What do you think about recorded announcements?

[Kamen Rider]

Please, watch the Nazi Banksters Crimes Ripple Effect at http://jforjustice.co.uk/banksters

[Roadcruiser1]

Although I don't really care for annoucements it's true that some people hate a computerized voice that sounds the same over, and over again.

[TrainFanatic]

I accidentaly thanked your post. Anyway the "This is..." announcements are usefull IMO. It helps riders to better prepare themselves before exiting the train.

[via White Plains Road]

I accidentaly thanked your post. Anyway the "This is..." announcements are usefull IMO. It helps riders to better prepare themselves before exiting the train.

 

I prefer This is....everyday than whispering, loud or static noise manual announcements!

[TrainFanatic]

I prefer This is....everyday than whispering, loud or static noise manual announcements!

 

Agreed! :tup:

[Gorgor]

Well, thanks. This is why I asked my question here. So far, I don't think that people are bothered by recorded announcements.

 

But your experience also proves my point that announcements are useless. Did you miss your stop because you slept? I assume not. As commuters we can sleep through the ride because our body is conditioned to the same ride everyday. Then, why bother riders with useless announcements to people who take the same ride everyday?

 

For tourists? Let them take care of themselves.

 

YOU'RE TRYING TO PROVE THAT ANNOUNCEMENTS ARE ANNOYING AND PREVENT YOU FROM DOING CERTAIN THINGS!!!

 

Ok I really lost my patience. You say that the announcements prevent you from reading, but are saying that my story about how I fell asleep on the subway proves your point. I'm sorry but I do think that it's tougher to fall asleep than it is to read a book noise-wise.

[Gorgor]

I could not have said it better. Thanks!

 

And a few years ago there was a conductor on 2 and 3 who would give interesting (and touristic) information about the area for each stop. And everyone in the train would enjoy the information. I am sorry that people in this forum accept total dehumanization of an environment that they find themselves everyday. Well, no doubt, I am in the minority.

 

That sure sounds like more noise pollution than a simple "This is _____ Street" message.

[MattTrain]

I like them a lot, the ones on the are the best ones!

[bveguy]

Well, from my point of view, automated announcements are much better than manual announcements. Based on my observations, 85% of the C/Rs have their radio on way too loud. That ends up over the PA, which interferes with the announcements. Some C/Rs don't even bother making announcements. Yeah, you might know how to get around, but other people may not.

[Zeynel]

Hello again,

 

I would like to thank once again everyone who commented about my question.

 

Please allow me to state how I feel about as a regular rider of the NYC subway system:

 

First off, MTA is not my friend, MTA is not my teacher and MTA is not my preacher. Given these facts, I don't want the MTA to make moralistic announcements through the Public Announcements system. As we all know MTA uses the Public Announcement system in the subways to preach to the riders.

 

I believe this is wrong. I would have thought that there would be a general agreement on this and that people here would agree about how they hate MTA preaching to them through the PA. Apparently people here are not bothered by the MTAs recorded preaching through the PA, on the contrary, they expect it and enjoy it.

 

Second, I want each car to have a working PA system and each conductor to know how to use it.

 

Third, I want the MTA to make announcements ONLY for emergencies and for route changes and for any other contingencies that the conductor may judge to be to the interest of the riders. I don't want to hear any other announcements.

 

Fourth, I consider any announcements other than mentioned above to be a violation of my personal space. If I am spending 2 hours a day commuting I want to spend that time the way I want it and I want MTA to get lost and leave me alone.

 

This is how feel.

 

But the way I understand from this forum, people here like as much intrusion by MTA to their personal space as MTA wants. People here believe that MTA owns their time during their commute and not them.

 

I believe that my time during my commute belongs to me and I don't want to hear from MTA except only as necessary.

 

Strangely enough, people in this forum consider tourists (out of town people) who take the train once in their life to experience New York life to be more important than their commute everyday. They want MTA to cater to tourists rather than to its true customers which is us, the workers who use the system everyday.

 

So yes in a way I am disappointed that people here accept the status quo and they are happy with the system and how the MTA is running the system. But this is why I posted my question. I was not sure if it was me alone who hated the intrusion to my personal space. And now I understand than this is only me.

 

Of course, I've been riding these trains for 30 years and I prefer the graffiti trains of the 80s with human announcements to dehumanized trains of the present... but unfortunately, I understand that times have changed; nowadays riders need to be told the stop the train is entering in order to know that they need to get off the train.

