View source for Straphangers Campaign

{{Infobox company
|name=NYPIRG's Straphangers Campaign
|logo=<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Takeaction2.gif]] -->
|type=Nonprofit
|foundation=1979
|location_city=[[New York City]]
|location_country=[[United States]]
|key_people=[[Gene Russianoff]]
|industry=[[Nonprofit]] & [[Activism]]
|homepage=[http://www.straphangers.org Straphangers Campaign]
}}

The '''Straphangers Campaign''' is a [[New York City]]-based [[transit (transportation)|transit]] interest group that advocates on behalf of riders of public transport.  The organization is part of the [[NYPIRG]] (New York Public Interest Research Group).

The Straphangers Campaign's main spokesperson and staff [[Lawyer|attorney]] is  [[Gene Russianoff]]. "For three decades, Gene Russianoff, the staff lawyer for the New York Public Interest Research Group’s Straphangers Campaign, has championed the rights of subway riders," according to a 2010 profile in ''The New&nbsp;York Times''.<ref>{{harvtxt|Gootman|2010|}}</ref><ref>Chan, Sewell (03-13-2009), "[http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/13/mta-warns-of-dire-fiscal-picture/ MTA warns of dire fiscal picture]," ''New York Times'' City Room blog.</ref>

The group's name is derived from the [[colloquialism|colloquial]] term "[[straphanger]]" for transit riders who gripped the hanging [[leather]] straps to keep their balance while the vehicle was in motion.

==Reports and surveys==
The ''Pokey Awards'', a product of the Straphangers Campaign, tells the public which bus is the slowest in the city. They have been announced annually since 2002.

The Straphangers Campaign also conducts annual surveys checking the performance of all subway lines. Key factors include timeliness, reliability (service breakdowns), seating availability, clarity of announcements, and cleanliness (dirtiness is colloquially called "schmutz"). A separate survey checks the performance of public pay telephones in subway stations.<ref>{{harvtxt|Haughney|2011}}</ref>

In 2006 the bus "Schleppie Awards" were given to the bus lines that rated worst in "bunching," with major gaps in service (essentially, amount of deviation from posted timetables). The {{NYC bus link|M1}} bus in Manhattan "won", with 27.6% unreliability.

The Straphangers Campaign also rates the subway each year in a report called ''State of the Subways Report Card'', ranking each service from best to worst based on their performances in six categories. The 7 was ranked best the most, winning seven times, including the first report card in 1997. The [[C (New York City Subway service)|C]] has been rated the lowest the most, losing six times, last in 2012.

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Citation |last=Gootman |first=Elissa |title=A Day Without a Train |date=22 October 2010 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/24/nyregion/24routine.html?_r=0 |work=The New York Times |issue=The Subway Issue |series=Sunday Routine |at=Regional |access-date=8 December 2012}}
* {{Citation |last=Haughney |first=Christine |title=R Line is 'schmutziest,' survey says |date=5 May 2011 |url=http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/05/r-line-is-schmutziest-survey-says |work=The New York Times |series=City Room |access-date=7 December 2012}}
*[http://www.straphangers.org/ Straphangers Campaign official website]
*[http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/archivalcollections/pdf/6147.pdf NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign records, 1962-2007] Manuscripts and Archives, New York Public Library.

{{Transportation in New York City|state=collapsed}}
{{People associated with Public Interest Research Group |state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Organizations based in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Transportation in New York City]]
[[Category:New York Public Interest Research Group]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1979]]
[[Category:Public transport advocacy organizations]]