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Can You Believe New Yorkers Are Simply NOT Obeying Those Instructional Subway Arrow Mats?
By
Jen Carlson
Published Jul 17, 2017
Modified Jul 17, 2017
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Jul 17, 2017
Modified Jul 17, 2017
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Earlier this month, the MTA rolled out a pilot program on select C trains in an effort to combat subway delays. One of the first steps in their $20 million "six-point plan," it inspired little confidence in the straphangers who are dealing with overcrowding and delays on a daily basis. Why? Because it's just a sticker with arrows on it, more fitting for a kindergarten classroom or Subway For Dummies book than a transit system in a major city, and it was presumably purchased with real money (the MTA has not responded to our requests for more details on the feature and its costs).
The blue and yellow mats feature arrows meant to instruct riders to move away from the doors, but as literally anyone could have guessed: New Yorkers DGAF about what the mat wants. As many commenters pointed out, in order for these things to work they would need to give off an electric shock.
Subway analysts say "dwell time"—the amount of time a train spends in a station as passengers enter and exit—is a major factor in subway delays, and the MTA's Kevin Ortiz previously told the NY Post that the mats are meant to "encourage customers to move into the train and away from the doors in order to improve dwell times at stations."
Other things that cause delays: track fires, a 112-year-old subway system, deteriorating infrastructure, and malfunctioning equipment.
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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