The Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Monday launched a new website and app called MYmta, giving riders the ability to plan journeys on the subway, buses and commuter rail as well as to see real-time service information as they travel.
MTA Managing Director Ronnie Hakim said the new tools are a response to calls from riders for “convenient, accurate information in a way that I can manage myself using the devices that I carry in my pocket.”
The website and app, which are still in test mode, combine into one place many functions already available individually, such as the MTA’s subway countdown clock app, Subway Time, and third-party products such as Google Maps and the Transit app. MYmta is available on the Google Play store and the iTunes Store.
Beginning later this summer, MYmta will include the authority’s eTix functionality, allowing customers on the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad to buy tickets.
After the MTA rolls out a new fare payment system beginning in 2019, MYmta will also allow riders to pay for subway and bus trips.
Jon Orcutt, a spokesman for the research group TransitCenter, said once the MTA includes fare payment across all of its services, “it will give the MTA’s app a huge leg up and utility” compared to other transit apps.
Already, using the new app, a rider could plan a trip from Long Island to Connecticut on the Long Island Rail Road, the subway and Metro-North Railroad. Along the way, the rider could see subway train arrival times, service advisories and escalator and elevator outages.
Soon, the MTA plans to allow Paratransit customers to see when their Access-A-Ride vehicle will arrive and, during a journey, when they should expect to reach their destination.
The MTA also draws information from outside agencies such as NJ Transit, the PATH rail system, some suburban bus systems, the Staten Island Ferry and the Hudson River and East River ferries.
Nick Sifuentes, the executive director of transit advocacy group Tri-State Transportation Campaign, worked with the MTA on the new website and app during the past couple of months.
Mr. Sifuentes said MYmta puts New York ahead of other cities nationally and internationally in terms of having a single app that combines so many functions.
“I love it,” he said. “I think other people are going to love it too.”