The MTA planning pilot program to test "audio ads" in subway starting this spring

A brief aside from our recent posts on the Ronkonkoma Branch, the MTA announced recently that this spring the MTA will begin playing 30 second audible ads at select subway and commuter rail stations. I personally do not like this idea one bit. On top of the fact that we already listen to enough advertisements in any given day and that we pay high transportation fares, having to listen to a very loud 30 second ad which the MTA says would be played at 75 decibels, equivalent to that of a vacuum cleaner can actually be distracting or even borderline dangerous.

Both subway and commuter rail stations are very high stimulation places, and with the digital age, people are already hooked to their phones opposed to paying attention to what's going on around them, and the last thing we need is another distraction from the train and safety announcements. Additionally, an ad playing at 75 decibels could make it difficult for people to hear others especially in a subway station underground which is already loud enough, which could pose safety risks in an event of an emergency. 

Also not to be forgotten is the old "boy who cried wolf" scenario. If they keep on pumping out useless ads out on the loudspeaker, eventually people will start to ignore them and in the event of a real emergency where they need to make announcements on the loudspeaker, or in the case of a service disruption, people will not be listening.

In conclusion, subway stations are a overstimulating enough. Between the never-ending service announcements, loud trains, and constant threat of crime, the last possible thing the MTA needs is more distractions from what people should be doing when in a subway system- paying attention.