MTA launches first real-time digital subway map
Courtesy of the MTA
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Tuesday released a new digital map of the New York City subway system that provides service updates to riders in real-time. As first reported by Curbed, this map uses data from the MTA to update as service changes are happening, allowing users to click on stations and individual train lines to see the actual wait time for the next train. When zoomed in on the map, little gray blocks move along the colored lines, depicting the train’s actual movement from station to station. Created by design and technology firm Work & Co., the map modernizes both Massimo Vignelli’s iconic 1972 map and the current map designed by Michael Hertz, combining the geometric and graphic design-friendly Vignelli map with the geographical elements of Hertz. The new live map is the first major redesign of the NYC subway map in 40 years.
The new map replaces the Weekender, a rider guide to service changes on Saturdays and Sundays due to system maintenance and construction. While the Weekender was easy to use, with service changes viewable by the station, line, and borough, the agency said the new real-time map, still in its beta version, will be more accurate.
In 2018, the agency launched a mobile app, MyMTA, that provided updates for subway, buses, and trains, and included trip planning options for a more customized commute. Sarah Meyer, the MTA’s chief customer officer, told Curbed that she asked Work & Co. to look into making services changes easier to understand for commuters by creating a map.
“I’d been told by IT and a couple of other departments that what I was asking for was impossible,” Meyer told the website.
The map continuously updates to show subway service now, tonight, and this weekend. In addition to displaying train arrival times, the new map provides elevator and escalator status at every station, train reroutes, exit and entrance locations, and tunnel transfers. Users can click on individual stations or on train lines to find specific updates.
Explore the live subway map here. And the MTA is encouraging riders to provide feedback on the new map while it’s in its beta version.
[Via Curbed]
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