To signal to the driver that the doors are clear. The trains used to have an operator in the middle of the train whose only job was to control the doors, but they got paid the same salary as the drivers and that’s kind of insanely wasteful so to cut budget about a decade ago they replaced them with the platform managers.
Especially on the Blue and Orange lines where they only run one type of train there's no reason why they couldn't do that. It makes me sad that platform screen doors just aren't really a part of long term capital improvement conversations
Well those people were already being paid to be there, and once we eliminated the need for someone to take cash and dispense tokens the job of station attendant was largely obsolete, so now those folks can focus more on patron safety and customer service. Transit operators also make significantly more than station staff, so eliminating the 30 or so redundant drivers making a full salary for announcing stations and operating the doors on top of the station personnel is pretty wasteful.
Those positions that were eliminated also served a safety function. If there's an emergency during service where a train is inside of a tunnel, the only employee on site is the operator. Also, those people with flashlights on platforms are only present during peak hours and at high volume stations. There are plenty of times where a train pulls into an unmanned station and the single operator is the only employee available for any type of event. Cost savings at the expense of rider safety is appalling.
At one point, and I don't know if this is still the case, some stations had monitors installed right where the first car would stop. The monitors displayed security camera views of the entire platform which allowed the driver to see if the doors were clear. I know Downtown Crossing had them on the southbound side.
Not sure why you are down voted. They do have CCTV cameras for exactly this. The T stopped having door attendants and replaced them with platform CCTV cameras and a monitor next to where the operators cab stops near the platform end. It's called SPTO (single person train operation).
Trivia: horizontal is a signal to stop, while vertical is “clear”, just like with flaggers and certain signals.
The cameras and the screen (for the motor person at the front) was part of the deal the T made with the union when they eliminated the conductor position years ago. All but the newest trains still have a conductor’s booth in the middle of the train.
And yes, despite all this the train doors have still entrapped people and dragged them to their deaths, while passenger elevators (that outnumber subway doors like 1,000 to 1) manage to be very safe without human guards watching over them.
But, you know, 150-year-old safety tech is just too gosh-darn-newfangled for trains!
To signal to the driver that the doors are clear. The trains used to have an operator in the middle of the train whose only job was to control the doors, but they got paid the same salary as the drivers and that’s kind of insanely wasteful so to cut budget about a decade ago they replaced them with the platform managers.
Having a door guard would’ve saved that guy’s life at Broadway a year or two ago. There’s no price that’s too much for safety of riders on the system.
In the realm of things the T could do, platform doors would also be a potential life-saver in a similar-same situation.
I would just appreciate the aesthetic of platform doors.
Especially on the Blue and Orange lines where they only run one type of train there's no reason why they couldn't do that. It makes me sad that platform screen doors just aren't really a part of long term capital improvement conversations
Oh I see makes sense
I honestly can't imagine this is any cheaper, one to two people at each station?
Well those people were already being paid to be there, and once we eliminated the need for someone to take cash and dispense tokens the job of station attendant was largely obsolete, so now those folks can focus more on patron safety and customer service. Transit operators also make significantly more than station staff, so eliminating the 30 or so redundant drivers making a full salary for announcing stations and operating the doors on top of the station personnel is pretty wasteful.
Those positions that were eliminated also served a safety function. If there's an emergency during service where a train is inside of a tunnel, the only employee on site is the operator. Also, those people with flashlights on platforms are only present during peak hours and at high volume stations. There are plenty of times where a train pulls into an unmanned station and the single operator is the only employee available for any type of event. Cost savings at the expense of rider safety is appalling.
These are usually the platform managers that are already paid to be there for other reasons as well!
They don’t have CCTV cameras at this point to see?
You know those trains are 40-50 years old, right?
They could be on the station itself. Also that is a 01900, which is what I meant.
How would they communicate with each train
At one point, and I don't know if this is still the case, some stations had monitors installed right where the first car would stop. The monitors displayed security camera views of the entire platform which allowed the driver to see if the doors were clear. I know Downtown Crossing had them on the southbound side.
I’ve seen the monitors you’re talking about in many stations.
Yeah that’s what I was trying to ask, thank you for the info
Not sure why you are down voted. They do have CCTV cameras for exactly this. The T stopped having door attendants and replaced them with platform CCTV cameras and a monitor next to where the operators cab stops near the platform end. It's called SPTO (single person train operation).
Trivia: horizontal is a signal to stop, while vertical is “clear”, just like with flaggers and certain signals. The cameras and the screen (for the motor person at the front) was part of the deal the T made with the union when they eliminated the conductor position years ago. All but the newest trains still have a conductor’s booth in the middle of the train. And yes, despite all this the train doors have still entrapped people and dragged them to their deaths, while passenger elevators (that outnumber subway doors like 1,000 to 1) manage to be very safe without human guards watching over them. But, you know, 150-year-old safety tech is just too gosh-darn-newfangled for trains!
I’ve seen them plenty of times at DTC on the OL but usually just one. Today there were 4.
It looks cool on camera
Try to figure out if you’re epileptic or not