NYC subway Help Point intercom system struggles due to prank calls, audit says

Half the calls made through subway station intercoms that allow riders to report an emergency or seek information were deemed as pranks during a six-month time frame in 2023, according to an audit released Tuesday.

The Office of the MTA Inspector General said 50% of the 140,698 Help Point system calls received by NYC Transit during that time were in the "mischief" category.

Roughly 28% of the calls were from people in need of emergency or information assistance, the audit said. About 22% were agency staff trying out the system, and nearly 1,200 emergency calls from riders went unanswered. These included times where people reported concerns such as a hurt passenger or being harassed. The response to other emergency calls was "unacceptably delayed."

The installation of the 3,016 Help Points across all 472 subway stations was completed in 2018 at a price tag of more than $252 million, according to the audit. They remain a critical tool to support public safety, auditors said. Still, the nuisance calls, "wasteful equipment checks" and delayed pickups demonstrate that the call-management system needs upgrades, the audit said.

"The Help Point system is important for public safety, and an immediate response to genuine emergency calls is crucial," Inspector General Daniel Cort said in a statement on Tuesday.

A private company developed the Help Points, which have a red button that should be used for an emergency and a green one for travel assistance, the audit said. There's an ongoing, $79.2 million upgrade to their technology, as well as that of other systems of communication, the audit said.

Emergency calls are routed to a station call center at the Operations Control Center, according to the inspector general. Information calls are sent to the local station booth and then to the control center if not picked up initially.

However, the audit found crucial problems in the system while analyzing the calls between May and October of last year.

The Operations Control Center answered 75% of emergency calls in 15 seconds or less, according to the inspector general, which did not comply with the National Emergency Number Association standard that 90% of emergency calls should be answered in that time frame.

About 19% of the calls took between 16 seconds and a minute to be answered, the audit found.

It said NYC Transit, which operates the subway system, should improve its rate of prioritizing emergency calls and ensure adequate coverage during shift changes.

Auditors said the time used to check the system could be more effectively utilized. Employees must check the Help Points weekly, but the system does not differentiate between those technology checks and actual calls from customers, according to the inspector general. The volume of those calls can take away from real needs, the audit said. The ongoing upgrades could offer technological advances to help with this issue, it said.

The audit found that roughly 70,000 prank calls during the period in question caused delays in responding to real assistance needs. The audit suggests installing cameras to identify the perpetrators of those "mischief calls."

Auditors said NYC Transit officials did not know the extent of the problem but agreed with the report's recommendations.

Lisa Daglian, executive director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, said in a statement Tuesday that NYC Transit accepting the recommendations is a key step.

"Riders need to know that they can contact someone when they need help — whether an emergency or for information — and being confident in the Help Point system will help increase their feelings of safety in the system," she said.

By Tiffany Cusaac-Smith

tiffany.cusaac-smith@newsday.com@T_Cusaac

Education: Howard University 

Tiffany Cusaac-Smith came to Newsday in 2023 after being a race and history reporter at USA TODAY, where she wrote enterprise and spot articles examining how the past shapes the present. Previously, she worked as the race and justice reporter at the USA TODAY Network of New York, covering issues such as criminal justice reform, housing, environmental justice, health care and politics. At The Journal News/lohud.com in Westchester County, she covered Yonkers, the state's third-largest city. She also worked at The Associated Press in Atlanta.

Honors and Awards: Criminal justice reporting fellowship with the National Press Foundation;  New York News Publishers Association award for distinguished investigative reporting;  Contributed reporting for Best of Gannett honor; Member of Table Stakes, a program funded by the Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund and managed by the American Press Institute to transform local news.