Wash Heights Station To Get New Customer Service Center: What It Means

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — A central subway stop in Washington Heights will get a Customer Service Center in the near future, which will include agents traveling around the station assisting riders wherever they might be.

The 168th Street 1, A and C stop will receive a Customer Service Center within the station by the end of 2023.

A major change for the new Customer Service Centers will be that the MTA agents won't remain inside the structures, but instead make their way around their respective stations looking to help.

The enhanced station agent role will provide customer support outside of the booths in the following ways.

• Direction help throughout the transit system.
• Assistance for customers with disabilities and seniors.
• Assistance at fare machines.
• Enhanced customer service during service disruptions and major planned changes.
• OMNY guidance and information, including conversion and use.
• Timely reporting of any issues related to customer amenities, including elevators, escalators, digital signage, Help Points, and turnstiles.
• Maintenance of a safe and clean customer environment.
• Reporting of quality-of-life issues.

Here's what the new Customer Service Centers look like.

A central directive for the new station agents will be to push passengers to use OMNY technology while going through the turnstiles.

“The MTA is committed to enhancing the way customers receive support throughout the transit system,” said MTA Acting Chief Customer Officer Shanifah Rieara, in a news release. “As we continue to smash OMNY records, with two million taps recorded in one day recently, the enhancements to customer service we are implementing by bringing station agents out of the booths and opening more customer service centers will help more riders make the switch to OMNY and start tapping.”

The MTA also announced that three new Customer Service Centers opened on Tuesday, which come on the heels of the first trio of Customer Service Centers opening on Feb. 7.