3 ms·

The NYC Subway has a timetable, except no one gives a shit because it has very little relation to real life.

toxik 6y ago
That’s pretty strange though, I don’t think I’ve seen a subway with a time table before. It’s too frequent for it to matter in the first place, you just need to know when the next train towards your destination is coming!
- NikolaeVarius 6y ago
  Available at https://new.mta.info/schedules https://new.mta.info/schedules If you dont have one, how do you measure performance of the system?
  - bobthepanda 6y ago
    Various approaches. One could make the argument that a train showing up ten minutes late vs one on time doesn't really matter to a person so long as it shows up within a reasonable time of them getting to the station and it still takes them to their destination on time. If the headways are five minutes and every single train is running at the same speed just five minutes late, this is a distinction that doesn't matter to the passenger.
- bobthepanda 6y ago
  It has a timetable primarily because - due to all the merging in and out throughout the system, trains need to be in the right place at the right time or merging delays will cascade throughout the system - for purposes of employee scheduling, you need to make sure that the right employees are in the right place at the right time; generally a train leaving a terminal is being driven by a crew that had to come in from somewhere else.
  - nerdponx 6y ago
    It's also still useful as a general approximation for "how long should I expect to wait for the next train". Same with the bus lines.
    - viraptor 6y ago
      Isn't that a different idea than a timetable? "We're aiming for one train every 10min" and "there's a train at 12.10, 12.20, 12.30" are similar, but not quite the same. You can get your approximation without a timetable though.
      - dredmorbius 6y ago
        Tracked vehicles require centralised traffic management and scheduling as they cannot casually overtake one another as street traffic can, and setting switching points and clearing control blocks is required for safety. Passengers transferring to other lines or transit modes may also appreciate predictability. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralized_traffic_control https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralized_traffic_control
- xapata 6y ago
  > too frequent Depends on the line and destination.

That’s pretty strange though, I don’t think I’ve seen a subway with a time table before. It’s too frequent for it to matter in the first place, you just need to know when the next train towards your destination is coming!

NikolaeVarius 6y ago
Available at https://new.mta.info/schedules https://new.mta.info/schedules If you dont have one, how do you measure performance of the system?
- bobthepanda 6y ago
  Various approaches. One could make the argument that a train showing up ten minutes late vs one on time doesn't really matter to a person so long as it shows up within a reasonable time of them getting to the station and it still takes them to their destination on time. If the headways are five minutes and every single train is running at the same speed just five minutes late, this is a distinction that doesn't matter to the passenger.
bobthepanda 6y ago
It has a timetable primarily because - due to all the merging in and out throughout the system, trains need to be in the right place at the right time or merging delays will cascade throughout the system - for purposes of employee scheduling, you need to make sure that the right employees are in the right place at the right time; generally a train leaving a terminal is being driven by a crew that had to come in from somewhere else.
- nerdponx 6y ago
  It's also still useful as a general approximation for "how long should I expect to wait for the next train". Same with the bus lines.
  - viraptor 6y ago
    Isn't that a different idea than a timetable? "We're aiming for one train every 10min" and "there's a train at 12.10, 12.20, 12.30" are similar, but not quite the same. You can get your approximation without a timetable though.
    - dredmorbius 6y ago
      Tracked vehicles require centralised traffic management and scheduling as they cannot casually overtake one another as street traffic can, and setting switching points and clearing control blocks is required for safety. Passengers transferring to other lines or transit modes may also appreciate predictability. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralized_traffic_control https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralized_traffic_control
xapata 6y ago
> too frequent Depends on the line and destination.