Keeping New Yorkers Informed Pre, During And Post 2nd Worst Blizzard in City History
Gail Chiasson, North American Editor
Digital signage was key to keeping New York City’s transit customers informed when the city was hit with a monstrous blizzard that amassed snowfall totals only 1/10 of an inch behind the worst snowstorm in New York’s history.
Recognizing the uncertainty of the weather forecasts, MTA New York City Transit was prepared with a new operations plan that limited subway service to underground portions – about 60% of the system’s 469 stations – and totally suspended bus service. It accompanied the subway service change with a special subway map outlining for customers the limits of service and that modified subway map was posted prominently on the mta.info website and on NYC Transit’s Twitter and Facebook pages.
But that was only the beginning of NYC Transit’s efforts to keep weekend customers informed of what was running, how long it would run and when service was scheduled to resume.
Over the past few years, NYC Transit’s network of digital signage assets has grown impressively. It has taken advantage of digital signage, which is displayed prominently on the system’s On The Go Travel Station kiosk network inside of stations, as well as Digital Urban Panels, installed at street level station entrances across Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn. Combined these assets are integral components of MTA Transit’s Omni-channel approach to customer communications.
NYC Transit worked with OUTFRONT Media to push pre- and post-storm messaging on the highly-visible Digital Urban Panels, and worked with OUTFRONT and Intersection on messaging to the OTGN kiosks inside of subway stations.
“Our digital signage messaging had to be dynamic so that we could reflect changes in service via these highly visible screens,” says Paul Fleuranges, the transit company’s vice- president of corporate communications. “We knew from Superstorm Sandy that our digital assets were a huge game changer in terms of our ability to communicate with customers. That message was just as important this time, as we alerted subway and bus customers exactly when bus service would be suspended, and told subway customers when Underground Only service would begin.”
Installation is ongoing, but so far, there are 108 of the double-sided Urban Panel digital displays affixed to entrance railings at 48 stations. Additionally, there are currently 169 On The Go Travel Station Network kiosks installed at 31 subway stations serving 1.51 million riders daily.
The decision to suspend all bus service and portions of the subway were heavily broadcast was through the media, but it remained NYC Transit’s responsibility to make certain that information was readily available to and easily understandable by our customers in the system.
“With the blizzard messaging, we wanted it to both inform customers about upcoming service changes as well as announce plans to suspend above-ground subway and all bus service at a given time,” says Connie De Palma, assistant vice-president of marketing and service information.
NYC Transit had to push the emergency content to screens, but that meant interrupting the normal advertising-supported loop displayed on the digital panels and kiosks.
The first series of messages were displayed on all screens at 7:00am, Jan. 22., informing customers of the winter weather ahead, urging them to be careful and explaining what impact the weather could have on service. As the storm bore down and the decision to suspend all Local, Limited and Express Bus service was made, updated content was posted warning of the Noon curtailment – later updated when service was shut down. Content on the digital screens was updated again with information and a map showing the new Underground Only Subway service at 2:40pm.
The next challenge was the creation and posting of messages announcing the decision to restore service. The team, working from home, stayed in constant touch by regular conference calls and by e-mail throughout the weekend. Content producers and graphic artists continued to work to fine tune the post-storm messaging as rail and road conditions from the snowfall were assessed. After midnight on Sunday, Jan. 24, the signage was updated with planned bus restoration information – again updated as service was restored at 7:00am.
As service on exterior subway routes came on line shortly after 9:00am, new content was pushed to the screens and updated as line segments were reopened. This messaging was updated throughout the day on Sunday, along with messaging highlighting snow removal efforts by transit crews. New messaging was created for Monday morning detailing service plans for the first workday after the storm.
“Digital signage is increasingly becoming a go-to channel for NYC Transit messaging, whether it is daily service information or extreme weather or other emergency events,” says Fleuranges. “Our customers have come to rely on this impactful communications medium for information. The challenge is in being prepared and having the right pipes, procedures in place to create and push content as efficiently as possible.”
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