 

So once again, I really appreciated your comments and I will end my proposed campaign before it even started unless there is a way to find out that general public (outside this forum) is also bothered by these unnecessary announcements. But I clearly doubt that this will be the case.

 

Thank you all!

[Guest lance25]

I think you're vastly overstating and over-analyzing this. It's not as though the announcements go on nonstop from the time you get on to when you get off. They only announce the stations, transfers and various PSAs that have to be mentioned - the same things that conductors are supposed to announce on the older fleets. I have no idea what you're talking about when you say they "preach" to you for hours on end. It's not a church. You probably got a conductor who likes to hear/play the PSAs constantly.

[Joel Up Front]

I hate the prerecorded announcements.... I know where I get off if I have to use the subway. Only if some wacky G.O. is issued will I be looking forward to prerecorded announcements.

 

I know most MTA operating personnel (bus/train operators and conductors) are minorities, but I can understand them just fine. The PA systems on the older cars aren't very well refined, and if they could fix those, we'd all be better off. On the other hand, a nice little LED board telling me the time or something is cool.

 

Yes, the "this is wsdksjqo*R44propulsionsound*ampersandvikingseventyminusfour" street thing is annoying, but we can't blame the conductors if someone doesn't catch a station because they misunderstood them.

[Tokkemon]

Hello again,

First off, MTA is not my friend, MTA is not my teacher and MTA is not my preacher. Given these facts, I don't want the MTA to make moralistic announcements through the Public Announcements system. As we all know MTA uses the Public Announcement system in the subways to preach to the riders.

 

I believe this is wrong. I would have thought that there would be a general agreement on this and that people here would agree about how they hate MTA preaching to them through the PA. Apparently people here are not bothered by the MTAs recorded preaching through the PA, on the contrary, they expect it and enjoy it.

 

 

Since when does the MTA "preach" anything? About See Something, Say Something? That's just common sense. People often don't have it and they need reminding.

 

Second, I want each car to have a working PA system and each conductor to know how to use it.

 

Agreed, but most of the time its not financially feasable to fix every little thing the instant it dies. You can pay for it if it's so important.

 

Third, I want the MTA to make announcements ONLY for emergencies and for route changes and for any other contingencies that the conductor may judge to be to the interest of the riders. I don't want to hear any other announcements.

 

I find the announcements not a bother. Stick your headphones in if its such a bother.

 

Fourth, I consider any announcements other than mentioned above to be a violation of my personal space. If I am spending 2 hours a day commuting I want to spend that time the way I want it and I want MTA to get lost and leave me alone.

 

Then drive. If you need THAT much privacy, drive. Simple as that. Though that will come at a premium. You can't have your cake and eat it too. The MTA costs less because of its conditions. The car costs more because of its other (supposedly) better conditions. Pick one and leave the rest of us alone.

 

But the way I understand from this forum, people here like as much intrusion by MTA to their personal space as MTA wants. People here believe that MTA owns their time during their commute and not them.

 

I believe that my time during my commute belongs to me and I don't want to hear from MTA except only as necessary.

 

Commutation time is not meant to be spent doing stuff, its meant to be spent commuting. Again, you can't have your cake and eat it too. If you want to have that time, go live in your office.

 

Strangely enough, people in this forum consider tourists (out of town people) who take the train once in their life to experience New York life to be more important than their commute everyday. They want MTA to cater to tourists rather than to its true customers which is us, the workers who use the system everyday.

 

Who the heck ever said the tourists were more important? They don't know the system at all.

 

So yes in a way I am disappointed that people here accept the status quo and they are happy with the system and how the MTA is running the system. But this is why I posted my question. I was not sure if it was me alone who hated the intrusion to my personal space. And now I understand than this is only me.

 

The announcements are an intrusion as opposed to the fat Italian guy that smells like sausage who's pressed against you in the evening rush? Goes with the territory bub. Drive if your SO intruded.

 

Of course, I've been riding these trains for 30 years and I prefer the graffiti trains of the 80s with human announcements to dehumanized trains of the present... but unfortunately, I understand that times have changed; nowadays riders need to be told the stop the train is entering in order to know that they need to get off the train.

