Bowling Green (IRT Lexington Avenue Line) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The MTA has announced the launch of at least 77 interactive touch-screen kiosks in subway stations across the city. The ‘On the Go!’ stations have been places at Bowling Green, Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Ave, and Penn Station, among others. They allows travelers to view ifnormation about their trip, view service statuses, escalators and elevators, Bus Times, and more.

The MTA will be installing new kiosks in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the Bronx as part of license agreements with CBS Outdoor and Control Group Inc. The kiosks will give NYC Transit a Digital Signage Network that will allow it to communicate with customers at the stations to avoid paper signs.

Daily Dooh

MTA NEW YORK CITY SUBWAY (Photo credit: peterkreder)

The MTA has announced a plan to add 77 high-tech kiosks to 16 subway stations. The kiosks will give service updates, transit and street directions, and restaurant suggestions. The kiosks come after a 2011 pilot program that previously placed them in five subway stations.

The New York Post

Map of the New York City Subway Español: Plano del es:Metro de Nueva York Français: Carte du métro de New York en octobre 2011. Română: Hartă a metroului din New York. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

NY City Subway riders will now be able to navigate better with the just released interactive version of the MTA online subway map. With the new map, riders can zoom into sections of the map and easily access route information for each line whereas before the map could only be enlarged by opening a PDF.

There are also links to each line above the map that will pull up the full list of stops and running hours for that line.

The map accounts for the most recent version of the printed subway map including service changes from Hurricane Sandy.

City Room- New York Times

Sergey Brin wearing Google Glasses (Photo credit: Thomas Hawk)

Sergey Brin was seen on a downtown number 3 train Sunday afternoon wearing Google Goggles. Rider Noah Zerkin snapped a photo of the billionaire co-founder of Google. Apparently the other passengers didn’t notice Brin or his exotic headwear. When Zerkin asked how the development was going, Brin answered, “Fine.”

According to the New York Daily News, Zerkin also develops “augmented reality” headwear. He said it was possible Google Goggles would be everywhere in a few years. Google Goggles, he told the News, are “just the tip of the iceberg.”

New York Daily News

Microsoft Surface Tablet (Photo credit: methodshop.com)

Riders of the S train between Grand Central and Times Square are in for a massive dose of pink. According to Mashable, Microsoft’s subway ad campaign involves coating the interiors of shuttle cars with the same bright color as its Surface tablet’s ultra-thin touchcovers. Video screens play a continuous loop of Surface ads for commuters’ enjoyment as they rumble underneath 42^nd St.

Mashable

Metrocard (credit: Wikipedia)

Now when people lose a NY MetroCard, they can fill out an online form for a refund. The MTA‘s eFix website accepts claims for 30-day unlimited cards and seven day Express Bus Plus MetroCards bought with a credit or debit card at an MTA vending machine. According to the NY Post, the MTA will refund a portion of the paid amount based on how many days were left at the time of the loss.

To file a claim, users can go to efixmetrocard.mtanyct.info and click on “Balance Protection Claim.” Since the eFix site began accepting loss claims in October, customers have filed over 3,800 online claims.

NY Post

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Plans for wireless service to NY’s 277 underground subway stations are slightly off track due to Hurricane Sandy. AM New York reports that 30 West Side and Midtown stations were supposed to be equipped with Wi-Fi as well as AT&T and T-Mobile cellular service by the end of the year. Due to the storm, most of those stations won’t come online until mid-February. The next 40 stations getting Wi-Fi will be along the 7, E, F, M and R trains, located in Midtown and in Queens along Main Street in Flushing. A 2014 roll out will include the Lower East Side and Harlem. The Bronx, the Upper East Side and parts of Brooklyn make up the fourth phase. The penultimate phase includes the Financial District and more of Brooklyn. The rest of Brooklyn and lower Manhattan will be wired in the final phase, scheduled for 2016.

No word on when–or if–tunnel service will be available. Bill Bayne, CEO of Transit Wireless, which is installing the system, told AMNY that, “everyone is interested in that over the midterm.”

AM New York

Image via CrunchBase

Starting today, Microsoft‘s free “Wi-Fidelity” service will be available in hot spots around NY. According to TechCrunch, Boingo will be the provider for most of these hot spots. However, on November 1, more than 200 areas in NYC will also offer free Wi-Fi. This initiative is meant to hype up the new Windows 8 system.

