The MTA is testing touch-screen displays that would be installed at subway stations in the city, including one in Queens, in an effort to provide commuters with easier access to vital information without the need of a computer.
So far, one On the Go! Travel Station is up in Manhattan and four more will be rolled out at four other subway and commuter rail hubs in the city. The Jackson Heights/Roosevelt Avenue station is expected to get a new touch screen in a couple of weeks, according to a spokesperson from the MTA.
“With On the Go, we are adding yet another layer of state-of-the-art customer communications into our subway system,” said MTA NYC Transit President Thomas F. Prendergast, at the launch of the MTA’s new touch-screens at Manhattan’s Bowling Green station on September 19. “On the Go will provide riders with instant information that makes using the transit system more efficient.”
These travel stations are supported by ads and third-party applications “mycity” and “Zagats” that add local history, shopping and dining options and more to the On the Go displays.
Besides Queens, more displays will be added to Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan, and Atlantic Avenue-Pacific Street in Brooklyn. The displays may expand to additional subways stations throughout the city if the On the Go stations are successful and well received by customers, a spokesperson for the MTA said.
The new displays were designed by Antenna Design New York Inc. for the MTA and they use the Cisco Interactive Services Solutions software.
