Bastion falls
“I’m worried a little about all the noise if people are talking all the time - the cacophony of all these voices together,” she said. Samantha Lopez, a nonprofit executive in her 40s, was reading a print copy of the novel “Sweetbitter.” She said she preferred to read on the subway and would only occasionally use cell service. A woman sat on a bench using the station’s new cell service to chat on her phone. success.”Īt the Ninth Street subway station in Brooklyn on a recent morning, a countdown clock was installed above the platform but not yet turned on. Riders Alliance, an advocacy group that often criticizes the authority, released a report last month calling the new clocks an “unmitigated M.T.A. Officials plan to introduce them at more stations on those lines starting in March and then on the C and E lines.
#BASTION FALLS BLUETOOTH#
Using a new technology that relies on Bluetooth devices, the authority has tested countdown screens at stations on the N, Q and R lines in Manhattan. Only four underground stations slated for renovations do not have service yet: the South Ferry stop in Manhattan, and the Prospect Avenue, 53rd Street and Bay Ridge Avenue stops in Brooklyn, officials said.Īt the same time, countdown clocks are coming to the lettered subway lines - a perk that riders of the numbered lines have long enjoyed. Transit Wireless paid more than $300 million to build the network, which includes 120 miles of fiber optic cables, and the company shares revenue from cell service providers and advertising with the authority. Nearly a decade ago, a company called Transit Wireless secured a deal with the authority to wire the stations, but the project was complex and progress had been relatively slow until the last year. Cuomo, a Democrat who effectively controls the authority, pressed officials to speed up the rollout. The service also arrived earlier than scheduled after Mr.
Stringer, the city comptroller, released a report this month that found the service was operating well, according to auditors who visited the stations to test the networks. DeFalco said in a statement.Įarly reviews of the cell and Wi-Fi service have been mostly positive. “Free Wi-Fi and cell connectivity underground doesn’t come at the expense of service improvements for riders,” Ms. “Good, regular, frequent subway service is far more important than having cellphones.”īeth DeFalco, a spokeswoman for the authority, said officials were, in fact, working to improve subway service, noting that the authority’s $29.5 billion capital plan would pay for new signals and other upgrades. “This is a frill,” David Gurin, 76, a retired city transportation official, said as he waited for a train at the newly connected station at Fourth Avenue and Ninth Street in Brooklyn. It now faces a $2.5 billion budget deficit in 2025 and consistently low ridership. Woes : The Metropolitan Transportation Authority had already been heavy in debt before the pandemic. This is what it could mean for New Yorkers. Penn Station: New York State officials have approved a sweeping redevelopment of Midtown Manhattan that would transform Pennsylvania Station.On the bright side, the system’s tunnels should get cellphone service in the coming years. Subway: Few subway stations in the city have air-conditioned platforms.Congestion Pricing: It could soon cost $23 to drive through Manhattan, as the city moves toward introducing a tolling program to reduce traffic.