NYC Subway Help Point System Faces Challenges With Prank Calls and Delayed Responses

An audit reveals that half of the calls to the $252 million intercom system are pranks, hindering emergency response times and raising concerns about its effectiveness.

An MTA audit found that 50% of the 140,698 calls made to the Help Point intercom system between May and October 2023 were prank calls, severely impacting its functionality.
Only 28% of the calls were from riders seeking genuine assistance, while 22% came from staff conducting equipment checks, further straining resources.
Nearly 1,200 emergency calls went unanswered, and the system failed to meet the national standard for emergency response times, with only 75% of calls answered within 15 seconds.
The $252 million system, completed in 2018, is undergoing a $79.2 million upgrade to improve its technology and address inefficiencies highlighted in the audit.
Recommendations to reduce misuse include installing cameras to identify prank callers, implementing penalties for fake calls, and prioritizing emergency calls over informational ones.