Decisions, Decisions, Which Train Should I Take?

So, you think you’re a veteran MTA subway rider? Can you direct a tourist how to get from point-A, to point-B, from any subway station in the city?

What if there is more than one way to get to the same destination? Which train is fastest?

For example, if you’re at the Classon Avenue G subway station in Bed-Stuy, and you need to go to Union Square, you can either jump on the Court Square-bound G train, or you can take the Church Avenue-bound G train. Both routes can get you to 14th Street. But which route is faster?

“When I lived in the city for the first time in the summer of 2007, it took a long time to learn the subway,” said Adam Ernst, who is now a veteran rider of the NYC Subway. “Even when I had the system down, I always was wondering--is it faster to take the 2/3 or the 4/5?”

Questions like these is what led Ernst to develop iTrans, an application for the iPhone that provides easy-to-use, comprehensive transit scheduling advice for subway riders.

Other features on the iTrans include:

• Step-by-step travel directions, including walking directions, that use a proprietary algorithm that takes into account specific estimated transfer times at each transfer station.
• Licensed MTA maps, including the subway map and the detailed neighborhood maps posted in subway stations.
• Train schedules that incorporate weekends and holidays as appropriate.
• Detailed service advisories, exactly as printed by MTA New York City Transit.

All features of iTrans except service advisories are available for MTA trains, the PATH train, NJ Transit, and transit systems in Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. even when the user is underground and offline.

Adam Ernst’s iTrans application was selected as MTA’s “App of the Week” and is available now on iTunes for $3.99.

To learn more about the iTrans app, visit www.itrans.info.