Turbo19 Posted February 12, 2014 Share #1 Posted February 12, 2014 There is a body of knowledge that New Yorkers gradually accumulate through years of hardened subway travel. If a train car is mysteriously empty, don't get in. Savor your cheese. Beware sharks. But the most prized wisdom is the understanding of where you need to board a train to make your transfer or exit most efficient. For example, when transferring to the L line from the A/C/E or F trains, some use the mnemonic "Down in Front," meaning you want to be in the front of those downtown trains for the fastest transfer to the L. But what if you're a novice who hasn't yet acquired such deep insight? A group of rogue good Samaritans is here to help the newbs.The Efficient Passenger Project is on a mission to put up signs throughout the subway system guiding commuters to the best spot to board a train in order to make the quickest exit or transfer. The anonymous participants have been placing "Efficient Passenger Project" stickers on and around the turnstiles in select subway stations, signaling the presence of a plaque on the platform that tells you exactly where to stand to make your commute most efficient.So far the EPP has only rolled out the signage along the L line, but the website promises "more train lines in planning stages, proportional to demand." The founder of the group tells Transportation Nation, "It's a public, civic service. [The subways can be] a labyrinth of tunnels and transfers and stairways. The project is an attempt to kind of rationalize some of that environment, and just make a more enjoyable, faster commute."The MTA, however, has vowed to remove the unauthorized signs. "These signs have the potential to cause crowding conditions in certain platform areas and will create uneven loading in that some train cars will be overcrowded while others will be under-utilized," says MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz. "And yes, regular customers don’t need these signs to know which car they should enter."Read More: Source Efficient Passenger Project: Official Site Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RollOver Posted February 12, 2014 Share #2 Posted February 12, 2014 I completely agree 100%. Any signs that tell subway riders to use the car that's closest to the exit and/or transfer to another line, it will create severe overcrowding. This is definitely something that matters quite heavily and isn't good at all. Take a look at how some passengers tend to wait for the next train even though they could have just moved over to the middle cars instead of waiting near the end cars. This happens on some lines like the and for example. And then they started complaining about lack of frequent service on their line. Gee whiz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbo19 Posted February 12, 2014 Author Share #3 Posted February 12, 2014 In my honest opinion they (most likely transplants and other non regular users) should learn id how everyone else did. Still I must admit it's quite hilarious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FamousNYLover Posted February 12, 2014 Share #4 Posted February 12, 2014 I agree also. If i wanted to get to AMNH, I look for MTA's 2 marking space on uptown or 10th marking place on downtown . Most people knows which train cars are closer. Sign will not work because people don't read the sign. When I go on n20/n21 bus, I get on C/O's car which is closest to n20/n21 bus stop. If I decided to board n6/n6x at 168th or bus terminal I exit at 168th st exit. If I decided to board n22/n24 at 170th st, I go to front exit at 169th St. If i go on n4/n4x at Jamaica center, I get on last car on either train to transfer easily to n4/4x. It's not just only subway. If I was going to mineola Station for n22, n23, n24, n40/41, I get on last car of eastbound LIRR train. When i was late for TAC meeting last December, I boarded the first car on Oyster Bay train and when it got to Roslyn station, n27 Hempstead was running early, so I had no choice to beat train wearing orange reflector vest, looking both way to make it to n27 bus in order to make it to TAC. If I wasn't on first car, I might have missed n27 connection b/c LIRR was running very late. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokkemon Posted February 12, 2014 Share #5 Posted February 12, 2014 Sounds like something some hipster group decided to do so the rest of them could be all cool and save time. Too bad the rest of us aren't that cool and had to learn it the old fashioned way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peacemak3r Posted February 12, 2014 Share #6 Posted February 12, 2014 So I'm guessing they would want to ban the use of the exit strategy app as well too...and correct me if I'm wrong that app was developed in the MTA app's challenge. Ironic eh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YankeesPwnMets Posted February 12, 2014 Share #7 Posted February 12, 2014 Love it.... but yeah I kinda do agree that it will create crowding conditions on certain parts of platforms. Just look at how everyone likes to cram in the last few cars of the to get a fast transfer for the at Broadway. I do like the idea though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobtehpanda Posted February 12, 2014 Share #8 Posted February 12, 2014 So I'm guessing they would want to ban the use of the exit strategy app as well too...and correct me if I'm wrong that app was developed in the MTA app's challenge. Ironic eh? The thing is, you have to actively