4 ms·

Considering how often some ad hoc fix is going on like "A is running the F on this part of the route" or "only uptown service between here and there this weeken

Considering how often some ad hoc fix is going on like "A is running the F on this part of the route" or "only uptown service between here and there this weekend" or "express is local for now", having maps that can instant update and aren't misleading would be an improvement. Not once in the last few years has every train been running on the tracks it's supposed to run on in the way the map says they run. /rant

pixelmonkey 7y ago
MyMTA (beta) app is actually pretty good for knowing about these, I find. And, of course, it'll be way easier to push service changes to mobile apps than to digitized screens.
- sp332 7y ago
  Why would that be easier?
  - mcny 7y ago
    Some thoughts: You push the cost purchasing, maintaining, and upgrading of the device to the user. You don't have to pay for the whole stack, just the application which is basically a web service client.
notimetorelax 7y ago
This was my thought as well. NY metro can be so confusing, last week they announced changes by printing an A4 page and putting it up on a wall. Interactive screen would be a huge improvement.
- delfinom 7y ago
  Several stations do put up extremely large notices on screens. Not all stations have the functionality yet.
kevindong 7y ago
Can confirm that the daily/weekly service changes are deeply confusing. A lot of information is implied through the MTA's frequently terse announcements of service changes. For instance, I was waiting for a R train in the Canal St. station last weekend wanting to go to the Dekalb Ave. station. But then a N train started to come into the station on a platform it's not supposed to be on. A glance at the paper announcing this change said that the N would run on the R track between Canal St. and Dekalb Ave. Does that mean the N would stop at Dekalb Ave (a stop it ordinarily would not make)? I didn't know and the MTA app's arrival ETAs for the Dekalb Ave station indicated that it would not. The "Next Stops" board inside the N train indicated that yes, the N train would stop at Dekalb Ave. If I boarded the N and it turned out it wouldn't stop at Dekalb Ave., it would take me ~15 minutes to backtrack. So I decided to wait for the next R instead.

pixelmonkey 7y ago

MyMTA (beta) app is actually pretty good for knowing about these, I find. And, of course, it'll be way easier to push service changes to mobile apps than to digitized screens.

sp332 7y ago
Why would that be easier?
- mcny 7y ago
  Some thoughts: You push the cost purchasing, maintaining, and upgrading of the device to the user. You don't have to pay for the whole stack, just the application which is basically a web service client.

notimetorelax 7y ago

This was my thought as well. NY metro can be so confusing, last week they announced changes by printing an A4 page and putting it up on a wall. Interactive screen would be a huge improvement.

delfinom 7y ago
Several stations do put up extremely large notices on screens. Not all stations have the functionality yet.

kevindong 7y ago

Can confirm that the daily/weekly service changes are deeply confusing. A lot of information is implied through the MTA's frequently terse announcements of service changes. For instance, I was waiting for a R train in the Canal St. station last weekend wanting to go to the Dekalb Ave. station. But then a N train started to come into the station on a platform it's not supposed to be on. A glance at the paper announcing this change said that the N would run on the R track between Canal St. and Dekalb Ave. Does that mean the N would stop at Dekalb Ave (a stop it ordinarily would not make)? I didn't know and the MTA app's arrival ETAs for the Dekalb Ave station indicated that it would not. The "Next Stops" board inside the N train indicated that yes, the N train would stop at Dekalb Ave. If I boarded the N and it turned out it wouldn't stop at Dekalb Ave., it would take me ~15 minutes to backtrack. So I decided to wait for the next R instead.