Outraged travelers call out disturbing new addition inside train station: 'I hate [that] we still accept them'

It appears that train stations are the latest venues to receive a Times Square-style makeover, as a recent photo on Reddit showed. 

Travelers who need to locate their departure times and train platforms are struggling to find them, as massive ads are dwarfing useful information. 

A Redditor shared proof of this trend with a photo taken inside one such station. The first thing you see is a digital screen above the Ticketed Waiting Room sign that is bright and eye-catching yet inherently useless for travelers.

Below the screen, which measures approximately 30 feet wide by 8 feet tall, are groups of loitering commuters. If you squint, you can probably make out the details of upcoming trains displayed on small pillars at ground level. 

This rightly rankled people, who shared their honest thoughts about how advertising is encroaching on public spaces, distracting them from more important details about the world around them. 

"I hate ads. I hate [that] we still accept them," shared one commenter.

"Holy crap I didn't even notice the little TV screens at the bottom," added another, referring to the necessary train info.

While choosing to take a train over driving or flying for medium-distance travel can reduce emissions by around 80%, per Our World in Data, the utility of these spaces is being overwhelmed by flashy advertising. 

One user pointed out that the train station isn't purposely downgrading travel details in favor of money-making ad revenue. 

"The train station provides the screens for the schedule. The advertising firm provides the screens for the ads," they explained. "So it's not like the train station spent more money on ad screens."

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A United Nations report shared by Scenic America covered the alarming numbers of advertisements increasingly taking over public areas, saying that "moving screens in public spaces are particularly intrusive."

"This technology exploits the fact that any motion at the periphery of our visual field automatically captures our attention, triggering increased levels of alertness and stress," it added. 

UN-Habitat said that "lack of quality public spaces reduces urban quality of life, increasing crime, social tensions, health, and congestion."

The French Metropolis of Lyon even passed regulations to improve urban life for residents by requiring a 75% reduction in advertising panels throughout the area, per Energy Cities. Plus, it banned them from the Lyon Metro's public transportation system entirely.

Another commenter noted that "if the ads don't subsidize the train tickets or anything else obvious to the passengers using the service they're not going to consider it of any benefit regardless." 

"It's just more junk and distraction vying for attention at a busy place one has to navigate," they added. 

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