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» Customer Service and Reliability (12/17/04 at Noon - 1 p.m.)

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Welcome to our first Lunchtalk Online!

Author

Message

Richard White

I’m looking forward to answering your questions for the next hour and I’m here with members of my executive leadership team in case someone throws me a curveball and I need to go to my “bench” to get some more information to get you complete answers!

Yesterday we partnered with ING DIRECT to provide everyone with free morning commutes on Metrobus, Metrorail and MetroAccess. We ran smoothly yesterday and after looking at the full day of ridership, we are able to estimate that 230,000 customers got a free rail ride; 154,000 rode free on Metrobus and 600 rode for free on MetroAccess yesterday morning. How about that! Basically it was a typical December day. No increase in ridership on bus, rail or MetroAccess was noted.

Yesterday the Metro Board gave us its approval to conduct independent external reviews of our Department of Operations and Metro Transit Police Department (MTPD) to help us promote the best possible level of service reliability and customer service and outreach. For more details on that specifically, see our release at news release. These external reviews are something I recommended to the Board that we do as did some other groups such as The Sierra Club and the Metro riders group. The good news is that those reviews will start getting underway next month.

The other big news is that we open the Morgan Boulevard and Largo Town Center Metrorail stations tomorrow morning. So those of you who enjoyed yesterday’s free morning commute should come on over to the new stations because we will be offering free one-way rides between Morgan Boulevard and Largo Town Center to any other station in the Metrorail system tomorrow, Saturday, Dec. 18.

Okay, I’m excited about this chat, so let’s get started with your questions!

Learning from Riding

Author	Message
thm	Mr, White, now that you've been riding the system more than in the past, what have you observed and learned as a passenger that will lead to changes at Metro?
Richard White	I actually rode the Metro system pretty regularly during my first four years here as GM. As you've read, I've recently gone back to riding the system on a regular basis once again. I've learned a lot! First, I observed that we needed to keep our train doors open longer at busier stations to improve customer flow. I also felt we needed to return trashcans to our station platforms, and I noticed that we needed to make major improvements with our bus stop information signs. Many of the schedules I saw were out of date or contained conflicting information. As a result, we've added $500,000 in our proposed FY 2006 budget for bus information improvements. On a positive note, riding the system has given me more opportunity to interact with our station managers and other Metro employees, and I've found that the majority of my trips have been pretty reliable.

Railcar door closures

Author	Message
Metro	Why do the doors on Metrorail close so fast?
Richard White	The amount of time the doors stay open is supposed to be based on the amount of passenger volume at a station. We are working to improve on our door opening times at stations. Doors stay open longer at say Metro Center, Pentagon and Union Station than they do at the new New York Ave station where ridership is lower. Our trains are on a schedule and we want to keep people moving on time as best we can. If the doors close before you board due to a large crowd on the platform, this is what I recommend. Move down the platform to board onto an end car (like the last car of the train) where it is not typically as crowded as elsewhere. It’s usually easier to board and you’re more likely to get a seat.

Metro delays should be covered by traffic reports on TV and ...

Author	Message
red line rider	I think that when there are delays on the metro they should be announced during the traffic reports on the TV and radio. Even minor delays on the metro can impact 1,000s of people. Although you make annoucements on the web site and via email I don't have time to log into a computer when I am trying to get out the door in the morning. I can't make alternative plans unless I hear about the delays before I enter the metro station. Additionally, when there are delays there should be signs posted outside of the trunstiles at the metro. That was if there is a significant delay then I can turn around and leave before I have committed any money. Finally, I find it really annoying when there are announcements about "minor" delays on the system. It would be much more helpful if the time of the delays were annouced. At rush hour a minor delay has a ripple effect as trains get overloaded and then move more slowly through the stations.
Richard White	Actually, our delays are announced on radio and TV. We have employees in our Operations Control Center who regularly phone in rail delays and major bus route changes to local traffic reporters who work at local radio and TV stations. At least two local radio stations give traffic reports every 10 minutes. In addition to regular traffic reports, two local TV stations also have traffic and transit updates scrolling across the bottom of the screen. In addition, we have an e-alert system you can sign up for that will give you immediate delay and disruption messages for a specific rail line or lines, or system-wide, on your pager, cell phone, Blackberry, or PDA. As you may have read or seen lately, we will be making some additional customer service improvements in the new year that will improve our delivery of information to our customers.

ING Promotion

Author	Message
John M.	As a regular metro rider, I was not enthusiastic about the ING Free Ride promotion. There was an increase in ridership, many of whom were obviously not familiar with riding metro, escalator etiquette, etc. This caused increased delays and crowding. Although some trains had additional cars added, the Red Line train that came through Union Station at approx 7:20 AM had one of its cars closed, which caused increased crowding and standing-room only on some of the other cars. Finally, those of us who have Transit Link Cards and those who have other such unlimited use cards saw no benefits from ING's event. In my opinion, while the thought was good, it was not well thought-out nor well-executed, and I think that reflects negatively on ING. Thank you, John M.
Richard White	Hi. Thanks for your note. Ridership was about normal yesterday as I said earlier, however I agree with you that we probably had a lot of new riders yesterday. I’m sorry that you experienced some crowding.

registering

Author	Message
redlinedude	you may want to mention to people when they register to use this chat to look in their junk mail box for the link to join. i just registered but never got the auto-reply e-mail.... at least i didn't think i did. i found in in my spam folder.
Richard White	Good point, thanks.

