New York MTA Unveils New Mobile App for Trip Planning

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced that its new MTA app is available for download.

The app is currently in beta testing and will eventually succeed the MYmta app.

The app features schedules, service alerts, and more for subways, buses, Long Island Rail Road, and Metro-North Railroad all in one place.

Users can also book Access-A-Ride trips and see elevator and escalator outages at stations throughout the subway system.   

 “If we want more customers to use public transit, providing travel tools that are easy and intuitive is key,” said Shanifah Rieara, MTA acting chief customer officer. “The new MTA app accomplishes just that, connecting riders to the information they need in one or two taps.”  

Features of the MTA App

Additional features in the beta version of the new MTA app include:  

• Plan a trip to see recommended routes and check schedules for subways, buses, Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North, PATH, and AirTrain.  
• Get service alerts and see planned and unplanned service changes and best ways to get around.  
• Save favorite routes and stops for quick viewing of arrival times.  
• Live bus tracking to see where a bus is located that is approaching a stop, check when it will arrive, and follow it throughout its trip, including instant information on how many stops and minutes away a bus is.  
• Real-time on-board crowding for railroads.  
• Book Access-A-Ride trips, find pick-up and drop-off times for trips, and view trip history.  
• Improved search making it easier to see which search results are MTA stations and the services offered there at a glance. 
• Strip maps and station views indicate the service that is running at any given time.   

Developers of the App, More Details

The app was co-developed with Axon Vibe, a smart mobility platform provider and former winner of the MTA’s Transit Tech Lab accelerator.

The aggregated data will be available to the MTA to better understand ridership and mobility patterns around the New York metropolitan area.

This information will assist with improving transit operations to meet the needs of customers and developing tools to help make it easier for riders to plan for transit and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

This effort was supported by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). 

“Axon Vibe is thrilled to continue supporting the MTA with our smart transit technology, aimed at promoting sustainable travel and increasing public transit ridership,” said Roman Oberli, CEO of Axon Vibe. 

The app will replace MYmta when it becomes available in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store later this year.

Riders will not need to download a new app as it will automatically update on a mobile device if MYmta is already installed.