Tech Crunch cited a press release which noted, “Microsoft’s sponsored Wi-Fi is immediately available for users of all Wi-Fi enabled devices in six Manhattan subway stations, supported by Transit Wireless’ state-of-the-art network…Microsoft will also sponsor Wi-Fi via more than 200 Manhattan hotzones, starting November 1. The Wi-Fi hotspots are part of Boingo’s Cloud Nine media platform, a global advertising network that enables brand advertisers to reach target audiences through high engagement Wi-Fi sponsorship.”

Tech Crunch

Help Point (Photo credit: jovike)

Recently, the MTA announced that Help Point intercom’s will be installed in 102 stations by the end of 2014. These intercom’s will allow passengers to receive basic travel information or request emergency help. Eventually the devices will be present in all subway stations. NY Transit President Thomas Prendergast told the NY Daily News that, “The Help Points are, figuratively speaking, light-years ahead of the current units that customers see in subway stations. When coupled with countdown clocks, they add up to the most significant customer communications improvements installed in the station environment in a generation.”

Some customers are more focused on the MTA’s consideration to raise fares from $2.25 to $2.50, and also eliminate the seven percent bonus on the pay-per-ride MetroCard. Additionally, one proposal suggested that a seven-day unlimited MetroCard would cost about $30 instead of the current $29, and the 30-day unlimited would cost $109 instead of $104. These effects would go into effect in March.

NY Daily News

Image via CrunchBase

Recently, Reddit user delverofsecrets posted photos of a cryptic note that he received from a man on the 1 subway train in NY. The user asked the Reddit community to help identify what the characters might mean, and many quickly helped solve the message. According to Mashable, the man handed this Redditor a $50 bill and the note, then promptly walked away. Delverofsecrets wrote in the Reddit post,“I’ve been looking at the note all day, and needless to say, I have no idea what it means. It’s handwritten on a 3X3 square piece of paper with no identifying marks and no watermarks. There’s a hand-drawn grid and at a couple spots, the cells of the grid are combined. The note has random character written throughout it and the bottom quarter is filled with random shapes and numbers.” Within three hours the Reddit community, namely SirSpam28, had determined that the note read, “There’s plenty more money to make. Figure this out and prepare to meet July 19th, 56th & 6th. There’s a hot dog stand outside Rue57 cafe. Ask for Mr. Input.”

Mashable updated the today with new information regarding the Redditor and the incident. Delverofsecrets updated the post to include a message from a user that claimed to be “Mr. Input.” It contained personal information and a new code to crack, which was later deciphered and listed a new date, July 12 at 4 pm, and instructed delverofsecrets to “find the blue jay at six and a half and fifty sixth, and tell him you are the last.” A Redditor who goes by new_b connected the so-called Mr. Input to an IP address at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, a military base for intelligence training.

According to Mashable, Delverofsecrets  attended the meeting attend the meeting, along with over 100 other redditors hoping that he would meet with Mr. Input.  Alas the meeting never took place and since then, Delverofsecrets deleted his Reddit account “after receiving threatening phone calls.”

Mashable

English: This is a picture showing all MTA services, including the entrance to the RFK Bridge from Manhattan. Русский: Все виды транспорта MTA (а также въезд на мост Кеннеди из Манхэттена). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Mobile app developers are making an effort to keep up with NY’s ever-changing transportation system. According to Crain’s New York Business, when Jonathan Wegener’s Exit Strategy NYC App was released in 2009, there were only three other subway apps available to users. Now, there are 56 iPhone apps, 24 Android apps. and seven Blackberry apps for all modes of transportation. In the last few years, the MTA has released data for software developers- the MTA website now provides developers with free data. Wegner told Crain’s that, ““They’ve seen the light.”

This increase in data availability has allowed for the development of other apps, like Roadify, which uses the MTA data along with Twitter and user’s comments to provide real-time information on subways, buses, trains, etc. Though this data availability has been a positive, others think there is still not enough information available, and that the transportation-app world is being stunted.

The MTA has announced that all of the GPS bus data will be available by the end of 2013, and that it continues to work on releasing similar information for thew subway system. Another issue with the transportation apps is the lack of WiFi or cell reception on the subway platforms. The MTA also addressed this, stating that they plan to have reception in all stations by 2016.

Crain’s New York Business

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Some 30 additional NY subway stations will get cellphone and WiFi service in 2012 including Times Square, Columbus Circle and and Rockefeller Center according to Transit Wireless, the firm conducting the improvements. The company launched cell service in six stations in September, and will begin new construction for the next phase in April. Access to the 30 new stations should be available by the summer.

The MTA previously estimated the cost of wiring all 271 subway stations in the transit system at roughly $200 million, which Transit Wireless is assuming. According to the Wall Street Journal, Transit Wireless and the MTA will share proceeds of the company’s contracts with wireless carriers.

