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I'd be curious to hear what someone who is just visiting NYC would think of something like this. From my experience, once tourists enter a subway station, all b
by carterklein13 6y ago
I'd be curious to hear what someone who is just visiting NYC would think of something like this. From my experience, once tourists enter a subway station, all bets are off in terms of orienting yourself. I feel like the little LED indicators in most stations at least in Manhattan with the line and time-to-arrival is really all you need.
Or, instead of investing in a virtual map, invest in better speakers in the actual trains themselves so that people can actually hear "now arriving at 14th St Union Square next stop Astor" instead of "now arcshcshcshcsh Uniocshcsh next cshop cshcshcsh"
- RoutinePlayer 6y agocouldn't agree with you more
- zxcvbn4038 6y agoOr the LED signs that tend to installed behind other equipment that obscures their viewing - which I am convinced is someone's scheme to get paid twice by having to move it again later. I'm not convinced that the signs have real time data, it often seems more like if the schedule was running perfectly there will be a train here in N minutes. I see things show up early all the time, occasionally the train don't show up at all but get dropped off sign. It is interesting that somehow the conductors manage to get the marbles out of their mouth only for screaming at people for holding the doors open. I stick my foot in the door every time they do that - negative reinforcement. ;)
- carterklein13 6y agoI thought it was just me that can never get the right god damn angle to see those signs! I swear the ones at Union Square I feel like a gymnast trying to just see how far away the next train is. Knowing the MTA, I'd guess your conspiracy is definitely at least partially true.
- cwhiz 6y agoThey need to just add the digital information screens to all the train lines. It's significantly better than relying on speakers. As for helping people orient themselves in the station... I have no idea. Using an app is the only way for tourists to figure out which direction to go. You have to know the terminal station to know which direction a train is going. The apps will (usually) tell you that. Having digital information inside the train would at least make people more immediately aware that they are on the wrong train.
- swiley 6y agoIt's been a long time since I was in NYC but here in DC they have huge signs visible from the platform and maps everywhere along with lists of stops for each colored train that stops at the platform. I'm not sure how you can improve on that.
- thelazydogsback 6y agoYeah, I grew up in NYC and never had any idea what they were saying in the station or on the train. Over-driven mics, underpowered amps and tiny speakers == total harmonic distortion exceeding intelligibility thresholds...
- rickyc091 6y agoThe weekend service changes are my favorite thing to decipher. https://2.bp.blogspot.com/_F-LyTrM0YP0/TKM7nvWWJGI/AAAAAAAAHsM/7viHVE3Rt4A/s1600/mta.jpg https://2.bp.blogspot.com/_F-LyTrM0YP0/TKM7nvWWJGI/AAAAAAAAH...
- cwhiz 6y agoThose are supposedly going away with this update. They sometimes hide MASSIVE service changes in that sea of bullshit.
- asdff 6y agoOn a packed train you won't be able to see the one screen in the car. You might not even be able to turn your body to orient to one right behind your head. Speakers are a must.
- Mountain_Skies 6y agoTurn the entire ceiling of the car into a video display. I'm somewhat joking but based on the mockups of windowless passenger airplanes, maybe something appropriate for the subway could be developed.
- cwhiz 6y agoOn a packed train you aren’t going to hear shit.
- ape4 6y ago"My aunt's constipation" https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/e84ddfa0-e06c-4026-b281-1ca4c9523489 https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/e84ddfa0-e06c-4026-b281-1ca4c95...
- nicoburns 6y agoThere's a station in London called "Cockfosters". I was once on a train with a malfunctioning announcement system that proudly announced "This is a Piccadilly line train to Cock" at every stop.
- bogomipz 6y agoIndeed. Or they could simply use all of those LED displays that they installed above the subway entrances to show real time information about service changes and train arrivals instead of using them to show advertising.[1][2] [1] https://www.mediabakery.com/AFS3899660 https://www.mediabakery.com/AFS3899660 [2] https://freetoursbyfoot.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Red-and-Green-Globes-NYC-Subway-Entrances.jpg https://freetoursbyfoot.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Red-a...
- Eridrus 6y agoSigns on platforms in NYC are just intentionally obtuse. All the signs on the platforms themselves reference the end of the line bu street name, which nobody knows. Some places name a borough, which is what everyone actually wants to know, but is only ever on the mezzanine levels.
- chaosbutters314 6y agoi hate using NYC subway. it is rarely.clear which train im getting on and where im going compared to say london, where i always know, very clearly. nyc assumes i know all the boroughs and train numbers while london shows you a huge map per train with where youre going.
- dheera 6y agoI really don't understand why NYC doesn't have N/S/E/W indicators engraved into the ground at every exit. It would really help to orient yourself when you exit a station. And before some smart-ass says it, it doesn't help that Avenues and Streets are perpendicular because that still doesn't tell N from S, or E from W. I always end up walking a block in the wrong direction just to orient myself.
- raiyu 6y agoAs a native New Yorker riding the subway for 20 years your suggestion is genius. Can’t count how many times I exited on the wrong stair case.