A few years from now, New York's five million subway riders will be enjoying cellphone service while commuting. All of New York's subway stations will eventually be wired for mobile phone service, but talking in the trains will not be available since tunnels will not be equipped. Transit Wireless, the company that won the rights to install the technology, will pay New York's Metropolitan Transportation Agency 46.8 million dollars. Transit Wireless will also pay for the cost of installing the wireless network in the underground stations. Other wireless carriers, such as Verizon, Cingular, and Sprint, will have to go through Transit Wireless to send their signals into the stations. Passengers believe the cellphone service in subway stations will make it easier to contact others during emergencies, or to notify employers when running late. Riders regularly use cellphones in trains and stations on elevated portions. San Francisco's BART has already installed mobile phone service into their underground tunnels in downtown, allowing passengers to talk in between stations without being interrupted.
Cellphone service will first be available (by 2009) at the following stations, and eventually at the rest of the stations by 2013:
- 14th Street and 23rd Street on the A, C, and E trains.
- 14th Street on the 1, 2, and 3 trains.
- 14th Street on the F and V trains.
- 8th Avenue and Sixth Avenue on the L train.
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Photo courtesy Metropolitan Transportation Agency
