How did MTA change the most annoying "be patient" announcements?

[Zeynel]

I am glad I found this thread

 

http://www.nyctransitforums.com/forums/f22/mta-finally-gets-%91patience%92-wears-thin-33026.html;

 

I have the same issue with the "stand clear of the platform edge..." automated announcements on the R line. Why is MTA giving us this advice and why do we have to listen to this unsolicited advice dozens of times every day?

 

It is well-known that to repeat the same recorded sound mechanically over and over to a captive audience is a very effective form of torture. Why is MTA torturing riders?

 

How can we change this? Do people here feel the same way? As a commuter do you want MTA remind you every day dozens of times where to stand on the platform?

[azspeedbullet]

Its required because they want to dont want to be sued by stupid people doing dumb things. Welcome to the 2011 modern society where people can sue a company for their stupid behaviors and ruining things for the normal people

[TriboroughBridge]

Its required because they want to dont want to be sued by stupid people doing dumb things. Welcome to the 2011 modern society where people can sue a company for their stupid behaviors and ruining things for the normal people

 

Like if a woman drops here purse that has nothing in it, or a guy dropped a $5 bill, you know stupid things like that.

 

I dont find it to be torture, just gets a little redundant at times.

[Kamen Rider]

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

[SubwayGuy]

Its required because they want to dont want to be sued by stupid people doing dumb things. Welcome to the 2011 modern society where people can sue a company for their stupid behaviors and ruining things for the normal people

 

Exactly. If someone gets caught in the gap, or drops a penny in the gap filler and their finger gets crushed because they go to reach for it at the exact second the gap filler retracts...the MTA has the legal defense of "the customer was told to stand away from the platform edge as trains enter and leave the station" when the customer sues for the penny and damages and pain and suffering.

[Zeynel]

I dont find it to be torture, just gets a little redundant at times.

 

It is a scientific fact that recorded sound repeated in an endless loop to a captive audience is torture. It’s good that you are immune to it. But apparently there are people who are bothered by such torture and started a facebook group to protest it. Even the MTA chairman for subways Mr. Carmen Bianco admits that recorded announcements cause stress to riders:

 

… repeated looping of automated recorded announcements in stations and on trains is tortuously stressful and grating to customers’ sensibilities and constitutes a form of noise pollution.

 

MTA is aware that these announcements cause stress but they don’t stop them, why? Simple: MTA management does not use the system! They don’t care. Still, the question is, Why MTA trying so hard to cause stress to riders?

[Q43LTD]

A little off topic, none of the automated train announcements don't say "Transfer is available to the M34 SBS"

[Kamen Rider]

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

[SubwayGuy]

1-customers don't have sensibilities. (most of them - we're talking about the general public here)

2-it's not torture

3-the announcements are not endlessly repeated except for the ones about the gap fillers at Union Square, and that's only on the downtown platform. service is so frequent that at most hours a person will not wait for a train there for more than 3-4 minutes. the ones about weekend construction are not "endlessly repeated" but play every several minutes and go through a cycle of all service changes with breaks throughout. it's important to play those because people will complain no matter what you do. better they complain after they get where they want to go which has a computer and lets them whine about it on the internet than the alternative - which is they don't know about the service change, go in the wrong direction, have to backtrack, and arrive late to their destination...and then complain about it anyway

[Roadcruiser1]

By reading your posts in this thread Zeynel it sounds like you are just exaggerating this for attention. I hope you are not because it is the wrong foot to step into these forums.

[Kamen Rider]

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

[Roadcruiser1]

Kamen, my generation will complain about anything. I am almost ashamed to be in it.

[Zeynel]

please, show me where the annoucments are played "endlessly on a loop."

 

 

In my station in Queens M and R trains come every 4 minutes during rush hours. If we count the trains in both directions there is a train entering the station every 2 minutes or so. MTA announces each train 3 times. Then, at the minimum you are harassed with a dozen announcements every morning. If this is not a loop, then it is a continuous stream of announcements and most of the time announcements overlap.

 

Then MTA harasses you with the same announcements in your destination. Then the same happens on your way home. Every day. Every month. Every year, day after day...

 

Announcements serve no purpose. They just annoy riders and cause stress and as you admit riders tune out the announcements.

 

Then why MTA making these announcements? Because Jay Walder wanted to channel taxpayers money to his cronies at Innovative Electronic Designs. This is the only reason. Then he put to his resume that he initiated great technological advances in New York and London to get his high paying job in asia. Never mind that the technology was not even new in 1950. Yes, this is the reason why people in London are subjected to the same harassment.

