September 16, 2004
No Cellphones For The Subway
Buried in a NY Post story about Airbus was developing a way for cellphones to be used on planes and not interfere with the plane's systems comes the tidbit that the MTA is abandoning plans to put cellphone service in the subways. The MTA wanted $51 million from cellphone carriers to fund the wiring of tunnels, but the carriers backed out. The MTA admits, "It would cost too much money." Gothamist has mixed feelings about cellphone service in the subway - sometimes we feel it's a nice solace, other times we're desperate to know why we cannot get through to our friends - but we think this is a bad move by cellphone carriers who want to further entrench their brands in the hearts of New Yorkers.
The Mayor's Accountability Report noted that looking for interested cellphone providers was launched this year - time to change the status as "Killed."
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Funny, my Sprint phone actually works on the N line between 23rd St and Times Square. I got a call from my boss recently while riding. I stepped out to the little platform in between cars and had THE MOST FRIGHTENING phone conversation of my life. This made my moblie phone a little too mobile...
I get reception on the 6 from 33rd to Spring.
Thank god. Cellphones on the subway might convince me to leave New York.
Amen, KeithS, amen. Having always loved the subway, the lack of cellphone use is one of the newer ways I appreciate it.
Gotta disagree on cellphone chatter being a GOOD thing for the subways... Are they not noisy and annoying enough?
Think for a minute: Yes, you would enjoy making calls, but do you really want to listen to the calls of others? Thought not.
This menatlity is why cellphone addicts are so annoying. Everyone thinks his or her own call in important and not annoying to others. But they are so wrong.
you manhattanites... see how irritating it is to be in a rush hour car going from coney island... non-stop inane chatter all the way to 36 street in brooklyn... only for all the phones to ring up again over the bridge. what conversation is this important?
Since a person has to talk loud to be overheard over the subway background, it would seem to me, if we had cellphone connections in the subways we would end up with a SUBWAY CAR FILLED WITH PEOPLE SHOUTING TO THEMSELVES.
Sometimes on the "F" line we get a "crazy" person shouting to no one in particular. Now we would get dozens of "sane" people shouting to no one in particular.
Down in D.C., Verizon services WMATA's metrorail tunnels. While it can be annoying, it can be helpful when you're arranging complicated logistics while out and about.
We spend so much of our time creating ever greater complexity. We get addicted to that complexity. We make up stories that complexity is progress and must be good for us.
I disagree that complexity is the same of quality of life. Sometimes it is, and sometimes it isn't. I do not see that the vast increase in the complexity of our societyin the past 10 years has equated to an equally vast increase in the quality of life in our society.
Inane cellphone conversations on a subway ride is one thing. Inane cellphone conversations while trapped on a flight is another.
I hope the airlines really don't do this. This will make me think twice about taking a plane.
At least trains have quiet cars, and most people have enough sense to stop their calls on buses, but for some reason people behave quite differently on flights. They feel entitled to act any damn way they please (e.g., get drunk or high, act belligerent and violent with other travellers and flight attendants, have sex in bathrooms or even in their seats, let their kids run wild).
In Tokyo, its a rule that theres no Talking on a cell on trains, either if its the subway or the JR line. They are allowed to tap away on texts or the Web but thats the limit. And most Japanese people seem to follow the rule. I didnt notice anyone talking on a cell phone on any train. In all honesty, I think thats one thing that makes the Tokyo transit system the most efficient system in the world.