Transforming a system for millions of riders

The MTA communicates with its riders in myriad ways, pouring massive amounts of energy and resources into gathering, coordinating, and disseminating information. To build a mass transit system of the future, the MTA wanted to transform their communication system from a patchwork of software to a future-facing rider engagement platform. Launch by NTT DATA was asked to create a unified, data-driven messaging platform that could power every channel: social media, email, websites, apps, and digital screens.

Platform reinvention

Through user research, interviews, and analysis, we conceived of a design that greatly simplified message creation and publication. Working in parallel, software engineers began architecting a modern, flexible software platform using technologies like GraphQL and React. Thanks to continuous deployments, MTA teams could test and provide feedback after only a few months.

A grand, central station

We built MTA Mercury: a central CMS and source-of-truth communication platform for the MTA—where a message can be written once and published across multiple endpoints. Anyone in the MTA can easily program and control messaging heading out to millions of riders on a daily basis.

Future state of mind

The MTA is installing over 50,000 digital screens across its entire network and constantly expanding its rider applications. Because MTA Mercury was built with the future in mind, it’s ready to support all the apps and experiences of a digitally transformed New York.