iPhone app tells you fastest way to exit NYC subway

Posted by anthonykuo , Jul, 2009 @ 9:55 am

The NYC Subway Just Got Faster. from Jonathan W on Vimeo.

exit strategy nyc

Yesterday I posted about an iPhone app that helps you locate London Tube stations from the street, and wished for a New York City app. Well, looks like there is one, but not from the same makers.

As a NYC resident and chronic user of the MTA Subway system, I have a problem. When I get on trains to new destinations, I always wonder if the exit is going to be at the back, front, or middle of the train. Bet wrong, and I have to trek the entire length of the train just to exit the (usually filthy) station. Not fun.

So I started playing this little game – learning the station. Through trial and error, on my most frequented routes, I figured out which train cars would bring me closest to the exit. Or, if I was in for a long trip and didn’t mind a little extra walk, I figured out which cars were the furthest from most exits (and therefore had fewer people crammed into it).

That’s why I love the Exit Strategy NYC app. Enter which line you’re taking, whether you’re going uptown or downtown, and which stop you want to get off, and the app tells you exactly which car to get on, with detailed diagrams. It even tells you whether to get on behind the middle conductor or in front, and by how many cars. Even more impressive – the app has an “advanced users” mode that tells you the exact door to exit any particular train, for the hardcore “I want to be the first out of the station” people.

But the most impressive thing about this app is its development. In order for this to be accurate, brother and sister team Jonathan and Ashley Wegener dove into one of the largest train systems in the world, and painstakingly visited each station and collected station and train data.

Props, guys. Visit them at Exit Strategy NYC. The app is available for the iPhone at the Apple App store, as well as for the Blackberry from the Blackberry App World, and for the Kindle from Amazon. It also has Android support, in case you’re a googlephone user.

(Thanks Mimi for the tipoff!)

The NYC Subway Just Got Faster. from Jonathan W on Vimeo.

Tags: Amazon, app, app store, Apple, Blackberry, iphone, kindle, metro, mta, new york city, nyc, subway