I eagerly anticipate these being rolled out at all stations.
Screens at local stations offer train times and more
By Hugh Bailey Updated 6:22 pm, Thursday, October 8, 2015
The company behind a series of screens showing train arrival times at stations on the New Haven Line gets complaints when the screens go out — and when the trains are late.
“People think we are the MTA,” said Kenyon Weiss, founder of Westport-based StopTips. “If the trains are late, they yell at us.”
In fact, StopTips is a private company run independently of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Metro-North Railroad that nonetheless provides a valuable service that had been lacking at local stations. And people have grown accustomed to knowing where their trains are. “The complaints are a sign that we’re giving valuable information,” Weiss said. “People have gotten used to the screens.”
StopTips has been working with Eye Corp Media, a company that specializes in reaching consumers via multiple advertising formats, to create Eye Commute, which provides information for train passengers as well as opening up new avenues for advertisers.
“I had been commuting to New York City from the area for many years, and as a commuter, it always seemed obvious to me that something was missing,” Weiss said. “I wanted something to tell me what’s going on with the trains.”
Bad weather or service delays can lead to uncertainty, and existing announcements weren’t specific enough. “I’d be thinking, ‘It’s snowing, where is the train? I’d love a cup of coffee,’” he said.
Weiss took his inspiration from screens in airports, some of which show arrival and departure times and others that display advertising.
“I thought, what about combining them, and not just sharing real estate on the same screen, but creating a digital board where people can communicate with other people in their community,” he said.
The result is a series of screens set up in stations and nearby businesses up and down the Metro-North New Haven Line that include train times and news, community happenings, practical information and advertising.
Screens are on the New Haven Line in Stratford, Fairfield, Westport, East Norwalk, South Norwalk, Noroton Heights, Darien, Stamford, Greenwich, Old Greenwich, Riverside, Cos Cob and Larchmont, N.Y.
They can also be found in New Canaan, Springdale and Glenbrook on the New Canaan branch and Ridgefield on the Danbury branch.
Ads display for eight seconds every three to five minutes, or about as long as it takes to get a coffee.
The screens, which can reach an estimated 125,000 commuters who ride the New Haven Line daily, are in places that are an easy walk from a train stop, usually either a station house or coffee shop, and the company does not charge a fee to host the screens.
Expansion into more Metro-North stops is high on the companies’ list, but plans don’t stop there.
“The tri-state area offers the biggest opportunity in the country,” Weiss said. “We think there is a tremendous amount of opportunity in the area.”
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