Celebrity Safety Announcements

The familiar voice talking about watching the gap and cell phone manners on your LIRR station loudspeaker may seem out of place. That's one of the reasons it's being used, to get your attention. Some well-known media celebrities are now helping to carry important MTA Long Island Rail Road customer-related messages. They are part of the LIRR's continuing efforts to remind customers to watch the gap and exercise cell phone courtesy while on-board trains.

The announcements from CNBC's Maria Bartiromo, NBC's Al Roker and 1010 WINS' Juliet Papa are being broadcast over the public address systems at Penn Station and line stations. Stations that have video broadcasts of the audio will also carry the celebrity messages. The gap safety message from Maria Bartiromo first aired in December; gap safety and courtesy messages from Juliet Papa started this week; and Al Roker will be aired in the near future. The media personalities graciously donated their time as a public service and provided the announcements at no cost to the LIRR.

LIRR President Helena Williams said the idea for using celebrity voices originated with an MTA board member from Long Island. "Mitch Pally told me he noticed that some railroad customers were not really paying attention to our regular safety-related public address announcements. He suggested that we try something different to get their attention. Hopefully, these celebrity messages, along with our "Be TrainSmart - Tune In To Safety " and "Courtesy Matters " campaigns, will help to drive home to our customers the importance of their paying attention to the gap and not being 'cell-fish.' "

There are six celebrity messages currently being aired or that will be aired soon. They are:
"Hi...this is     urging you to hold your child's hand while stepping over the gap. "
"Hi...this is     reminding you to watch the gap while entering and exiting you train. "
"Hi...this is     asking you to be considerate and allow others to exit the train before you board. "
"Hi...this is     asking you to "Watch The Gap "…especially when traveling with children. "
"Hi...this is     asking you to please be courteous when using your cell phone on the train. "
"Hi...this is     for the benefit of those around you, please speak softly when using your cell phone. "