 

Yay nostalgia! Personally, I prefer trains that work over trains that fool riders into thinking their on the right train then go somewhere else and folks don't know because of a garbled intercom.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

For one I think Zeynel has a point about overkill. You'll get to Union Square on the 4 or 5 train. The stop is announced. You're on your way to Grand Central and then the train crawls along and then bang... The See Something Say Something nonsense starts up. Then they follow that with some other stupid announcement. I actually don't mind the stops because they are necessary and short and sweet. I just get sickened with those two long ones. It seems to me that are set up that way because they're always played in the same areas.

 

Now headphones can be a double edged sword because the people that wear them often times can't hear a damn thing. The other day at Penn Station all of these morons were on the express track when they kept clearly announcing that the 2 and 3 trains Downtown were running on the local track. This guy comes over and asks what the announcement was since of course he couldn't hear a damn thing with his earplugs on and then I explain the situation and he acts as if I'm lying and goes "Well if they're running local Downtown, then why are all of these people here on the express track?" So I go well #1 because people don't pay attention and #2 if you don't believe me there's a 3 train right on the local track if you want it.

[SevenEleven]

I didn't go through the entire thread so I'm not sure if it's mentioned but without the announcements, you will always get people saying that the is never with the updated technology, etc. Just look at how long it's taking us for CBTC, countdown clocks, etc. and its not about the money either.

[FamousNYLover]

Before the June 27th, 2010 service cut change, I was on Broadway Express heading to Astoria.

I was copying R160 voice pre-recorded announcement and when train arrived at Lex Av-59th St, female Straphanger like my imitation and she tries to give me money, which she also got off at same station, but I said no thank you, and quickly hop on (M101).

[Fresh Pond]

Ok I avoided this thread for a while but whatever, its one the few interesting threads out now lol

 

First off, the announcements are there to help people get around from point A to point B, it comes in the general package. Not everyone knows every single route & every single stop. The announcements are essential as much as the signs are. Albeit annoying at times, the average New Yorker doesn't really pay attention to announcements (or signs at that but that's a different story).

 

Secondly, some of those announcements are actually needed. Let's take VG8's (had to abbreviate I got lazy sorry lol). At 14 St-Union Sq on the downtown Lex. Those announcements about the gap fillers are really crucial. Those gaps are a real killer. One misstep and you're another statistic for 12-9s.

 

Lastly, I rather have announcements that I can actually understand than ones that sound like you have peanut butter in your mouth. Got the perfect example...earlier today while heading to work, I caught a R42 train (usually I take the , but something came up). Here's an example of one of the announcements...

 

"This iz Hausee St... to Manh-*gargle*, Gates next, stan clean clothes daws *more gargle*"

Translation: "This is Halsey St... to Manhattan, Gates Av is next, stand clear of the closing doors please."

 

To sum it all up, if its really that bad as you say it is, get music and go to town. Most people just ignore it anyway

[PATCOman]

For me, I don't care about the announcements or which type of car I ride, I only care if it gets to my destination.

[6 Lexington Ave]

Excuse me, I just had to reply to all this nonsense. In every city I've been there are pre-recorded announcements on the subway. It would be extraordinary for the NY subway not to have any. It's NY after all! It is just ridiculous to get annoyed by them. If you ride the subway regularly, then you can doze off or do whatever you want even with the announcements since you're so used to them. Only yesterday I took the subway here in Athens just to go see a new station which opened last week. Yes, the announcements got extremely monotonous but I didn't really care because I'm so used to them. Saying that you don't want announcements because 99.9% of the riders are regular ones is just selfish. Two years ago when I came to NY and had to transfer to , or from the I got so anxious not to miss the stop I needed, because the didn't have pre-recorded announcements and I hadn't been to NY for 11 years. The subway is a mass transit system. Keyword here is mass. You cannot have everything the way you want just so you can take a nap. Everyone has a right to use the subway and everyone pays the fare, so the moment you pay the fare to get on the train, you know you will be sharing it with many other people, unlike your car. In my opinion, announcements need to occur at every stop like they do and be clear and easy to understand.

[Law]

Something interested happened to me, I was on a ( train, and a bunch of tourist ask me what stop they should get off at and why doesn't the train have pre-recorded announcements. This is the reason why the trains need these announcements, sure they maybe annoying for those who take the on a daily bases, but its for the general public and they cannot turn it off just for a few people who hate hearing the same 3-4 voices.

