> this is also in part due to the way people use the subway in NY -- nobody looks at a timetable and says "i'll head down to the station to catch the 6:37 express" like you would in some cities with reliable timetables/schedules. in NY, you just go to the station and wait and hope the train you want shows up next/soon.

That was true 15 years ago, but it's less true today now that there's a multitude of apps (both the first-party MyMTA app and many third-party apps which are much better) which make this easy.

Even Google Maps gives train times in their directions, and they're mostly accurately updated as delays happen, etc.