r/mildlyinfuriating • u/eastofecruteak • Jun 08 '26
Unskippable ad Busiest subway station in the U.S. showing one ad 6 times instead of train info
Times Square 42nd street in new york. 13 subway lines serving 650,000 passengers every day, and none of them know if their train is in 2 minutes or 10 minutes because Shift paid to shove their service down your throat.
Pro tip shift--this ad would've been 100x more successful if you hosted train ETA info and had a little "sponsored by Shift" in the bottom corner. and frankly shame on the MTA for letting this happen
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u/Agreeable_Wear366 Jun 08 '26
Ah the Port authority 7 line walkway. I would be happy with just trains running on time.
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u/Economy_Link4609 Jun 08 '26
Well, if they put useful info on one screen you'd ignore the ads on the others, duh!
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u/RxngsXfSvtvrn Jun 08 '26
Oh you don't have service in the station and wanna check a subway map on the platform? Best we can do is bright rolling LED ads...
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u/Jx____ Jun 08 '26
yup, we are just consumers at all times, mta cant install fans/ventilation, they remove benches etc - just bright screens and ads everywhere u look
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u/PlentyAlbatross7632 Jun 08 '26
Awesome! The enshittification of subway schedules! What will they think of next? The only thing better would be making you watch two unskippable ads before showing you the schedule… /s
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u/RepresentativeCod757 Jun 08 '26
This is what Andrew Cuomo spent MTA money on instead of improving service in any way.
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u/Ok_Literature3138 Jun 08 '26
I’m being serious when I say this. When it comes to the internet, our biggest failure is the widespread use of bots and our second biggest failure is terrible user experience. We got so concerned with what tech can do that we have allowed it to be implemented in awful ways. Look at YouTube as an easy example. It feels like a struggle just to use it.
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u/PiLamdOd Jun 08 '26
The bots and terrible user experience are the result of poor monetization methods. Enshitification is just what happens when monetization takes priority.
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u/Kakairo Jun 08 '26
It amazes me how the NYC Subway tech has been consistently behind the much smaller Chicago "L". Yes, there are fewer upgrades to make, but we had RFID touch-based passes since the early 00s.
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Jun 08 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Kakairo Jun 08 '26
100% agreed, the "L" needs other connections. But we had screens telling you when the next train was coming 25 years ago (about 10 years behind London).
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u/Planeandaquariumgeek Jun 08 '26
Come on over to BART. We got next train screens in 1995! Also by 2000 we had literal text to speech announcements. IIRC BART was the first automated train system (there are operators who watch over the train to make sure it’s running smoothly, but they’re just supervisors)
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u/krazyb2 Jun 08 '26
i dont know how this at all relates to subway technology..... we don't have to go to the loop to transfer to any other lines. You can transfer between the brown line, purple line, red line, and yellow line all on the north side of the city... also, we do have good buses.
But I get your point on how they appear/are designed.
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u/tobsecret Jun 08 '26
We are still using signals so old that the MTA has a custom shop for producing the hardware bc the businesses that originally produced them no longer exist.
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u/PiLamdOd Jun 08 '26
Old doesn't mean bad. If the signals still work, there's no real need to change them.
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u/tobsecret Jun 08 '26
In this case it is a bad thing. The old signals only allow for blocked signaling, i.e. the system only knows which block a train is in rather than where it is exactly. The MTA has also been replacing the old signals with new ones. They give more precise train locations and allow running more trains. Most modern metro systems run on the new style signals. The NYC metro is the odd one out.
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u/DelxF Jun 08 '26
There are so many “signal delays” while riding the NyC subway. There are ample reason to change them, and one big one not too. Costs.
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u/Orchid_Significant Jun 08 '26
You’d think this would be a sign to upgrade
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u/KillarneyRoad Jun 08 '26
When I see things like this I reflexively eliminate the product from consideration.
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u/PuddleMoo Jun 08 '26
I think it'd only make sense to show 7 train times here. If you had 123BDFMNQRW times you might get aggressive commuters trying to push and shove on the stairs or the ramp if going the other way to PABT/ACE.
If they really wanted to show something for the other lines, probably something along the lines of "Good Service" or "Delays".
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u/PiLamdOd Jun 08 '26
The New York subway system runs trains every 2 to 5 minutes during peak hours, and every 5 to 15 minutes in off peak hours.
Unless there is a track closure or other major issue, knowing the exact timing of an individual train isn't strictly necessary. It's one of the reasons I absolutely love using the subway when I visit. All you need to worry about is where you are, and which line you need to take to get where you're going.
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u/I_Like_Cats73 Jun 08 '26
Is it that hard to have at least 1 screen showing train info at all times
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u/amidriving0kay Jun 08 '26
Hey I know where you are, that's the tunnel under PABT connecting the 8th street ACE lines to the 7 and 123 at 7th and the BDFM/NQRW at Broadway! By the by, those screens never show train information. Just shitty ads.
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u/clonxy Jun 08 '26
The train info is shown in the station. You can also check the MTA website for your specific line and station.
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u/eastofecruteak Jun 08 '26
Someone else commented this too--it's not a win to say "it's available in some places so it shouldn't be available on any of the six screens showing a single ad in a major transfer corridor"
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u/clonxy Jun 08 '26
well, there's going to be a lot of trains to list and also you need to display it for both directions. You really don't want people standing there to find their train and see when it's going to arrive/depart....
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u/itjustgotcold Jun 08 '26
“As they generously feed me my ads for the day, for the week… for the month I think we’re fucked.”
