Waiting for a subway in New York City can seem like a lifetime, but what makes it even more anger-inducing is the frequency your train delayed — and not knowing why you’re waiting this time.
That is something the MTA hopes to change going forward as the agency on Monday announced a new system slated to go live Wednesday that will not only monitor subway delays but also keep the public in the loop about what’s causing problems in the first place.
“What has been in the books are metrics from a prior century,” MTA Chairman Joe Lhota said according to The New York Times.
That’s obviously not too shocking as much of the city’s subway system can be described as archaic as best, what with it being more than a century old.
But Lhota said the MTA’s new plan of attack will make the agency more transparent to the public and give officials better insight into tracking system problems.
“The whole point is to make the next month better than the prior month,” he added.
Upon roll out, the new information will be available on MTA.info, but a mobile app is in the works, and New Yorkers can expect updates on everything from month-to-month analysis of service to the number of minutes riders dealt with delays.
The agency will use the recent installation of platform countdown clocks as well as MetroCard data to gather its information.
Such transparency would be akin to tools used by transit systems across the country and in London, a city many industry experts consider the benchmark of performance standards.
