Jef Nickerson
Image (cc) MTAPhotos
New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority has begun rolling out these interactive kiosks in subway stations.
The sleek, stainless steel enclosure supports a large screen with a colorful display, offering customers information about their entire trip, from planning with Trip Planner , real-time service status, escalator & elevator status and local neighborhood maps. In addition, the MTA has partnered with third party developers to include applications which provide additional information, such as local history, shopping and dining options nearby provided by third-party applications Zagat, myCitiapp, and History Bus. As added features, the screens will provide news and weather information. Taken together, this is an unprecedented amount of information made available to subway and commuter rail customers in one handy tool.
Pretty cool. I’m heading to New York next month and will try to find one.
Bring one home, ok?
I’m really curious to find out how these hold up in New York, tagging, stickers, scratchiti… The MetroCard machines seemed to hold up well, but these look much more delicate than them.
As a former New Yorker, I think these things are pretty horrifying. They are an extension of the ongoing Disneyfacation of the city, and the increasing inescapably of constant audio and advertising stimulation (like the obnoxious TVs in the back of cabs). I understand that there is a certain type of tourist who will find this to be useful, but I do think there are risks in designing systems that are appealing to tourists but annoying to residents. Tourism is great as a part of the economy, but NYC seems to be more and more attractive to tourists while becoming less and less livable for residents.
Sigh. Here’s a service that would’ve been useful to passengers – a map displaying all connecting services – turned into a bonanza useful mainly to advertisers.