Colorful balloons at the entrance to the New York subway are more important than you think

Have you ever wondered what those colored balloons are at the entrance to every subway station in New York? Today, we think of them as just a decoration - a relic of a bygone transport era, but at one time these balloons were a whole color-coded system that helps New Yorkers navigate public transport. New York Post.

“Have you ever noticed these glowing circular lanterns at the entrance to the subway, and did you know that they were not just for aesthetics? It really served a purpose, ”said John Fria, creator of New York's TikTok account. @hereinnyc, in a recent educational video shedding light on the history of the balls. The video received over 400 views.

“Metro balloons were first installed in the 1980s, when tokens were still used,” he explained in the video.

Fria went on to talk about the three colors of the balls - green, yellow and red - and their meanings. He explained that initially “green” meant that the entrance to the station was open XNUMX hours a day and that it had a kiosk for buying tokens. Yellow is the only one of the three colors that is currently not used at all. He meant that on stations there was a token booth, but on a part-time basis. The red ball meant that the entrance it equipped was designed only for the exit of passengers and that there were no kiosks with tokens at the station.

Want to know what the crescent-shaped balloons on the subway mean? According to Fria, nothing. In the 1990s, New York City decided that the balloons should emit more light, he said. Fria noted that the crescent-shaped design was a way to make them shine brighter. At the same time, they retained the existing color pattern and aesthetics.

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However, the arrival of the MetroCard in 1997 greatly complicated the initially simple design of the colored ball.

“In theory, the concept seems simple, but there was some confusion, especially when MetroCard was introduced,” Fria explained in the video. - Certain passenger exit-only seats have been converted to a regular entrance with a vending machine Metrocard... The yellow balloons are no longer used at all, and today in general a green balloon means that this is the entrance to the subway. Red still indicates that this is a way out, only now with some exceptions. "

Fria said that this historic clip was inspired by his TikTok Metro Secrets series. He analyzes the elements of New York's transportation system from a historical perspective.

@hereinnyc

Did you know what these meant? #nychistory #nycsubway #subway #nycsubway

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