By Philip Newman
Transit officials have scheduled the installation of countdown clocks by year’s end at three Bronx stations so straphangers will no longer have to lean over subway tracks to determine when the next train is coming.
The clocks, long in use in London and some other European transit systems and on the L line since 2007, are due to be in operation at the Longwood Avenue, Brook Avenue and East 149th Street stations by the end of December, transit officials said. The new technology tells riders how many minutes remain until the next train arrives.
The New York City Transit Authority’s $200 million countdown clock plan includes 150 stations on the Nos. 1 through 6 lines, although dates of completion are not certain, according to Mark Bienstock of New York City Transit.
The TA also plans to install countdown clocks on the 50th Street crosstown bus line in Manhattan. The clocks are already in use on the 34th Street crosstown bus route.
Jeremy Soffin, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said “a commuter’s trip is made more stressful because of not knowing when the next train is coming. This technology will provide a better customer experience.”
The countdown clocks are an element of mass transit of particular interest to Jay Walder, the new MTA chairman.
“Leaning over the tracks and squinting in search of oncoming headlights is not a modern-day method of determining when your next train is due to arrive,” Walder said not long after arriving at the MTA.
Reach contributing writer Philip Newman by e-mail at timesledgernews@cnglocal.com or phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 136.
