New subway arrival announcements

Whatever triggers the bell for Ashmont and the whistle for Braintree can be used to trip a relay for any computer system. If the trains can be announced in JFK as they leave the Andrew tunnel and distinguish which one is which(Ashmont bound or Braintree bound), it should be simpler to tweak the system to distinguish what announcement is played when they are coming up two completely different tracks from the south! Thats pure logic, just shows the system is still in need of adjustments, and I can only imagine Park Street must be a jumble as well!

fm535 wrote:Whatever triggers the bell for Ashmont and the whistle for Braintree can be used to trip a relay for any computer system. If the trains can be announced in JFK as they leave the Andrew tunnel and distinguish which one is which(Ashmont bound or Braintree bound), it should be simpler to tweak the system to distinguish what announcement is played when they are coming up two completely different tracks from the south! Thats pure logic, just shows the system is still in need of adjustments, and I can only imagine Park Street must be a jumble as well!

Park Street does not have announcements at the red line level yet. No green line stations have announcement so it actually isn't that bad

JS

No, what I'm asking is, how do you make this announcement in a manner that most people will understand what it means?

Ron Newman wrote:No, what I'm asking is, how do you make this announcement in a manner that most people will understand what it means?

Number the tracks with large signs and make the announcement say "Next inbound train to downtown is now arriving on Track X."

Its not like everyone will figure that out, but most people probably can.

While I was at Ashmont Station this past Weds for my Mattapan line Trolley ride, the announcements said, "The Next Southbound train to ASHMONT is now arriving", eve though that's where the trains go out of service-no passengers. They shouldn't have that southbound announcement, makes no sense.

Robert Paniagua wrote:While I was at Ashmont Station this past Weds for my Mattapan line Trolley ride, the announcements said, "The Next Southbound train to ASHMONT is now arriving", eve though that's where the trains go out of service-no passengers. They shouldn't have that southbound announcement, makes no sense.

I noticed a similar announcement at Wonderland, saying that the "eastbound train is now arriving" despite the fact that Wonderland is the Blue Line terminus (for now anyway).

Wow Karl, there too? They need to turn off the outbound message too until they extended to Salem or Lynn (that's for another story).

Got this last week:

From the blue line chief, regarding a message I sent about the new train announcements:

"Thank you for you comments regarding the new LED Signs, and station
announcements. The announcements are triggered by the signal system that
governs train movement. It is possible to countdown to train arrivals,
but the decision was made to limit the number of approaching train
announcements."

I'm stunned.
So the T CAN do it, but they just don't feel like it?!

helium wrote:Got this last week:

From the blue line chief, regarding a message I sent about the new train announcements:

"Thank you for you comments regarding the new LED Signs, and station
announcements. The announcements are triggered by the signal system that
governs train movement. It is possible to countdown to train arrivals,
but the decision was made to limit the number of approaching train
announcements."

I'm stunned.
So the T CAN do it, but they just don't feel like it?!

Yes. The GM admitted to that a while ago saying he didn't think it was necessary (or something to that effect).

JS

Robert Paniagua wrote:Wow Karl, there too? They need to turn off the outbound message too until they extended to Salem or Lynn (that's for another story).

Well for my sake, lets say there "Future-Proofing" the system, which mind you, is a first for the T

Mind you, this is the same agency who sees no logic in getting drunk drivers off the road. Therefore, it is perfectly logical to not give an estimated arrival time.

(Yes, I know thats not fair of me.)

SbooX wrote:Mind you, this is the same agency who sees no logic in getting drunk drivers off the road. Therefore, it is perfectly logical to not give an estimated arrival time.

(Yes, I know thats not fair of me.)

You admit its not fair of ou to say that, but I would at least think on this forum people would understand how these two are totally unrelated. The MBTA is not a social service agency, nor a law enforcement agency. They have no obilgation to take drunk drivers off the road.

The MBTA is charged with delivering public transportation within the limits of its funding. Since there is far more demand than can be met, the focus has to be on serving the most cost-effective markets. Simply put, transporting bar-hoppers home at 2 am is far higher (on the order of several times over) than moving people during the existing service day. The cost per passenger on Night Owl services far exceeded all but a couple of oddball bus routes on the MBTA system.

At a time when the system as a whole is in such financial jeopardy, as much as I might like to be able to go to a bar and get home after it closes, I cannot justify the MBTA operating that service at this time.

If some other entity wants to find the T's operations over night, that's great. But the T doesn't have the funds to do it themselves -- not without cutting far more essential service elsewhere.

That said, I agree with your assessment of the arrival information. Its absurd that they don't think this would be helpful. But, as long as the system is capable of providing this information, hopefully the T can be convinced of adding it in the future.*

*Further keep in mind that the system is largely audio-only right now. They (and I agree) that audio countdown announcements would be overkill, but perhaps when the visual displays are system wide the descision to provide the arrival time information will be more appropriately revisited.

BART in the SFO/OAK area is terrific with the next train/arrival announcements (audio/visual). Countdown to next train, destination(s), length of train are included. Very helpful and reassuring.

Announcement messages seemed to be working fine. Whatever made them stop the other day must have been a fluke or maintenence. There were also frequent text-to-speach messages about the state st. station being closed. The details on the blue line stations were great, including how to get a transfer and where to go to get to the green and orange lines.

JS

San Diego Transit wrote:BART in the SFO/OAK area is terrific with the next train/arrival announcements (audio/visual). Countdown to next train, destination(s), length of train are included. Very helpful and reassuring.

And there's the same thing down in Washington, DC's WMATA Metrorail with these signs.