MTA Testing Countdown Clocks On SAS
So far the MTA’s Second Avenue Subway has been a success. The stations still look to be in great shape, ridership is strong & it has helped crowding somewhat along the Lexington Avenue lines. The only thing that has been missing for the first stage is the arrival countdown clocks seen throughout many NYC Subway stations.
The MTA is in the testing stage of adding the clocks along the Second Avenue Subway. Brendan Krisal of Patch has more:
UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Nearly two years after the celebrated debut of the Second Avenue Subway on the Upper East Side, the MTA is testing out subway arrival time displays in the Q line stations.
The clocks were installed during the week of Dec. 10 – and so far test’s have run into some issues. Commuters on the uptown end of the Q line are only offered information about the arrival of uptown trains.
On several occasions last week, clocks seen by a Patch reporter at East 86th and East 72nd street stations did not display arrival times for downtown trains. One observant commuter noted the problem on social media.
“It’s great that the countdown clocks at 86th Street on the Q are on, but what’s the point if it’s only showing times for 96th Street bound trains? I highly doubt many people here care about the trains going only one more stop uptown,” a Q line passenger wrote on Twitter, calling the new technology “useless” in a follow-up tweet.
The MTA insists that the displays are simply in a “test” period and that the correct information will be displayed by the end of 2018.
Click here for the complete report.
Now one can argue, why were the clocks not installed & ready at the launch of phase 1 of the Second Avenue Subway. To that point, I do agree as it would have made complete sense. Usually the installation of the clocks leads to service diversions due to the work needed to install them. So why did they not do the work while constructing the line and before the debut hence no diversions needed? Who knows, the agency has made bonehead decisions before.
However I do have to call out the Twitter user who complained about the clocks & calling it useless. While your point on paper makes sense, it only does on paper and no reality. The agency is in a testing phase so I rather they get it right before rolling it out for official use. If they rolled it out officially & it only displayed the info it does, then I would agree with your logic. The user just comes off as a typical person who wants to find something to complain about which is the trait of most miserable people.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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