Far fewer people filled out the report cards this year, however, and some board members appeared skeptical of the surveys.

“Are you discouraged by these results or encouraged?” a board member, Mark D. Lebow, asked the New York City Transit president, Howard H. Roberts Jr. “Because it sort of reminds me of the person who wants to change his nasty personality: He makes the most concerted efforts and he gets the most marginal improvements.”

But Mr. Roberts said he did not expect big changes in just a year.

“I’m very encouraged with the progress that we have made,” said Mr. Roberts, who acknowledged that New Yorkers can be hard to impress. “They see a little improvement, but they see a lot of other places that there isn’t improvement. What would have astonished me is if the results had turned out to be A’s.”

Mr. Roberts has said the report cards would be a major tool in measuring efforts to improve service and in particular a new program to give each subway line a general manager with the power to be more responsive to riders.

That program began as a pilot on the No. 7 and L lines last December, after a first round of report cards were submitted by riders. The other numbered subway lines are getting general managers this year, followed by the rest of the lettered lines next year.