Research Methods

The study is based on two stations – 14th St-Union Sq and Jay St-MetroTech, as they serve as major transit hubs in lower Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn. Research methods such as observations, behavioral mapping, and interviews were used to discover the experience of navigating through these stations.

Primary Research

For the observations, I focused on these areas:

• Travel patterns (significant movements within the station, transfers, flow of passengers)

• Passenger behavior (how are they getting to where they are going?)

• Station structure and spatial layout

• Informational media (advertisements, maps, signs, kiosks, posters, announcements)

14th St-Union Sq Station

Union Square station features a three-story underground layout with five platforms servicing the 4, 5, 6, N, Q, R, W, and L trains. Since the scale of Union Square station could be overwhelming, I decided to observe three main areas:

• The mezzanine area around the entrances to the 4, 5, 6 trains

• The pathway leading up to the N, Q, R, W trains

• The transfer connection from the N, Q, R, W platform to the L. 

 After two rounds of observations, several issues stood out amongst the overall wayfinding experience at 14th St-Union Sq station:

• Some spaces on the mezzanine level felt constricted due to station structure and the density of pillars

• There were many cross-over foot traffic in parts of the station that connects to multiple lines; for instance, the transfer stairs from the N, Q, R, W platforms to the L

• Some signs were blocked by station structures or placed in areas with poor visibility

• Train arrival boards on the mezzanine level did not include information for all train arrivals or any service announcements

• There was a lack of visual consistency between newly-installed and existing infrastructures, which creates more confusion for passengers that are seeking navigational information

Behavioral Map of 14th St-Union Sq station

To provide a more direct representation of the pedestrian traffic in 14 St-Union Sq station, I created a behavioral map based on Candy Chan’s rendering of Union Square station. The map shows the different movements within often-crowded sections of the station. Each arrow shows the direction of the movement, with varying line weights indicating the volume of the traffic. Because of the traffic flow and the structure of the station, passengers who needed to take a break or look for information on their phones had to step to the side of the station. Riders also tend to look up for information at sections where foot traffic crosses over from different directions. I also noticed several passengers looking for information in areas near the exits.

Jay St-MetroTech Station

Jay St-MetroTech is a station located in downtown Brooklyn that offers service to the A, C, F, and R trains. The station features a three-story underground structure and has three island platforms that offer connections to Manhattan, South Brooklyn, and East Brooklyn. The station used to be two separate stations that are a block apart from each other until 2010 when the MTA combined the two stations into one and renovated the station to be fully ADA accessible.

Compared to Union Square station, Jay Street has a less complex layout with fewer spaces with a high volume of traffic. Therefore, I will be conducting my observation in these areas of the station: the middle mezzanine connecting R to the A, C, F trains, the Manhattan-bound A, C, F platform, and the R platform.

In summary, my observations of the overall wayfinding experience at Jay St-MetroTech station are as follows:

• The placements of directional signs needed to be reviewed as they were blocked by other objects and station structures.

• The Accessibility Lab Project offered some great wayfinding facilities for passengers but could be improved for better efficiency

• Audio announcements in the station did not differentiate between different lines, which caused unnecessary panic for passengers

• Escalators connecting to the R platform needed to be marked with directions so that riders could correctly identify and locate them.

• Digital screens on the platforms could be better utilized to include station and system-wide announcements and service status

Behavioral map of Jay St MetroTech

To further understand the traffic patterns of the middle mezzanine at Jay St-MetroTech, I created a behavioral map based on station renderings from Project Subway. The map shows all the cross-over pedestrian traffic with different line weights suggesting the volume of the traffic. Since the middle mezzanine offered transfer access to all the lines, traffic became heavy especially when there were passengers trying to access the exit or transfer to another train. At the R platform, the transfer to the A, C, and F was somewhat difficult since people had to navigate through the narrow corridors that significantly slowed down traffic. Passengers were more inclined to look for information at decision points such as exits and train entrances and busy corridors to make sure that they are heading in the right direction.

User interviews

I interviewed subway riders who visit 14th St-Union Sq and/or Jay St-MetroTech at least four times per week. I recruited four research participants and asked them to engage in a 15 to 30-minute informative conversation sharing their experience navigating through the stations and responses are recorded with notes.

Questions were used as a general framework for conversations and were drafted to discover participants’ navigation experience and the kinds of information they look for in the stations:

• Can you walk me through your process of taking the train at (Union Sq/Jay St)?

• How would you describe your experience at (Union Sq/Jay St)?

• What do you like and dislike about commuting at (Union Sq/Jay St)?

• What facilities (stairs, escalator, elevator, train arrival time) do you look for when taking the train?

• Do you use other things (anything that’s not a part of the station, such as apps) to help you find your way when taking the train?

• What information do you wish to see present in the stations?

Design Intervention

The observations and interviews with experts and subway riders unearthed many of the pain points a user might encounter in their process of navigating busy subway stations such as 14th St-Union Sq and Jay St-MetroTech. Although the experience of navigating these two stations is different due to their respective locations and physical structure, similar issues were found in both stations. For instance, some overhead directional signs in both stations were placed in locations with visual obstructions or poor lighting conditions. The two stations also failed to provide passengers with a congregated information board including service announcements and train arrivals across all lines. During busy times such as peak hours, populated areas in either station become overcrowded due to cross-over pedestrian movements and the absence of directionality. In general, pain points in passenger experience were caused by low visibility of signs, lack of detailed service information, and inefficient crowd management.

