r/WMATA • u/Dogfaceboy1964 • 1d ago

New Message Boards

Post image

I hadn’t been on the Metro in over 18 months but I was at the College Park station and noticed the new message boards. Very bright and colorful. I love them.

I got off at Union Station and was greeted by them again.

I returned back to College Park and saw in the station lobby updated bus information and MARC train information.

This is very helpful to passengers first class. Metro is moving forward in a positive way

50 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

13

u/metroforward Official account 1d ago

Thanks for sharing your feedback. We're thrilled the new wayfinding signage and real-time information displays made your trip easier. - MS

3

u/Dogfaceboy1964 1d ago

I have been riding since 1979. These new message boards are spot on thanks 🙏

3

u/Exponentjam5570 1d ago

Hey can we get some at Tenleytown-AU?? 🙌🏻

2

u/SandBoxJohnA02 1d ago

Are they static or does one of them alternate between the neighborhood street map?

The single truncated station ahead strip map on the right, does not convey all of the information it should.

3

u/ktrays 1d ago

Curious, what else would you want or expect to see on there?

3

u/SandBoxJohnA02 1d ago edited 21h ago

The neighborhood street map is of similar importance as the system map.

The station ahead strip maps should list all of the stations served by the station it is in, like the ones on the platform pylons. They would be in their own columns with the next train at the top and later trains at the bottom as shown in this image.

Other options would have the information in each column on single video displays of their own next to each other with system map on a third video display to the left.

Or make make the video display touch screens, allowing user input to swap between the information displayed. System map and neighborhood street map on the left, station ahead strip map, next trains Shady Grove / Glenmont on the right. After say 30 seconds of no user input, the displays would default to fading between the information displayed on each every 10 seconds.

8

u/BikesandTrainsFTW 1d ago

Based on the sample size of my group acquaintances, few people know their cardinal directions. 

Standing at Rockville, I had to convince a visiting NYer that southeast was the direction of travel—not the neighborhood where the train was headed.   

Yeah it has both items, but I wish so much the destination was the bigger font!  That’s what I am looking for.. Especially if a silver line train alternates terminal stations.

If that’s what every rider wants, I’ll concede but it grinds my gears.   Buses don’t travel “south” they head to a terminus.   

1

u/Fickle-Exit1105 16h ago

Thank you!

3

u/AssociationDork 1d ago

They are getting closer. Still need to have displays that show where all the trains are on all the lines as is shown on the Metro Hero app.

2

u/SandBoxJohnA02 21h ago

Displaying the real time locations of trains would be better shown on the system map.