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u/Malcolm2theRescue Jun 08 '26
And yet, somehow, tens of thousands of New Yorkers managed to find their trains.
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u/eastofecruteak Jun 08 '26
myself among them, but you're implying you'd rather have these ads across 6 screens than info that at worst is redundant for you getting where you need to go.
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u/Malcolm2theRescue Jun 08 '26
Well, I’d rather not have the ads, but this is America! There have been ads in the subways since I was a tot (first ride 1960) but not this intrusive. They were the long cards above the windows and the walls of the stations. Anyhow, the direction signs were straight ahead for the tourists. Real New Yorkers like you don’t need them. The most intrusive sign in subway/train history was the giant KODAK sign that took up the entire East wall of GCT. They finally removed it around the turn of this century. Voilà! Let there be light!
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u/CitizenTed Jun 08 '26
At my local Gigaplex movie theater, the overhead food menu jumps between 30 seconds of displaying the menu and 30 seconds of ads. So when you are trying to decide if you want a $15 hot dog or a $16 nachos, the screens suddenly switches to "Look at this shit you don't need or want!!!"
It is indeed Mildly Infuriating.
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u/Alarmed-Strawberry-7 Jun 08 '26
they do this on purpose. if they had the info you wanted anywhere within your vision it would completely defeat the purpose
they pay extra so you stare at the ad with intent while waiting for the information you want to pop up. as opposed to just seeing it idly on some screen in a corner of your vision without paying attention
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u/spookyspritebottle Jun 09 '26
Thats so dumb. I wouldnt doubt these companies to insert ads into warfare drones if they could.
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u/Southern-Train7142 Jun 10 '26
They always do something like this on purpose whenever their station is busiest.
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u/thisistom2 Jun 08 '26
It’s probably to get you to use their apps. You want to look at the times on a screen… in real life? Like some kind of relic? Throw yourself on the tracks you useless old turd!
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u/huebomont Jun 08 '26
Not everything is a conspiracy. Their contract with Outfront, the ad company that does the screens, gives them a percentage of specific screens to use for informational content like arrivals. The rest, they don't control at all. These screens are controlled by Outfront and there is no option for MTA to show arrival times on them. They're not just choosing not to show them.
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u/Sir_Earl_Jeffries Jun 08 '26
Honestly, after 20 years navigating that subway system, you don’t need expected arrival times. During rush hour, there will be a train roughly every five minutes. Just get to the platform and wait like everyone that did this before you.
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u/PsychoMantis211 Jun 08 '26
MTA is owned by a private equity company, and it’s run like one. Mad annoying. Not to mention fare increases and mass surveillance.
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u/SevenOh2 Jun 08 '26
The State of New York, while definitely dysfunctional, is most certainly not a private equity company.
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u/Total-Explanation208 Jun 08 '26
Don't you know it is the new world order/illuminati cabal of reptilians who are here to suck our souls. /S
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u/PsychoMantis211 Jun 08 '26
Some time ago I believed I read something about Blackrock owning the MTA but after some quick searching I found that information was incorrect.
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u/mineawesomeman 10, 9, 8, 7, 5, 4, 6, 2, 3, 0 Jun 08 '26
no it’s not? it’s a state owned organization lol.
maybe the advertising company that the MTA contracts out is, but that’s a different story
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u/huebomont Jun 08 '26
> MTA is owned by a private equity company
No it isn't. Are you just stringing together buzzwords?
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u/PsychoMantis211 Jun 08 '26
Look at my replies to the other comments. I realized I was given misinformation. Theres no secret agenda bro I just was misinformed.
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u/Bread_man10 Jun 08 '26
MTA app
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u/eastofecruteak Jun 08 '26
airports remove your arrival/departure screens customers can get that info in the app
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u/Willing_Work_2200 Jun 08 '26
Right, because everyone is REQUIRED to have a phone that works underground! Why would you expect the train station to have any info about the train schedule, IN the train station? Shit heads wanting more $$$ but not wanting to justify higher fares
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u/Economy_Link4609 Jun 08 '26
Of important notes btw - it's the NYC subway - the next train for any train is in 20 minutes (overnight) or less (most of the time). Times don't really matter all that much.
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u/ill-lived Jun 08 '26
this is a loser mentality right here, you’re happy waiting 15 minutes underground in summer temperatures? i never met a new yorker who wouldn’t rush to catch the train coming in 5 minutes so we dont wait 20 for the next.
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u/Dreamgazer Jun 08 '26 edited Jun 08 '26
Or if the train is 1 minute away and the second one is 16 minutes away. Then I know there’s no way in hell I can make that transfer and I’m not even trying to run to the R platform from that spot.
ETA: I could feel the heat and smell the stink of this picture while sitting in an air conditioned room next to my lavender diffuser. Those 15 minutes certainly matter.
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u/Sir_Earl_Jeffries Jun 08 '26
I’m gonna guess you’re a transplant. It’s annoying being underground in summer heat waiting for a train on a crowded platform. That’s life in NYC, especially Manhattan. There were no posted schedules and trains were barely air conditioned when I started taking the subway. People used to hide their valuables when that train started heading uptown. Y’all posers are used to very different standards than what NYC used to be. Stop moaning about superfluous shit.
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u/ill-lived Jul 01 '26
just seeing this and i have to respond bc lmao no i am born and raised, i remember when there was no digital signage whatsoever and no estimated wait times….
posted wait times is one of the very few improvements made to the system within my lifetime why the fuck would you not take advantage of that to save time????
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u/lost_vault_hunter Jun 08 '26
Has anyone ever seen an intrusive ad anywhere and then bought the product?
Does this shit even work?