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NYC Finally Gets Realtime Subway Schedule App

By Rain Noe - December 28, 2012

in Cars

The New York City subway system is one of the oldest in the world—and at times, it feels like it. Whereas other world cities have had, for years, electronic signage telling you when the next train is coming, New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority has been slow to roll this out, and only in certain stations.

As a result I've become like a parody of a Native American in a bad western, relying on the environment to tell me when the train is coming: You listen to hear the lines in the 3rd rail tightening; or wait to feel that sudden breeze on one side of your face that precedes the train's appearance; and more than once I've been walking over a sidewalk grate outside the station, then quickened my pace and barrelled down the steps after feeling that Marilyn-Monroe gust of wind coming up through the vent.

The MTA may finally be getting with it. This morning they released MTA Subway Time, a free app (a beta version for iDevices only, for now) that's hooked into the subway's electronic control center. You plug in the relevant station and it tells you how many minutes until the next train arrives. Maddeningly, for now it encompasses only seven subway lines, three of them being those useless trains on the west side (where I often forget that people actually live). There's no timetable as to when the rest of the lines will be added.

The MTA also announced they'll be making realtime train data available to third-party app developers, and they've released a browser-based version of the app as well, viewable here.

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Prescott Perez-Fox

11 years ago

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Does it require a network connection? Because if so, it's utterly useless. I've often railed against the iPhone and other devices as being prejudiced against urban-dwellers who spend much of their commute underground, vs. others who drive cars (on the surface). I would hope that this app has some of the data baked in, and doesn't require a fresh ping every time. Because, y'know, subway platforms don't always have reception.
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Ken K

11 years ago

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The countdown clocks are new in NYC (about 2 years), and everyone without exception loves them. They've been steadily improving, with the MTA installing them not just on the train platforms, but up near the outdoor entrances as well. The only complaints are from folks who live on subway lines that don't have them -- which is still about 2/3. The expansion will be very, very slow (read: several years) because of the massively expensive retrofitting required. The limited countdown clock service that exists cost about $230 million to install over many years, because it required retrofitting all those lines to be computer linked instead of using 1950s technology. For an excellent article, see the WSJ (http://professional.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323984704578205870642642436-lMyQjAxMTAyMDIwODEyNDgyWj.html?mg=reno64-wsj).

The new app works well enough for a crude beta. One excellent thing is that it shows the next 9 trains, so you can actually do a little planning. The data are excellent, but the UI/UX is clearly the work of folks who, shall we say, have concentrated their learning efforts far, FAR from the UI/UX world. I can't wait until the good iOS apps, such as iTrans, integrate the new data.

And Bepster - you are correct that there's no cell service inside (most) stations. But you never need the app *in* the station, because the in-station countdown clocks are in front of your face. The app is useful for when you head out the door to the nearest subway stop. Do you run? Do you stroll? Do you stay, finish that beer, and chat another few minutes? Now you know.
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Bepster

11 years ago

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It has been about 3 years that I have lived in NYC but if memory serves me right, as soon as you enter the station underground, there is no cell reception?

If this is still the case, it honestly renders the app mostly useless and appears to be a cheap move sides the MTA to avoid installing said electronic signage on a large scale.
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