Metropolis (WSJ.com)

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According to an analysis done by the New York Daily News, the paper found that the R train is the main connector where VC firms and many of NY startups can be found aka NY’s  “Silicon Subway.”

According to data provided by to the paper by CB Insights, 64 of the 100 startups that have raised the most cash are software companies, and 20 of them are e-commerce firms, and all of them are located near the R train.  . David Lui, COO of Knewton, an online education startup located in Union Square, says to the Daily News that this is partly due to the ease of commuting to and from Brooklyn. His company develops software that customizes lessons based on the student’s strengths, weaknesses and learning style.

The Daily News highlighted some of the more notable startups found along the R train route, starting at the Atlantic Ave./Pacific St. stop in Brooklyn with MakerBot, a company that sells do-it-yourself 3D printers on an open-source platform.  Other stop highlights include:

• AppSense, a company focusing on developing software allowing bank employees to access documents and programs from any device, located in the Financial District
• SoHo based ZocDoc, an online services company enabling users to find local doctors and make appointments over the Internet
• The 23rd and 28th street stations, arguably the heart of Silicon Alley featuring Petflow, an pet supply e-commerce site, and Gilt Groupe

NY Daily News

Image by Annie Mole via Flickr

The New York subway system is the inspiration behind Subwaycrush.net –a NY version of the British tubecrush.net. According to The New York Daily News, the site features photos that straphangers randomly snap of men in the subway that are considered to be “good-looking.” Although it appears that Subwaycrush is intended for good humor, some men aren’t fond of the idea.

“I don’t want somebody taking my picture,” Jerry Baker of East New York told the Daily News. “That’s rude and immature.”

Both the New York and London sites allow men to request that their images be removed from the site. So far, Subwaycrush receives more than 10,000 daily visitors, NY Daily notes.

NY Daily News

Image via Wikipedia

Beginning tomorrow, a new pilot program involving AT&T, T-Mobile and the MTA will be put into effect to add its cellular service to a handful of subway platforms.  For this pilot program, stations that run along 14th Street (stations from the A, C, E, F, L, M,  1, 2 and 3 lines) will gain cell phones reception, along with 23rd Street line as part of the C and E coverage.

The MTA expects all 277 underground platforms to be equipped  by 2016, while Transit Wireless, the company working on this project, is “said to be in talks with Sprint and Verizon for a similar introduction,” according to Endgadget.

Engadget

Image via Wikipedia

The MTA unveiled the first pilot of its On the Go! Travel Station on Monday at the Bowling Green subway station in Lower Manhattan. The 47-inch touchscreen provides travel directions, planned and unplanned services and whether or not elevators are working at their station. Additionally, riders can review shopping and dining options in their destination area. The MTA changes the content on the super-sized tablet via remote, while venue is generated by scrolling advertisements towards the bottom of the screen which should cover the expense and provide additional income for the MTA. The Travel Station will undergo a six month pilot program provided by NYC Transit and Cisco Systems.

According to the Daily News, in the next few weeks, the pilot will expand to the LIRR in Penn Station, Metro North’s Grand Central Station and into two major subway hubs:  Atlantic Ave.-Pacific St. and Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Ave.

NY Daily News

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

There has been a resurgence of thefts in New York’s subway system, as according to the New York Daily News, most victims have valuables stolen from them while standing near subway doors by thieves who reach in and grab items just as the doors close.  The NYPD clarified that crime in the subway overall went up about 17%, namely due to a spike in thefts of cell phones, iPods and various electronics.

The police plan to hand out safety pamphlets in subway stations, increase the number of visible cops in crime-prone areas, and also have members of the force who are trained in counter-terrorism be present on trains.

NY Daily News

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The New York Times writes that a possible NY Transit upgrade of 1,700 old subway cars could mean that NYers will lose the opportunity to hear silver-tongued conductors like Harry Nugent. The now-retired conductor for the No. 1 line, Nugent was famous for describing stops like 66th Street as “eight or nine feet beneath Broadway and probably an octave under Lincoln Center.”

While automatic announcements and digital route displays will be an improvement over muffled static noise and hard to read maps, some NYers will mourn the loss of conductors telling passengers to “Step lively!” or asking, “Hey, you need a lift? I’m going uptown.”

The New York Times

Despite the rise, crime on the subway is still very low compared to past years.  Diaz said, “We feel good that people feel comfortable using their devices [on the subway]…but they’ve just got to be a little cautious, especially when they’re sitting by the door.”

Metropolis (The Wall Street Journal)

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