 

In short, incoming train announcements are not mandated by any law; they don’t help riders because there is no reason to announce a train that comes every 4 minutes 3 times, and there is no reason to tell riders where to stand on the platform, we know that already, the system ran for over a century without such announcements...

 

If MTA stopped making the announcements today no one will miss them. Then why harass the riders with these announcements?

 

I understand that you guys are adamant about not agreeing with whatever I say no matter how true because I am new here and just to be clear, I am only referring to incoming train announcements on the R line in stations, not announcements inside trains.

[Kamen Rider]

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

[chrisliz09]

i love those announcements, they are very helpful and we needed to have a way to force the people in this city to listen, they dont care and do the stupidest things here than say oh the MTA didnt say this or that or they didnt see the signs, so its good that they have them up and making announcements so people cant say they didnt know,

[Zeynel]

New Yorkers have been practicly on their hands and knees begging the MTA to do something about it. And now, after all this hard work, you want to pull it all out because you find it annyoing. Guess what, they're not going to. We, the people, have wanted this for a VERY long time.

 

You are happy with the way MTA handles announcements; you say that you’ve been asking for these announcements of incoming trains for years. I on the contrary don’t want MTA to announce trains entering the station but to announce delays which they rarely do. I’ve been telling MTA to ANNOUNCE DELAYS; DO NOT ANNOUNCE REGULAR SERVICE. How can you disagree with this as transportation people is beyond me.

 

To clarify, let me describe what happens if you are waiting for the R train in Queens during rush hours. You are waiting on the platform and as an experienced rider you feel the wind of the incoming train and you know that the train is coming. Then you see the light down the tunnel and you know that the train is coming. Few minutes later, the train is entering the station and you see the train entering the station but you are still not sure if the train is entering the station and you want MTA to tell you officially that the train is entering the station and as the train is entering the station MTA announces that the train is entering the station and you are finally convinced that the train has entered the station.

 

But this is not over yet. You are told that the train is entering the station but now you are not sure if you should walk towards the edge of the platform and try to enter the train. Unless MTA makes an announcement you do not know to stand clear of the platform edge! You want the MTA tell you to stand back of the platform edge. Remember you told us that you’ve been asking MTA for these announcements for years. I am not making this up. Once MTA tells you to stand back then you stand back and wait for the train to stop.

 

I am puzzled by one thing. How do you decide on your own to enter the train without an announcement? Have you been asking MTA to tell you when to board the train? You want the MTA to announce “Ladies and Gentlement: the train has stopped and doors are now open please let the passengers out and then get in the train in an orderly fashion.” I bet you do.

 

Furthermore, you seem to have a learning disability because you want MTA to tell you every day that your train is entering the station and that you must stand clear of the platform. Remember you told us yourself that you have been asking for these announcements for years; I am not making this up.

 

But now assume that R train is late. 5 minutes passes bye and no R train and there is no announcements. 10 minutes and no R train and no announcements. You are waiting already 15 minutes and MTA does not care to announce where the R train is. You are OK with this because you told us yourself that current announcement system is perfect and you are happy with it. 20 minutes and still no announcements. 30 minutes later the platform is crowded with people waiting and they don’t know what to do, should they get out and try to walk 15 minutes to N train or wait?

 

MTA does not care about what happens to riders and makes no announcements. Some people walk up to turnstiles and shout at the clerk trying to find out what is going on (that is if the MTA did not remove the token booth to cut costs so that they can channel that money to contractors to make more announcements of incoming trains) and finally the R train arrives and MTA announces that the train is entering the station and tells you to stand clear of the platform edge.

 

You think this is good transportation policy and because I am saying to MTA to “ANNOUNCE DELAYS; DO NOT ANNOUNCE REGULAR SERVICE” you are calling me a nut case. I let people decide which is good transportation policy:

 

1- I say: Announce only delays; don’t harass people announcing a train that comes every 4 minutes 7 different ways, announce delays only.

 

2-You say: Announce trains entering the station which we already see and advice people where to stand on the platform and tell people to give their seats to elderly and tell them not to beg in trains over and over again... but never tell them anything when there is a delay.

 

To me the choice is clear: ANNOUNCE DELAYS; DO NOT ANNOUNCE REGULAR SERVICE.

