What the Latest Batch of Real-Time Arrival Clocks Say About New York Transportation

Real-time arrival clocks have been in operation on New York's numbered subway lines since 2006, but they'll soon be on the way for lettered lines as well.

1 minute read

April 25, 2017, 5:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Arrival Times

Elliotte Rusty Harold / Shutterstock

In the commuter driven world of New York City, a simple technological advancement like estimated real-time arrival information is a big change for the city's subway lines, according to an article by Oscar Perry Abello. How much will it mean to New Yorkers, however, is the question Perry Abello investigates.

Given many New Yorkers' devotion to habit and routine, according to Perry Abello, "it’s hard to imagine the extent to which real-time train arrival information displays will somehow stoke changes in New Yorkers’ lives so drastic as to alter where they live or how they get to work."

Perry Abello identifies some of the potential benefits of the arrival clocks, beyond the obvious. One of the key messages that the new clocks send to riders: that the MTA keeps its promises—even years after the promises were made.

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