Snow Blows MTA's Timing on New Subway House Ads

Late December probably wasn't the best time to roll out those new MTA house ads. Cars on this afternoon's much delayed A trains carried a new credo that made you stop and ponder a bit: "A city is only as good as its transit system," reads one sprawling card, part of the new "Improving, Non-stop" advertising campaign.

Today was a day that could stand some improving. The Big Snow Blow crippled the city's mass transit. In addition to the 500 passengers stuck for seven hours aboard a stalled A train near Aqueduct Ractrack, the Daily News reports that transit headaches were made worse when one A train - possibly sliding on icy rails -- bumped into another one near the Grant Avenue station in Brooklyn this morning.

The News also estimates that some 400 buses got stuck in snow last night and this morning after rolling out of depots. "Those buses never should have left the garage," a bus worker told the paper. "It was a disaster."

Things were worse on suburban rail lines. The LIRR is still out; Metro-North is only now getting back on line after trains became stuck in drifts on tracks between Harlem and the Bronx.

MTA chairman Jay Walder is saying it will still be awhile before all's back to normal. "Service tomorrow will still not be a walk in the park. It will be a tough day. We will have limited service," he said.