Visualizing the New York Subway System's 'Data Exhaust'

In 2011, MetroCards were swiped through the turnstiles of the New York City subway system 1.6 billion times. Each swipe was, itself, a data point, and it came connected to myriad others about the day of the week, the subway stop, the identity of the rider. Did the commuter have a student MetroCard, or a senior citizen one? What about a seven-day pass, or a 30-day one?

As a sheer byproduct of moving so many people around the city, the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority constantly churns out information like this. And, thanks to the rapidly expanding movement for open data, it’s now available to the public – if we can just begin to figure out what to do with it.