A visitor taking the Roosevelt Island Tram recently discovered:
… it’s crowded as hell in here … I’ve decided to wait for the next one so I can get a front view. This thing is a lot more crowded than I thought it would be.
In fact, most of the ridership comes from tourists. The tram gets so crowded that locals of Roosevelt Island are trying to get fast passes for residents. So, I decided to come back another day at 10:30 p.m. hoping for fewer crowds.
And this paid off. There were like seven people on the tram with me…. That means I definitely liked it better at night. A lot less people breathing down my neck. The operator was also really friendly…
Roosevelt Island tram, If you’re going to ride it, I recommend doing it at night…
Another visitor describes the Tram as New York’s Subway in the Sky and adds:
In this video we’ll show you how to ride the Roosevelt Island Tramway, give you some tips for getting the best views, and take you across the river to this little known island. In recent years Tik Tok has turned the Roosevelt Island Tram into a tourist activity, so it gets very very crowded especially on weekends. It’s often like riding a crowded subway, with 100 people crammed in like sardines. So make sure you go on a weekday.
The lines for the Tram this past weekend were very long reaching down to the plaza and stretching to 59th Street.
The long lines at the Tram are not just on weekends. A Tipster reports Tuesday August 5:
… There was the regular extremely long lines for tram (which is expected nowadays due to the only one tram car in service) and tensions were running high.
The crowds were totally packed in like sardines inside the turnstiles in the waiting area as per usual when the Tram operator opened the doors, the crowd rushed in so hard to the car that, honestly, I’m surprised no one was actually trampled. That’s how it seemed but what I heard was some lady saying “don’t push me” (more than once) and then honestly I think she slapped the guy. It was fisticuffs for sure. I thought it was gonna get even worse, but I guess they both got separated somehow. It was not a fun tram ride home from my workday. I sure do wish they would get both cars running permanently. It’s not convenient for me to take the f train back home.
It is beyond stupid and unreasonable that we residents must mingle, even differ, to tourists who think the RI tram is Disneyworld. Do whatever is necessary to RECTIFY this miserable situation for all.
Again, why do residents of the Island have to work around their schedules for tourists? Make no sense in any community.
Today, during the evening rush hour, the doors on the tram would not open – the operator tried to open the outside doors three times and then had to manually open them. I have very little confidence that the tram managers know what they are doing. The operators are doing their best …. but is the tram as safe as it could be???
To the tourist the tram was once transportation for the locals who live there. Once the state took over it is now for the tourists.