download and use the Exit Strategy app. This is just for the lazy, and is going to cause confused tourists to crowd platforms. More importantly, it was a lazy hack job that doesn't even try to meet NYCT's design guidelines Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamen Rider Posted February 12, 2014 Share #9 Posted February 12, 2014 Even more importantly it's not always right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peacemak3r Posted February 12, 2014 Share #10 Posted February 12, 2014 The thing is, you have to actively download and use the Exit Strategy app. This is just for the lazy, and is going to cause confused tourists to crowd platforms. More importantly, it was a lazy hack job that doesn't even try to meet NYCT's design guidelines Considering that most people are glued to their phones and tablets, I thought it was a given. Haha. Even more importantly it's not always right. Exit Strategy has been right 99% of the time for me. There are slight hiccups because some of the images depict the previous equipment being used. But then again, it's only a slight adjustment. ==== Either way, even without 'illegal' signs or useful apps, people naturally start to figure out which car they need to be in for a speedy exit. Take Avenue U on the for example. People rush to the 2nd and 5th cars (or 4th I think) for those exits, even right down to which door as well. Or like Church Avenue , people will always be on the first or second cars respectively. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowblock Posted February 12, 2014 Share #11 Posted February 12, 2014 There's a big difference between a third party app giving suggestions on how to more efficiently to ride the subway.....and unauthorized signs which are falsely presented as being official MTA signs TELLING customers where to wait and board. With the exception of two stations, all cars platform at all stations, and customers should spread out on the platform to board, not all cram into one door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted February 12, 2014 Share #12 Posted February 12, 2014 There's a big difference between a third party app giving suggestions on how to more efficiently to ride the subway.....and unauthorized signs which are falsely presented as being official MTA signs TELLING customers where to wait and board. With the exception of two stations, all cars platform at all stations, and customers should spread out on the platform to board, not all cram into one door. lol... Yeah but this already happens to some degree because people are lazy... You'll notice that whereever the stairs are located is usually where the biggest crowds are, so uneven loading always occurs for one reason or another. The should be more focused on spacing trains out evenly and providing reliable service because it's been ridiculous of late, esp. on the 6th Avenue line, which they marked as having "GOOD SERVICE" all while I waited forever to board a train. Last night there were no trains Northbound for a good 30 minutes. Three trains came in that time period and they were all crushloaded. Took me over 40 minutes before I could finally get on a train. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missabassie Posted February 13, 2014 Share #13 Posted February 13, 2014 Those of us who are seasoned New Yorkers already know where to be for ease of transfers, so yeah, they're probably transplants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Union Tpke Posted February 13, 2014 Share #14 Posted February 13, 2014 This will cause overcrowding in certain cars like the MTA said. People will think that to transfer to for example the NQR they have to be in car X. It will cause more cons than pros. I already now which part of the train I need to go to. I have to know especially for my home station because of the split mezzanine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobtehpanda Posted February 13, 2014 Share #15 Posted February 13, 2014 lol... Yeah but this already happens to some degree because people are lazy... You'll notice that whereever the stairs are located is usually where the biggest crowds are, so uneven loading always occurs for one reason or another. The should be more focused on spacing trains out evenly and providing reliable service because it's been ridiculous of late, esp. on the 6th Avenue line, which they marked as having "GOOD SERVICE" all while I waited forever to board a train. Last night there were no trains Northbound for a good 30 minutes. Three trains came in that time period and they were all crushloaded. Took me over 40 minutes before I could finally get on a train. I mean, the solution to "people are crowding in spots" is not "people should crowd in different spots"... Not to mention, not all train exits on any given line are in the same places, but you would have some serious crowding on the Union Sq car, or the 6th Av car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MHV9218 Posted February 13, 2014 Share #16 Posted February 13, 2014 Sounds like something some hipster group decided to do so the rest of them could be all cool and save time. Too bad the rest of us aren't that cool and had to learn it the old fashioned way. What does this comment even mean? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokkemon Posted February 14, 2014 Share #17 Posted February 14, 2014 What does this comment even mean? What does this comment even mean? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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