It’s about time!
Last subway stops get countdown clocks after 11 yrs.
STRAPHANGERS CAN now count on the MTA to tell them when the next train is arriving at every subway station in the city.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority met its self-imposed deadline to install platform countdown clocks at each of its 471 stations by year’s end.
On Sunday, the 22 stations on the No. 7 line were the final platforms to get the arrival time upgrade that also can be accessed on cell phones and home computers.
The countdown system has taken over a decade to complete.
London, Paris, Washington and other major cities with subways have had similar real-time notifications in place for years.
For the latest spots in New York, the MTA was able to install Bluetooth-enabled beacon devices on each train and station platform.
The last lines to get the clocks were the No. 7, A and Brooklyn’s Franklin Ave. shuttle.
The system for those lines uses existing technology and is much cheaper than the original clocks first installed by the transit authority.
In 2006, the MTA began installing platform message boards with countdown clock information on the L subway line. Two years later, it was expanded to the Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 lines.
The project on those lines was delayed for years and ran over budget by more than $30 million due to a “fatal flaw” in the software being used, MTA officials said at the time.
The expansion to other subway lines was delayed in part by a budget crunch after the Great Recession in 2008.
Two years later, transit officials expanded the number of countdown clocks by using already existing infrastructure instead of new technology to notify subway passengers when the next train is arriving.
Digital clocks take away some of the anxiety and frustration that come from not knowing when the next train is set to pull into a station — and can provide key information during emergencies.
“We’re pleased to have delivered on the mandate for us to bring countdown clocks to the entire system during 2017,” said MTA spokesman Jon Weinstein.
“Whether used in the app or in the station, the countdown information is a powerful tool for our customers to use as they manage their commutes.”
But it hasn’t been a smooth ride for the popular program.
Before installing overhead cooling systems, the MTA was forced to briefly shut down the clocks in 13 stations due to hot weather in 2011. And one sign was installed parallel — instead of perpendicular — to the platform at the Bleecker St. station, making it awkward to read.
On Sunday, riders on the No. 7 train lines hailed the subway clocks — as long as they were operational.
“I like the clocks when they are working,” said Rafael Concepcion, 54, as he waited for a Queens-bound No. 7 train at the Bryant Park station.
“They really do give you less anxiety,” he added. “You know how long you have before the next train arrives.”