What's That? Subway Announcements are Hard to Hear?

It will probably come as no surprise to most mass transit riders in New York City that most subway announcements are often hard, if not downright impossible, to hear.
A study by the Straphangers Campaign states that in the case of a subway delay or disruption, information was either not sufficient, was never conveyed to passengers, or was not able to be understood. The group found that announcements were not able to be heard in such cases in less than 50 percent of the time.
If you’re wondering just how this survey was done, 6,600 observations (is there such a thing as an auditory observation?) were made on 22 subway lines. They were done at times when announcements should have been made.
However, in the case of basic announcements (the name of the line; the station and any transfer options) 80 percent were clear.
Riders of the 4, 5, 6, L, M and N lines, rejoice—announcements were said to be clearest on those lines.
As for your folks on the D, G and 7 lines--not to make your commute any rougher than it already is, but the worst announcements (or the lack of announcements) are on those lines. But you probably knew that.
The last time the group released such a survey was back in 2006, and they credit the MTA with making improvements since then.
However, there's still a long way to go in terms of upping the quality of the announcements when they’re needed most, such as during a delay.
So for a disruption, forget it. But if for some reason you don’t know what subway station you’re in (and really, shouldn’t you have checked?), well, at last you can be assured that someone will tell you—clearly--where you are.

Wondering Where Your Train Is? A New Clock May Help You Figure It Out

In the never-ending annals of the never-ending plans for New York’s vastly complicated transportation system comes some (potentially) good news: Countdown clocks will be arriving at several subway stations by the end of next month, with others to follow.
An announcement was made Monday that subway riders on the number 6 train will be the first to utilize the countdown clocks. Three stations in the Bronx will lead off, followed by the rest of the 6 line and all other lines by the end of 2010 or beginning of 2011. Nearly 150 other stations along the 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 lines will be rolled out in addition to the 6 line.
Wondering about the 7 line? It was supposed to get the clocks as part of a separate project that was due to be completed in 2006. It’s now (obviously) many years overdue, and the original price tag of $170 million is now projected at closer to $200 million--just for that line.
The separate $200 million project for the other lines has encountered a number of snafus, including a serious flaw in the software that was discovered a year into the project.
At the moment, countdown clocks can be found only on the L and the 34th Street bus corridor.
Bus riders, take heart--clocks are due to be installed at the 50th Street route as well—but no launch date (surprise, surprise) has been set.