Transit Authority
Q: Bus stops in New York have bus schedules prominently displayed. Why are there no schedules posted on subway platforms?
A: First, I commend you for even being aware of subway schedules. Every time I suggest to a friend or colleague that they check a subway schedule before an early morning flight, he or she is surprised to find out they exist.
Getting hold of one is the hard part. Occasionally a schedule is posted on the subway platform, albeit not prominently. They're usually in those rectangular glass cases attached to the painted steel support beams. I'm not talking about the big standalone map display cases in the middle of the platform. The schedule cases are approximately the size of a sheet of paper. Each case can hold only a single schedule for one subway line. The text is small and difficult to read. If the glass is vandalized, reading the schedule is almost impossible.
Why schedules aren't posted alongside the maps is beyond me, and unfortunately no one from New York City Transit was available to explain. Even getting a schedule from token clerks is difficult - I had to ask at three different booths to get schedules for the nos. 2 and 3 trains.
The Transit spokesman, Charles Seaton, did note that the schedules are available on the Web, at Trips123.com and mta.info. He recommended downloading and printing the schedule for lines that travelers commonly use.
Of course, even with schedule in hand, it takes some concentration to decipher it. A schedule card for a given line shows six different schedules: northbound and southbound schedules for weekdays, Saturday, and Sunday. Once I located the right part of the schedule, I discovered the card only lists eight or nine major stops along the line, so I had to interpolate when the train would arrive at my stop.
Of course, I don't want to come down too hard on the schedule, since it does have its uses. Unbelievable as it may sound, the subways run close to on time. Having the schedule in hand could mean less waiting on the platform, especially when trains run less often - late at night and early in the morning. To take a random example, the New York City Marathon is this weekend. The first shuttle bus to Staten Island leaves the public library Main Branch at 6 a.m. A look at the schedule will save runners time waiting on the platform and allow them to coordinate transfers. At 5 a.m., isn't a little advance planning worth it?
Got a question about getting around New York? Send it to transit@nysun.com.
