STATION IDENTIFICATION: The MTA yesterday launched this mobile app with “real-time” subway train arrival information. (
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Outgoing MTA boss and mayoral hopeful Joe Lhota delivered a parting gift to straphangers yesterday: a new smartphone app that lets riders know when the next train will pull into their station.
The MTA Subway Time App replicates the real-time arrival information already provided by the electronic countdown clocks on some subway-station platforms.
“It’s a good day at the MTA when we make it easier for our customers to get around,” Lhota said during a press conference at Grand Central Terminal.
The app can be downloaded from the Apple store for iPhones, iPads and other devices.
It covers subway stops on the numbered lines — 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 — as well as the 42nd Street shuttle. The real-time info is made possible because of a $228 million upgrade to the signal systems.
But the lettered lines are still served by a more antiquated signal system, and riders on those lines won’t be able to get the app service anytime soon.
The exception is the L train, which already has an advanced signal system. The MTA plans to add the L line to the service within the next year, officials said.
The 7 train will be added within the next few years after its signaling system is upgraded.
“We’re doing something that rarely happens in New York. We’re reducing anxiety,” Lhota said.
The app’s slogan is “Know Before You Go.”
Lhota officially steps down as MTA chairman and chief executive on Tuesday. He will then decide whether to run for mayor as a Republican.
The Subway Time press event was likely his last as the MTA’s top dog, though he surprised some observers by showing up at a police graduation at the Barclays Center that included MTA cops.
Lhota deflected questions about an expected bid for the mayoralty.
“We’re here to talk about the MTA,” he said. “We’re not here to talk about politics.”
A swarm of reporters and TV cameras attended the Lhota event, where he displayed arrival times from his iPad.
“Starting next week, I’m just going to be a regular customer again,” he said.
The Subway Time App features a very simple interface, which allows users to click on each individual numbered subway line.
Clicking one of the 156 specific subway stations served by those lines brings up a list of arrival times, which mirror the times shown in the trains and stations.
These times are updated nearly every minute.
However, The app is still in a preliminary, or “test,” stage, transit officials said.
A Post reporter found that the app usually worked during numerous checks but that it encountered a few glitches early yesterday.
On a few occasions, the screen displayed: “No train arrival information available, please try again later.” And although the arrival/departure times are updated by the minute, they didn’t always correspond with times displayed at the subway station on the 6 line.
Transit officials said they are seeking rider input to fine-tune the service.