Ideation Process

There are many opportunities to address the pain points mentioned above; but because of the complexity of the New York City subway system, it is almost impossible to come up with a solution that addresses all the pain points at once.

My intention is to create a practical solution that offers essential navigational information to passengers. I aim to build a prototype that could live outside of the ecosystem of smartphones. The first reason is that there are existing applications on the market, such as City Mapper and Google Maps, that already address some of the issues by offering contextual transit information. Secondly, making a solution entirely based on phones implies an exclusion for people who are not technologically proficient or do not have access to technology. Expanding access to contextual wayfinding information will help more passengers make time-saving decisions.

Prompted by the comparison of Asian public transportation systems and the NYC subway, I decided to create a station guide to 14th St-Union Sq station. The station guide will be addressing passengers’ pain points with different maps dedicated to three types of trips: departing, arriving, and transferring.

Prototyping Process

I decided to create a portable subway station guide. To make it easily carried by commuters and reproduced with home printers, I formatted the station guide as a pamphlet in US Letter size (8.5 by 11 inches). My stylistic inspiration for the subway station guide mainly came from the station diagrams that can be found in Hong Kong MTR and Tokyo subway stations, combined with colors from the old New York subway map created by Massimo Vignelli. With this subway guide, I attempt to construct a visualization of my own take on the NYC subway with the thoughtfulness and hospitality that can be felt across Asian transportation systems.

14th St-Union Sq Subway Guide

NTA: Off the Rails

After receiving some feedback from the first prototype, I feel that the station guide itself is missing a cultural element that is integral to the NYC subway. To me, what separates the NYC subway from other transit systems is that every commute is full of surprises, whether good or bad. I want the project to demonstrate the uncertainty and the diversity of people that passengers encounter every day on the train. The idea of creating a board game as an analogy for the commuting experience in the city came to my mind. The idea stuck with me and it reminded me of 飞行棋 (Airplane Chess), one of my favorite board games as a kid.

I decided to recreate a game building on the Chinese Airplane Chess and Ludo but with some added twists to represent a journey on the New York City subway. The name of the game, NTA: Off the Rails, is intended to be an ironic take on the MTA and the experience of riding the subway. Aside from the classic rules of Ludo, I added three features to the game:

• When the player lands at a square with a Chance, they have to draw a Chance card from the deck

• The player will follow the instructions given on the Chance card

• If the player rolls the die to six for three times, all of their tokens have to go back home

To represent the things that a subway rider might encounter on their commute on the chance cards, I reached out to other subway riders and asked for their most memorable events while being on the subway. I then sorted the responses and combined them with other events on the subway documented by photos or videos from social media platforms. I incorporated the Chinese term “转角遇到爱”, which literally means “bumping into love at a turning corner” and is often used as a metaphor for unexpected events or surprises either good or bad. So at each turning point, the players will see a chance square. I added the “three times six” rules to represent the fact that no commute in the NYC subway is truly uneventful, and that if the trip is going too well, then something is bound to happen. For the design of the board, I incorporated elements from the official New York City subway map, such as line shapes, station icons, and colors. The design is also reflected on the Chance cards to ensure visual consistency.

Next steps

In the next iteration of the pamphlet, it should include the community aspect of riding the subway. Everyone who lives in New York has their own experience of commuting on the subway and their own tips and tricks to make their commute easier. The pamphlet, as a paper medium, is not enough to represent the community and conversations that many commuters feel passionately to share. I was not able to see this limitation until after having many dialogues with commuters throughout the project. I hope to address this limitation and expand on the community aspect of the subway in the future. A potential solution is to size down the pamphlet so it could be folded into a pocket size. Alternatively, a digital and interactive version of the pamphlet could be created alongside the physical copy, so that users will have the opportunity to pick whichever medium that fits their needs best.

To test out the board game, I invited several people and set up a playtest at a coffee shop. Since the game is based on Ludo, players quickly understood the basic rules and how the game works. Players brought up several issues during the game; first, they were not sure if the used chance cards should be placed back into the deck or discarded. Second, some chance cards were proved to be too powerful and disruptive to the balance of the game. Lastly, there were some detailed rules to the game, such as how to determine who goes first, that needed to be specified by the rule book. Players liked the added features to the game and enjoyed using and reading the chance cards. They felt that the game prompted them to have conversations and bond over their collective “trauma” of riding the subway in New York.

Overall, my prototypes were able to provide some comfort in a hectic environment and create a space to communicate and connect with each other. In the next version of the game, it should have a more balanced gameplay experience and include a bigger board to better accommodate the size of the play pieces. I plan to distribute the game in two ways: the home printable version, which includes every element of the game but with a smaller board, will be made available online. The deluxe version, which comes with the packaging and a bigger game board, will be made by a manufacturer and distributed through a Kickstarter campaign. I could also see the game live in board game cafes throughout the city.

Although the New York City Subway is not the fastest, cleanest, or most accessible system in the world, it is a unique space that brings people from all walks of life together. Throughout the course of this research, I have discovered a community of people that are passionate about building a better future for the city. I hope to continue to build on these prototypes and explore how we could make the city’s subway a more enjoyable and safer way to travel together throughout the city.