Survey Finds Subway Announcements Clear & Accurate Except When Faced With Delays
NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Announcements made on the 5 and 6 trains subway trains have once again won top honors for clarity and accuracy, according to a survey released Wednesday by the Straphangers Campaign.
The results of the 2010 survey found basic announcements on subway cars were clear and not garbled 83 percent of the time, a figure largely unchanged from the 2009 results.
LINK: You can see the full report by clicking here
Basic announcements were defined as stating the name of the station, destination or direction, train letter or number, and transfer opportunities.
The B train had the dubious distinction of performing the worst. Only 55 percent of the announcements made on the train were defined as adequate.
Cate Contino, the campaign coordinator who oversaw the survey, told 1010 WINS most recorded announcements on trains were clear, but that more problems were encountered when the conductor had to speak.
"About half the lines in the system are using automated announcements in their subway cars at this point and those are doing pretty great," she said.
Contino said the current cars would eventually would be phased out with new models equipped with the ability to make automated announcements.
While the overall ratings for basic announcements are strong, the numbers took a dip when trains were faced with delays and disruptions. The survey found that in 60 percent of those situations there was either no announcement or an incorrect or garbled one.
SOUND-OFF: Are you fed up by the garbled announcements on the subway that create confusion? Pleasantly surprised by the success of the automated announcements? Share your thoughts in the comments section...
