Commuters love to curse the Metropolitan Transportation Authority—with many doing it on a daily basis. The Transit Authority can also take the heat, giving riders a way to explain a late arrival to work. NY1’s Jose Martinez filed this report.

The subways are jammed and delays are up.

"Recently, they've been very late and it kind of gets annoying,” says one rider.

This makes it possible for riders to officially blame the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for not getting to work on time.

The agency offers straphangers a little-known way to do that, with its Subway Delay Verification form. If you're late because of your train, the transit agency will give you an electronic excuse to show your boss.

"They get an explanation from us based on the information they give us, as to the delay they were in—what line it was, how long it was, what the cause was," says the MTA’s Paul Fleuranges.

With subway delays soaring because of overcrowding, the number of excuse letters issued has doubled in just two years. 

The threshhold is high. The MTA will issue a verification letter only when there's a major delay—typically, at least 10 minutes.

Riders can apply for them through the MTA's website or at an office in lower Manhattan.

"The people who request a delay verification from us are caught up in delays that typically last longer than, 'We're being held by supervision.' We're talking about delays for sick customers—which can last a long time—an investigation by the Fire or Police Department," says Fleuranges.

For many riders, nearly every morning seems to bring a new tale of misery. Delays are up 40 percent this year.

Plenty of frustrated straphangers take to social media to gripe about rotten commutes, but odds are your boss will pay more attention if your excuse isn't accompanied by the hashtag, “#ThankyouMTA.”

"When we first went electronic, we had some issues with customers who said their bosses didn't believe that it was the MTA. So we had to change the form, add a couple of watermarks to it. But over time, bosses did start to accept it," says Fleuranges.

For good reason, say riders staggered by the system's struggles.

"Well, due to how often the train has delays, yes, the boss believes me,” one rider says.

There is a hitch, though. It takes the MTA up to three days to process requests for excuse letters.

These days, though, riders are used to waiting.