Harry Posted May 16, 2014 Share #1 Posted May 16, 2014 The has quietly unplugged 450 of the unpopular, high-pitched alarms that sound when riders improperly use subway station emergency exits, an official said. Rider complaints prompted the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to disable alarms for emergency exits located near staffed token booths throughout the entire system, spokesman Kevin Ortiz said. Alarms for emergency gates that are not near staffed token booths will remain in place, he added. Riders and transit advocates have complained for years about the near-constant sounding of the alarms, which were intended to alert transit staff in case of riders fleeing a station in case of emergency.Read more: Source Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYtransit Posted May 16, 2014 Share #2 Posted May 16, 2014 Its about time. People are never gonna learn so might as well just cut it all of togather Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
realizm Posted May 16, 2014 Share #3 Posted May 16, 2014 Great so now they are uninstalling these ear piercing exit alarms station wide not just at a few stations. What took them so long to figure that out, that its unnecessary for an alarm going off at a door exit, like someone just robbed a bank? When most customers simply use emergency exits for convenience when leaving a station and nothing more? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion VII 4 Life Posted May 16, 2014 Share #4 Posted May 16, 2014 Meh... I'm used to it lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobtehpanda Posted May 16, 2014 Share #5 Posted May 16, 2014 I never understood the purpose of the alarm. Any attentive station booth agent would be able to notice a large amount of panicked people exiting through an emergency door; what's the point of an alarm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Posted May 17, 2014 Author Share #6 Posted May 17, 2014 The alarms were in place to draw attention to anyone opening it most likely to deter fare evasions. It was a good idea until it started to annoy the hell out of everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missabassie Posted May 17, 2014 Share #7 Posted May 17, 2014 Don't think they should've announced this... noe that they've pointed it out, that will simply encourage people even more.... Doing sh** for "convenience doesn't make it right either, but whatever Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
realizm Posted May 17, 2014 Share #8 Posted May 17, 2014 The alarms were in place to draw attention to anyone opening it most likely to deter fare evasions. It was a good idea until it started to annoy the hell out of everyone. At 59th Street on the BMT 4th Ave line I observe this alot: A departing commuter gets off the N or R exiting the station. They decide to use the emergency exit instead of the turnstile as it is more convenient. As the emergency exit is used, some farebeater comes out of nowhere and flies through the open door before it closes. The alarms doesn't help because theres hardly any cops from the 77th precinct there anyway to even see the event unfold in the first place. So there we have the alarms ringing like we are about to experience a 1960's cold war era bombing attack with nuclear fallout or something with no effect on detering farebeating. That exit is not a fare control area with a station agent present in a booth so therefore that alarm is useless. Bay Ridge Ave on the R? Same ol story. Thats a hot spot for farebeaters with the emergency exit there with noone watching to enforce the rules in regards to fare evasion. When there is an actual police presence (Usually only during what I can call the 'High School student weekday early rush') the cop is right there at the non fare control exit area so people will not even try beating the fare then. Don't think they should've announced this... noe that they've pointed it out, that will simply encourage people even more.... Doing sh** for "convenience doesn't make it right either, but whatever They did silently pull the plug open the emergency exits at some stations for quite a while, before this announcement. I previously thought it was due to malfunctions but now we know why for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobtehpanda Posted May 17, 2014 Share #9 Posted May 17, 2014 When they redesigned the Chambers St station, they put the northern emergency exit door immediately in front of a set of stairs and had the actual fare control in a rather inconvenient place. It got to the point where the booth agent would keep the door open whenever a train arrived simply because no one wanted to walk around an exit door and a station booth. At least at this station, the alarms were never really on for the four years that I used it. MTA should probably think about relocating exits and fare control areas whenever they redesign stations, but that would require a logical MTA bureaucracy at MTACC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from Maspeth Posted May 17, 2014 Share #10 Posted May 17, 2014 Allowing people to break the rules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedChikkin Posted May 18, 2014 Share #11 Posted May 18, 2014 The alarms were in place to draw attention to anyone opening it most likely to deter fare evasions. It was a good idea until it started to annoy the hell out of everyone. Fare beaters would annoy me and, when I was a Conductor, I'd make announcements pertaining to turnstile jumpers after seeing them board my train... then I thought; "If the MTA really wanted those fares they would have kept the Station Agents..." so I did a 180 with those announcements. Don't get the wrong idea... I smile like Venom™ when I see them getting arrested, there's a lot of hard working people paying their fares and can't claim it on their taxes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quill Depot Posted May 19, 2014 Share #12 Posted May 19, 2014 Good, makes a commuting a little less hectic. They should move the emergency exits to less convienent spots in my opinion to deter farebeaters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mediccjh Posted May 21, 2014 Share #13 Posted May 21, 2014 Everytime I see one go through the gate, I say out loud, "Gee, I wonder what the emergency is?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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