1002. A funny thing happened the first time Kirk took a trip to Newkirk Plaza aboard the southbound Q. After it pulled into the station, Kirk got off and started walking toward the stairs. Just then, the southbound B pulled in. Dozens of riders vacated the Q, dashed across the narrow platform, and hopped onto the B. What is that all about, Kirk wondered. In fact, he mused, had he been sitting on the Q just then, he might have felt compelled to change trains himself. Eventually, Kirk figured it out. The Q was local; the B was express. Riders who switched wanted to get "there" faster. Later, as a seen‐it‐all commuter, Kirk regularly hopped off the southbound Q at DeKalb Avenue and waited patiently for the B, comfortable in the knowledge that, most of the time, the B would catch up and pass the Q that he had smugly abandoned. 5.1