The MTA will open “Customer Service Centers” at 15 subway stations next year in an effort to provide riders with “comprehensive customer support,” transit officials said Wednesday.
The new booths will open at six subway stations in early 2023, with nine additional stations set to have their own kiosks later in the year, the MTA and Transport Workers Union Local 100, which represents thousands of public transit workers, said in a press release.
Station agents staffing the centers around the clock will assist riders with OMNY and Reduced-Fare use, help them navigate the transit system, provide updates on travel delays, explain how customers can submit complaints and more, according to the release.
The centers “will comprise of repurposed booths and new retail outlets and feature enhanced accessibility, OMNY technology, and a dedicated, more welcoming visual presentation for customers through new lighting, branded wrapping, and canopies,” the release said.
The six centers opening in early 2023 will be located at the following stations, the MTA said:
- 161 St-Yankee Stadium (4/B/D)
- 34 St-Pennsylvania Station (1/2/3)
- Atlantic Ave-Barclays Center (2/3/4/5/B/D/N/Q/R)
- St. George (Staten Island Railway)
- Coney Island-Stillwell Ave (D/F/N/Q)
- Flushing-Main St. (7)
The nine additional centers will be located at:
- Fulton St (2/3/4/5/A/C/J/Z)
- Myrtle-Wyckoff Aves (L/M)
- 74 St-Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Ave (7/E/F/M/R)
- 125 St (4/5/6)
- Fordham Rd (4)
- Times Square-42nd St (1/2/3/7/N/Q/R/W/S)
- Sutphin Blvd-Archer Ave-JFK Airport (E/J/Z)
- 168 St (1/A/C)
The MTA and the transit union announced that station agents would take on some new customer-facing responsibilities earlier this month.
Station agents will be trained to use OMNY equipment and perform other “dedicated customer service functions,” according to the release.
“Customer Service Centers will be a game changer for subway riders,” New York City Transit President Richard Davey said in a statement. “By bringing full-service customer service right to stations, we are making it easier than ever for customers to receive the support they need, from switching to OMNY to enrolling in the Reduced-Fare program.”
“Riders want customer service and stations that are staffed with people, not just OMNY card vending machines,” TWU Local 100 Stations Vice President Robert Kelley added in his own statement. “The union wants to preserve and protect our station agents’ jobs into the future. These Customer Service Centers help achieve these goals.”