 

Thank you for reading.

 

**END OF RANT**

[INDman]

You are happy with the way MTA handles announcements; you say that you’ve been asking for these announcements of incoming trains for years. I on the contrary don’t want MTA to announce trains entering the station but to announce delays which they rarely do. I’ve been telling MTA to ANNOUNCE DELAYS; DO NOT ANNOUNCE REGULAR SERVICE. How can you disagree with this as transportation people is beyond me.

 

To clarify, let me describe what happens if you are waiting for the R train in Queens during rush hours. You are waiting on the platform and as an experienced rider you feel the wind of the incoming train and you know that the train is coming. Then you see the light down the tunnel and you know that the train is coming. Few minutes later, the train is entering the station and you see the train entering the station but you are still not sure if the train is entering the station and you want MTA to tell you officially that the train is entering the station and as the train is entering the station MTA announces that the train is entering the station and you are finally convinced that the train has entered the station.

 

But this is not over yet. You are told that the train is entering the station but now you are not sure if you should walk towards the edge of the platform and try to enter the train. Unless MTA makes an announcement you do not know to stand clear of the platform edge! You want the MTA tell you to stand back of the platform edge. Remember you told us that you’ve been asking MTA for these announcements for years. I am not making this up. Once MTA tells you to stand back then you stand back and wait for the train to stop.

 

I am puzzled by one thing. How do you decide on your own to enter the train without an announcement? Have you been asking MTA to tell you when to board the train? You want the MTA to announce “Ladies and Gentlement: the train has stopped and doors are now open please let the passengers out and then get in the train in an orderly fashion.” I bet you do.

 

Furthermore, you seem to have a learning disability because you want MTA to tell you every day that your train is entering the station and that you must stand clear of the platform. Remember you told us yourself that you have been asking for these announcements for years; I am not making this up.

 

But now assume that R train is late. 5 minutes passes bye and no R train and there is no announcements. 10 minutes and no R train and no announcements. You are waiting already 15 minutes and MTA does not care to announce where the R train is. You are OK with this because you told us yourself that current announcement system is perfect and you are happy with it. 20 minutes and still no announcements. 30 minutes later the platform is crowded with people waiting and they don’t know what to do, should they get out and try to walk 15 minutes to N train or wait?

 

MTA does not care about what happens to riders and makes no announcements. Some people walk up to turnstiles and shout at the clerk trying to find out what is going on (that is if the MTA did not remove the token booth to cut costs so that they can channel that money to contractors to make more announcements of incoming trains) and finally the R train arrives and MTA announces that the train is entering the station and tells you to stand clear of the platform edge.

 

You think this is good transportation policy and because I am saying to MTA to “ANNOUNCE DELAYS; DO NOT ANNOUNCE REGULAR SERVICE” you are calling me a nut case. I let people decide which is good transportation policy:

 

1- I say: Announce only delays; don’t harass people announcing a train that comes every 4 minutes 7 different ways, announce delays only.

 

2-You say: Announce trains entering the station which we already see and advice people where to stand on the platform and tell people to give their seats to elderly and tell them not to beg in trains over and over again... but never tell them anything when there is a delay.

 

To me the choice is clear: ANNOUNCE DELAYS; DO NOT ANNOUNCE REGULAR SERVICE.

 

Thank you for reading.

 

**END OF RANT**

 

The part in red is where I stopped reading...

 

While yes, the majority of subway riders use the system everyday, there are thousands of customers who DO NOT. I guess they can go screw right? All service should be announced because not everyone knows where the train will stop, where the train is going, if the train will only go part of it's route or what. Stop trying to sound like you know what your talking about because it is very clear that you don't have a clue.

[Joel Up Front]

Wow, implying someone has a learning disability on top of claiming to be an "experienced rider."

[FriedChikkin]

Wow, implying someone has a learning disability on top of claiming to be an "experienced rider."

 

I, sir, am an experienced MetroCard swiper... thank you very much!

[Roadcruiser1]

Wow, implying someone has a learning disability on top of claiming to be an "experienced rider."

 

I don't care about him. I don't find the information coming out of those countdown clocks and other machines useless. I need the information to know what to do and to know where to go.

[Joel Up Front]

That is incomparable to me being an experienced turnstile navigator.

[Kamen Rider]

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

[6 Lexington Ave]

 

This is what we have in Athens. To me the sound is very monotonous compared to the announcements.

[Kamen Rider]

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