New York City Transit adds Induction Loops to Station Booths

October 2011

Editor: How cool is this? We often hear that the London transit system's looped booths greatly improve access for folks with hearing loss there. Now a similar system will soon be in place in New York!

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The Hearing Access Program today announced that the MTA New York City Transit Authority has now added over 300 induction loops at the station booths as part of President Obama's Stimulus Package.

Hearing aids amplify all sounds. To ensure customers who wear hearing aids or cochlear implants can hear the speaker, MTA New York City Transit has installed induction loops at 24-hour station booths. Switching your hearing aid or cochlear implant to the T-setting (telecoil) will allow you to hear only the speaker.

"People who wear hearing aids with a T-coil can now hear directions at subway information booths and call boxes throughout NYC," said Janice Schacter, the founder and chair of the Hearing Access Program. "No longer will a person think the person in the booth said the C train when they meant the D train."

The list of station booths that have already been installed can be found at
http://mta.info/accessibility/station_booths.htm. The project should be completed by Spring 2012. Induction loops have been added all over New York City including the Apple store in Soho, the American Museum of National History and The New York Botanical Gardens. New York City is the most culturally accessible city in the US for people with hearing loss.

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About the Hearing Access Program:

The Hearing Access Program established in 2002, is the only organization dedicated to helping the world's corporations, cultural and entertainment institutions, government agencies, and mass transit organizations improve their accessibility for people with hearing loss.