Survey: Subway stations improving

We are now paying more to ride the subway but at least the conditions along the platforms aren't getting worse, according to the Straphangers Campaign. But the results aren't all rosy.

You might notice fewer garbage bags on subway platforms, even fewer broken lights or cracks in the ground, and trash cans are in every station and most aren't overflowing.

These are all reasons the Straphangers Campaign says the state of the subway stations actually improved in 2012.

The survey was conducted from May 28 through August 10, 2012, at 251 stations during rush hour. It found that most conditions improved year over year.

But water damage seems to be proliferating, like we saw on clear display at the Dekalb Avenue B/Q/R station in Brooklyn and on the 59th Street N/Q/R platform.

The survey found that graffiti also got substantially worse. This subway mainstay is still a subway mainstay: rats. The Straphangers Campaign said rats were seen scurrying around 10 percent of the stations it surveyed.

The Straphangers Campaign says that overall the state of subway platforms got a little better in the last year, but it is clear there is still plenty of room for improvement.