One of my biggest issues with the subways are that you never really know when they run. When taking a bus, there is always a schedule at the stop which gives you an estimate as of when a bus might come, but I did not see something like that on the subway – maybe yet.

Of course I could check out the tripplaner website beforehand, but let’s reserve my beef with the tripplanner for another blog post.

So while I am really glad that the subway system runs all around the clock, I have also found myself numerous times standing on a platform in the middle of the night wondering when my dear train comes to bring me home. Just add to the uncertainty of time, the uncertainty about the overall service (“It’s the weekend, does the 2, 3 stop here?”), rats and all kind of weird people to make this experience a lasting one.

Last weekend I went out with some friends in Williamsburg and to get their I took a L-Train from Manhattan to Bedford Avenue and I noticed that the L is the first one of all the lines I’ve used that actually displays the time of when the next train runs right on the platform. At least in Brooklyn.

And while I was waiting for the the train at Spring St, they kept announcing an ETA for the next train every three minutes. Not that you need it so often, but it’s still a nice service.

So this is still pretty rare for NYC and the system is probably a pilot. All the people I talked to about it so far were joking about the MTA raising prices soon to compensate the spending on the panels. ;) Even though I oppose raising the prices (Of course!), I feel like this system is long needed.

Does anyone share my enthusiasm and know more?