In a few months, subway riders will experience a new system that will create a better form of communication between the commuters and the transit system.
‘The Next Train’ will inform Toronto Transit Commission riders of the arrival time of trains at individual subway stations throughout the system. The service will broadcast across existing video screen in subway stations.
TTC chairman Adam Giambrone believes this development will benefit people who use the transit system on a daily basis. “When the train pulls into the station it (The Next Train development) will tell you when the next train is coming reassuring you that another train is coming down the tunnel,” he said.
This work is being funded by the TTC and carries a total price tag of about $300,000, said Giambrone. “It is a very big project; we consider $300, 000 fairly cheap,” he added.
“The $300, 000 is the just the cost of the computer program application that takes the signal system, which knows where all the trains are, and implements that information to the screens.”
While seasoned commuters may find the information less useful during daily rush hour, when subways roll past on a minute-by-minute schedule, late night and weekend riders will find the information helpful.
Said Giambrone: “It’s useful for people more on Sundays, (or) when the trains are six minutes apart.” He said the system will also cue riders that they do not need to push to get on the train, reducing incidents of rushing at busy stops.
A newsstand worker at the Yonge and Bloor station, Mizanul Khan, told TorontoObserver.ca: “It is a good idea, but people already know the wait times. It will benefit people who do not take the train frequently and who don’t know how it works.”
A TTC patron who uses the train daily, Jasmine Derisma, said displaying wait time information is a good idea because it would give people time to go to the bathroom, or run upstairs and get something to eat.”
ccording to Giambrone The Next Train development has already been implemented in 55 stations and the remaining stations will be completed in the near future.