light"

It's annoying enough to have the God-damned terrorists (and if there's anyone He truly would damn, they'd have to be near the top of the list) screwing up my commute with their threats. I can deal with the chances of an attack--the odds are in my favor--but the response to every little thing that happens when the city is on alert causes service disruptions on the subways and railroads. On Friday, I got on my subway train, only to find that service had been suspended, due to a security concern.

Okay, I suppose it's good that we're being vigilant, and, as I said, I can deal with the terrorist-related nonsense. What really annoys me, however, is when my commute is screwed up by bureaucratic incompetence. That's the real cause when my LIRR train stops somewhere and the engineer says over the PA system, "Attention to the crew. Check the doors. I've lost my door light."

On some occasions, I've been sitting where I could see a door rattle slightly open a bit (just a fraction of an inch) as a warning light blinks on and off nearby. That apparently isn't enough to kill the engineer's "door light", but it's the same basic problem. These things occur on the older train cars, most of which are 25-30 years old, and the stops seem to be happening more and more often.

So why do I think there's incompetence at work? The LIRR has been obtaining new cars in recent years, but there have been repeated stops in the process. Yes, they need to be sure everything is in order, address the mechanical problems in new cars, etc., but this government authority is bogged down by its own bureaucracy. I can't help but believe that a private business, with some strong leadership focused on the bottom line, would cut through the crap and get things done a lot faster. Also, it sure seems like maintenance of the old cars isn't what it used to be. It's great to get new cars, but the old ones need a lot of maintenance (they're old!) until they're retired from service.

Put another way, for almost $200 a month (not counting the $76 for my NYC unlimited Metrocard for the subway), I don't deserve to have my time wasted, sitting between stations as the crew walks around a 12-car train trying to find which door is half an inch ajar.