Okay this is my second month doing the Park Slope to Sheepshead Bay commute and I keep seeing the same weird thing: when we pull into DeKalb, a bunch of people get up and walk to the front two cars even though we’re not at the platform yet or maybe just arriving. Is this some secret? I tried it last Thursday and ended up pressed against the door with a stroller backing into my shins. Do the front cars line up with the exit at Sheepshead Bay or is it just people who want to be first up the stairs? I usually ride in the middle and I feel like I still get out fine. Am I missing something?

Ha, old habit. At DeKalb itself the front cars put you at the north stair for the R transfer, but if you're staying on to Sheepshead Bay, middle or back is fine. I've watched people sprint forward just to stand on the platform and wait for the same R train. At Sheepshead Bay the fare control is more middle/south, so front car doesn't really save anything there. Still, some Brighton stops have a north-end only exit, so it's not totally made up. On the Q the front cars also tend to be less packed late night because everyone crams into the middle by the conductor? Not sure that's worth a rush-hour scrum.

Jay is right about the R transfer. I used to do the Downtown Q to Union Square and at DeKalb the front shuffle was 90% people making the R to Bay Ridge or the B/D transfer? Whatever. It's theater. I stay rear car now. You get a seat more often, and at most Brighton stations after Prospect Park the exits are at both ends or center. firstwinter, you're not missing a secret. You're just seeing commuters who learned one trick and never updated it after the platform signs changed.

I thought I was the only one who noticed! Moved from Trenton last month and I’ve been doing Q to Brighton Beach. I always stand in the third car because the app said 'center platform'? Then at DeKalb I see people walking forward like they know a fire drill. I followed once and got off at Sheepshead Bay just to see. It was a wall of people but the stair was right there? I don’t know if I saved time. Does the front car connect to that R tunnel at DeKalb, or did I imagine that? I still come out on the wrong side at Sheepshead Bay.

Okay, so this is actually a remnant of the old BMT platform geometry and specific stair placement! At Sheepshead Bay the main exit is toward the middle/south end, not the front! The front-car shuffle matters way more at Brighton Beach, where the full-time exit is at the south end but even then the rear car is basically there. I've timed it! Front car saved me zero minutes at Sheepshead Bay; middle/south saved me maybe 30 seconds at Kings Hwy. At Neck Road the north staircase is a legend — narrow and sometimes closed? If you’re doing the no-car grocery juggle over in Dyker Heights, check the thread Dyker Heights without a car: the actual grocery setup between bodega, bus, and that Fort Hamilton lot — the bus and lot breakdown is the real game!

Thanks everyone! So basically it’s a religious thing and I can stay in my usual middle car without losing a minute. I tried staying put this morning and got out at Sheepshead Bay with less shoving. The stroller was in the front car, so I guess I learned that lesson. JacksonHeightsJay, you mentioned R68s—are those the older trains with the weird bench seats? I think I was on one this week and the AC was actually cold for once. ForestHillsFan, do you really time your walks? That's incredible. I'll check that thread.

Wait I’m in Dyker and new to the Q. I get on at Avenue M sometimes? There it’s definitely rear car for the exit by the bagel place? But I’ve been doing front car because I thought that’s where the stairs were. Now I have to rethink my life. Is the Q different at Avenue M or is that the same Brighton line thing? I always end up walking the whole platform while the train leaves. Also, firstwinter, cold AC on an R68 is a miracle, you should buy a lottery ticket.