See the new customer service centers replacing token booths at NYC subway stations

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority this week unveiled its new “customer service centers,” which are replacing the glass token booths seen at every subway station. Station agents at the new centers will help commuters switch to OMNY, apply for the Reduced Fare program, and generally navigate the system. The new stalls are part of the MTA’s plan to change the duties of subway station agents, who once managed cash and subway tokens from inside the locked booth. Now, in addition to the workers stationed at the centers, agents will walk around the stations.

The MTA said it will open new centers inside subway stations, by either repurposing token booths or constructing new spaces. The centers will feature OMNY technology, digital displays of service status updates, a MetroCard vending machine, kiosks that will access MTA websites, and an overall more welcoming presentation, with “new lighting, branded wrapping, and canopies,” according to the agency.

“Bringing service to the stations that riders use every day is a physical demonstration of the North Star commitment at New York City Transit to the customer experience,” NYC Transit President Richard Davey said. “Modern, welcoming, and accessible Customer Service Centers will bring real benefits to riders, especially as we continue to transition to OMNY.”

The first three customer service centers opened on Tuesday at Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue, Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center, and 161st Street-Yankee Stadium. The MTA plans to open 12 additional centers across the city this year.

Until now, straphangers looking for basic customer service help required going in person to a facility next to MTA headquarters on Stone Street.

“It drove me crazy when I found out that many transactions could only be done at the Stone Street facility next to MTA HQ in Lower Manhattan,” MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said. “That may be convenient for MTA staff, but it’s not for our customers. We are determined to bring service closer to riders in every borough and opening the first 15 Customer Service Centers is a big step in that direction.”

The 12 additional help centers will open this year at the following stations:

• St. George (Staten Island Railway)
• 34th Street- Penn Station
• Flushing-Main Street
• Fulton Street
• Myrtle-Wyckoff Avenues
• 74th Street-Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue
• East 180th Street
• 125th Street
• Fordham Road
• Times Square-42nd Street
• Sutphin Boulevard-Archer Avenue-JFK Airport
• 168th Street

RELATED: 

• New open gangway subway cars to debut on the A and C lines this year
• MTA reopens public bathrooms at 9 subway stations
• NYC subway fare could hit over $3 by 2025

Photo courtesy of Marc A. Hermann / MTA on Flickr