You can now see if a Long Island Rail Road train is busy before you even leave home.
In a new feature on the LIRR app announced Tuesday, riders can plan their trip and choose trains based on recent crowding data that will allow them to socially distance. Commuters will be able to see the median ridership of the past seven trips of a specific train at any station, the transit agency said.
Icons below specific trains will rate the capacity of each train from 1 to 4, with 4 being the most crowded at that particular time. For example, someone traveling from Babylon to Penn Station around 7 a.m. can know ahead of time whether to take the 6:49 a.m. or the 7:10 a.m. depending on the number of crowds.
The new feature gets the data from another feature implemented in June due to the coronavirus pandemic. It pulls information from sensors that determine in real-time how many passengers are on board a train, LIRR said.
"Our riders can rest assured that this information is reliable and never subject to human error. Our customers will be able to understand the exact ridership trends of their particular trip so that they can make the most ideal decision possible about when to ride with us," said LIRR President Phil Eng.
