BERGEN STREET — The MTA confirmed Thursday that the F train should be understood as a concept, a shared hope, and on good days a train, but not as a schedule in the sense that a person could use to meet another person.

Officials thanked riders for their patience and clarified that the platform announcement “shortly” is not a legally binding unit of time. A review by the authority’s lawyers found that “shortly” can mean two minutes, twenty minutes, or the length of a thought you have about moving to a city with a tram and then do not act on.

At Bergen Street, a rider who has developed a favorite pole said she no longer checks the clock. “I enter a relationship with the tunnel,” she said. “Either it loves me back or I take the G and tell people it was on purpose.” Several other riders nodded in the manner of people who have also said this.

Shortly is a mood.”— An MTA announcement, paraphrased by everyone

The countdown clocks, the authority noted, are functioning. They are simply reporting a number that updates in the same spirit as a weather forecast issued by someone looking out the window. When the display reads “delay,” it is not so much an alert as a diary.

Service is expected to improve shortly. Riders heading to Manhattan were advised to leave earlier than they would in a city that has agreed on what earlier means. Those heading deeper into Brooklyn were advised that they are already, philosophically, on the way. ◆