[CenSin]

I just want to see the announcements reduced. I'd shave off the word "please" from "Stand clear of the closing doors, please." The announcements are also too drawn out. They should be played at a faster rate. For other common situations, specific detailed announcements should be recorded. Conductors abuse some announcements too much (which give no information), and some of them don't even know what's really going on.

[East New York]

Thanks!

 

 

 

Well, this is what I've been trying to understand. Why, as a regular rider of the system, it is necessary for me to hear recorded announcements about the next stop, about the transfer, and about the station the train is entering. I know all this.

 

During rush hours everyone in the train knows where they are going. The few people who do not know must plan where they are going before they board the train. Now this is very easy to do. MTA advertises their own site about how to plan your trip.

 

So where is the "necessity" to tell regular riders what they already know? This is an earnest inquiry. It just does not make sense to me.

 

Regular riders are not the only people who use the subway is the main point the other posters are trying to make. Tourists, and non-native commuters use the systems at all times. This includes rush hours. In your arguments, you make it seem as if the subway should cater to you, and only you. You have to see the bigger picture. I agree they can be annoying at times, but they are very helpful as well as informative.

 

Yeah you're right in a way. But there's some really funny and entertaining conductors that I don't mind hearing once in a while. My iPod stays in the car 90% of the time so I don't carry it with me anymore.

 

That's whats that EVO is for!

 

Excuse me, I just had to reply to all this nonsense. In every city I've been there are pre-recorded announcements on the subway. It would be extraordinary for the NY subway not to have any. It's NY after all! It is just ridiculous to get annoyed by them. If you ride the subway regularly, then you can doze off or do whatever you want even with the announcements since you're so used to them. Only yesterday I took the subway here in Athens just to go see a new station which opened last week. Yes, the announcements got extremely monotonous but I didn't really care because I'm so used to them. Saying that you don't want announcements because 99.9% of the riders are regular ones is just selfish. Two years ago when I came to NY and had to transfer to , or from the I got so anxious not to miss the stop I needed, because the didn't have pre-recorded announcements and I hadn't been to NY for 11 years. The subway is a mass transit system. Keyword here is mass. You cannot have everything the way you want just so you can take a nap. Everyone has a right to use the subway and everyone pays the fare, so the moment you pay the fare to get on the train, you know you will be sharing it with many other people, unlike your car. In my opinion, announcements need to occur at every stop like they do and be clear and easy to understand.

 

I would not recommend dosing off on the subway ever, even though many of us have done it.

[Zeynel]

I just want to see the announcements reduced. I'd shave off the word "please" from "Stand clear of the closing doors, please.

 

I think just "ding dong" is enough. And I am not clear about the purpose of this announcement. Is it to remind riders that if they do not stand clear of the doors they will get hit by the doors? Or is it to tell them to get out of the way so that the doors can close and the train can move? Either way, the recorded announcement is unnecessary.

 

People keep the doors open for only one reason, to get in. I've heard so many times the conductor turn off the recorded voice and yell at people who keep the doors open from closing. I think recorded voice serves no purpose. Recorded voices must be banished and the conductor must have total control over the PA system.

[Zeynel]

Regular riders are not the only people who use the subway is the main point the other posters are trying to make. Tourists, and non-native commuters use the systems at all times. This includes rush hours.

 

This may be the case. But I don't care if tourists miss their stop and get lost. This is not a big deal. Let them take a cab. Ultimately, some native will help them and when they go back home they'll have a good story to tell.

 

Tourists and non-natives are not the customers of the MTA. We are the customers. We pay taxes here; MTA must cater to us.

 

MTA must make sure that commuters reach their destination 1. safely; 2. in a clean car and 3. on time and 4. in a quiet environment so that nothing stressful happens to the commuter during his commute. This is why I pay my fare.

[NX Express]

This may be the case. But I don't care if tourists miss their stop and get lost. This is not a big deal. Let them take a cab. Ultimately, some native will help them and when they go back home they'll have a good story to tell.

 

Tourists and non-natives are not the customers of the MTA. We are the customers. We pay taxes here; MTA must cater to us.

 

MTA must make sure that commuters reach their destination 1. safely; 2. in a clean car and 3. on time and 4. in a quiet environment so that nothing stressful happens to the commuter during his commute. This is why I pay my fare.

 

It's all about you. This is where the rude, egotistical NYer stereotype comes from.:mad::tdown:

 

PS: So tourists don't ride NYCT?