Both Mr. Cuomo and Mr. de Blasio declined requests for interviews. The governor’s office would not say the last time he rode the subway, though Ms. Lever noted that Mr. Cuomo does not live in New York City; Mr. de Blasio’s office said he last rode it a little over three weeks ago, after a news conference near Grand Central Terminal. Both are facing re-election — Mr. de Blasio in November; Mr. Cuomo next year — without serious challengers on the horizon.

The two leaders perhaps do not appreciate the extent of riders’ misery, since they prefer to travel by car. Mr. Cuomo is rarely spotted on the subway, though his daughters have complained to him about crowding. Mr. de Blasio said he did not plan to use the new Second Avenue subway — even though it is blocks from his home at Gracie Mansion in Manhattan — since it did not fit in with his routine most mornings of being driven to his gym in Brooklyn.

The politics behind the transportation authority, which controls the city’s subway, buses and commuter railroads, are also complicated. Mr. Cuomo appoints its chief executive and board chairman, and he has taken an increasingly hands-on role at the agency. The mayor nominated three of the 19 members on the current board.

Mr. Jones, who has publicly criticized Mr. de Blasio for a lack of support for a proposal for reduced fares for low-income New Yorkers, said the mayor and his board members have a bully pulpit and should use it to hammer away at worsening subway service and propose solutions.

“On the one hand, it’s correct to say the focus needs to be on the governor — he controls the financing mechanisms and the board,” said Benjamin Kabak, who writes the Second Ave. Sagas subway blog. “On the other hand, it’s a New York City problem. The mayor comes across as dismissing the concerns of New Yorkers.”

Veronica Vanterpool, a transportation authority board member picked by the mayor, said Mr. Cuomo spent time on superficial things, like adding lights on bridges, instead of critical but less sexy fixes like upgrading antiquated signals that are to blame for many delays.

“He’s turned his attention to some cosmetic changes, which don’t impact the day-to-day commute,” Ms. Vanterpool said, “and don’t relieve a lot of the day-to-day frustration.”