I Built an NYC Subway App Because I Was Tired of Missing Trains by 30 Seconds

The subway doors were closing. Again.

I'd be walking to the station, phone in hand, trying to figure out whether to pick up the pace. By the time the MTA app loaded and I navigated to my station, I'd hear it—that familiar chime of doors sealing shut, followed by the whoosh of a train I would not be on.

I live near multiple stations in NYC. In theory, this is a luxury. In practice, it meant I was constantly playing what I came to call Subway Roulette—betting on which route would get me there faster. I usually bet wrong.

Why Existing NYC Subway Apps Were Too Slow

Here's what drove me nuts about every transit app I tried: getting the answer took longer than asking the question. All I wanted to know was whether my train was coming. But to get that answer, I had to:

• Open the app
• Wait for it to load
• Navigate to my station
• Scroll to find my line
• Parse through a cluttered interface

Fifteen, twenty seconds would pass. Sometimes that's the difference between catching the train and watching it leave.

What If You Could Check NYC Train Times Without Opening an App?

I started thinking about this differently. The solution wasn't building a better MTA app. It was eliminating the need to open one at all. What if checking subway arrival times was as fast as glancing at your phone?

That's when I discovered iOS Quick Actions—those menu options that appear when you long-press an app icon. What if that menu could show train times instantly?

So I built Commutely, a free NYC subway app designed around one idea: speed.

How Commutely Works

The whole interaction takes about two seconds:

1. Long-press the app icon
2. Tap "Leaving Work" or "Leaving Home"
3. Train times appear on your iPhone lock screen immediately

No app to open. No navigation. No scrolling through stations.

Live Activities: Real-Time Train Countdown on Your Lock Screen

iOS 16.2 introduced Live Activities—persistent notifications that update in real-time on your lock screen and Dynamic Island. This turned out to be perfect for subway times.

When you trigger Commutely, your trains appear on your lock screen with countdown rings showing exactly when they'll arrive. You can watch your train approach without unlocking your phone. On iPhone 14 Pro and later, the Dynamic Island shows a compact view you can glance at anytime.

I added one more detail: the authentic NYC subway door-closing chime as the notification sound. Small touch, but it felt right.

Why Building for Myself Meant Building for You

The app worked immediately because I was the primary user. Every feature exists because I needed it. Every friction point got eliminated because it annoyed me personally.

That's the advantage of solving your own problem. You don't need focus groups. You just need to build something good enough that other people with the same commute will want it too.

No More Sprinting for the Subway

Since I started using Commutely, I haven't missed a train because I didn't know it was coming. No more sprinting down station stairs. No more arriving at the platform just as the doors close. No more Subway Roulette.

Who Commutely Is For

If you're a New York City subway commuter who takes the same train every day—same stations, same lines—I built this for you. Commutely is free, it's fast, and it might save you from one more unnecessary sprint.

Download Commutely for iOS