Metro Rail and Metro Bus

Author	Message
Cynthia	Why is it that Metro rail doesn't talk to Metro bus, especially for the routes that stop at rail stations? I park at a park-and-ride lot and take a bus to the rail. My bus only runs during rush hours. When there are problems on the rail, the bus driver doesn't know unless a passenger tells him or her. The few times I have asked the train operator to call ahead to the station and ask the manager to hold the last bus for a few minutes, it has NEVER worked. On one memorable occasion, the station manager acknowledged that he was asked to hold the bus, but he didn't do it. It costs me $15 for a taxi to the park-and-ride; I don't have anyone to come pick me up, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. If it's Metro's fault (broken switch, etc.) that we can't make the last bus, then Metro should arrange a later bus or other transportation.
Richard White	We agree. We are just now finishing a new radio system for bus as well as the rest of Metro. This new tool gives us, for the first time, the ability to really manage the interface from rail to bus.
Reader	I ride Metrobus daily in Washington, D.C. I suggest that Mr. White and some of the upper management ride some Metrobuses, too. Many Metrobuses do not have working destination signs on the front and/or side of the buses. Also, the "Stop Requested" sign above the Metrobus driver often does not come on when one pulls the cord to request a stop. Moreover, many Metrobus drivers are indifferent or hostile when one mentions that problem to them. I have heard more than once that the driver has a light on his control panel that lights up when a passenger requests a stop, and that is all the driver cares about. What about the passengers who can not see his control panel? The "Stop Requested" sign should consistently work on many Metrobuses. Finally, many Metrobus stops do not have current bus schedules, and many Metrobuses have few or no schedules in the bus schedule racks. Thanks.
Richard White	Hi Reader. Approximately 3 percent of the front and side destination signs are not working at any given time. Part of the problem is that many of the buses with problems are old and have exceeded their expected life. About 250 of our oldest buses will be replaced by March 2006. In addition, in our budget proposal, I have recommended to add two technicians to address the immediate problem. I agree that we could use additional informational signage about our bus service and we are working on that now.

Budget

Author	Message
ralphie	It was nice to see the focus on Customer Service reflected in the 2006 Budget - as reported by the Washington Post last week. However, there were some items reported that truly raised some eyebrows - for instance, $400,000 for 6 people to replace lightbulbs (you can't help to to ask how many employees does it take to change a lightbulb?). Now I know these are fully loaded salaries with wages and benefits - but unless there are other costs, are we truly paying folks 40K a year to replace lightbulbs. I am an operator for a service business, and if I used your wage scales, I could not stay in business. Please provide some context as to how you ensure your wages are commensurate with those of us who cannot rely on public subsidies.
Richard White	The Washington Post has limited space to give a full explanation of each budget item. What they didn’t have space to include was that the budget item isn’t just for six employees. That $400,000 will include the employees, the parts, the materials, the entire program–soup to nuts. Additionally, repairing light bulbs is only part of the job. These individuals will also do many other electrician’s tasks.

New Bus Fare Machines Barrier to Quick Entry

Author	Message
kenzky	How are the new busfare machines an improvement? I understand the need for bus fare machines that are better at excluding counterfeit money. But the new machines do not accept pennies. 3/10 of the time the busfare machines do not accept dollars that are legal tender. And that change slot, oh my goodness, that change slot causes change to get stuck in it, fall on the floor, or force one to drop one coin at a time into the slot. Entry has fallen to a crawl because one cannot quickly pay one's fare. The new busfare machines reflect poorly on WMATA's ability to improve bus service.
Richard White	Hi. Kenzky. It's unfortunate that you are having a few difficulties with the new SmarTrip fareboxes. We are working to correct the sensitivity of the bill and coin collectors as you pointed out. What I recommend you do is to pick up a SmarTrip card, which will speed up your trip and also can be used in the rail system and for parking too. Hey, a SmarTrip card makes a wonderful stocking stuffer at this time of year! SmarTrip farebox details are in the news release at http://www.wmata.com/about/MET_NEWS/PressReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=359

Eight-Car Trains

Author	Message
Frank	When will Metro routinely operate eight-car trains?
Richard White	Good question. While we operated some 8-car trains yesterday in conjunction with the ING free fares promotion during the morning rush hour, to operate 8-car trains on a regular basis we need more railcars in our fleet. And the good news is, thanks to the recent approval of our Metro Matters program, we have 184 new railcars on order. The first of these new cars should start to arrive late next year (2005), and the last should be here by the end of 2007. So, you should begin to see 8-car trains in the system over the next three years!

Electronic displays and train ETAs

Author	Message
BeyondDC	I’m frequently annoyed that the electronic displays inside Metro stations don’t tell me the information I want to know, specifically when a train is coming. Too often they display what time it is for a long period then briefly flash a train ETA for about 5 seconds (if at all) before going back to giving the time of day for several minutes. Why are the displays used in this manner and can they be adjusted to spend more time giving us useful information and less as glorified (and expensive!) clocks? Riders don’t need an electronic display to tell us what time it is; we have watches! We just want to know how long until the next train comes. BeyondDC.com Tracking urbanism, planning and transportation in the DC area.
Richard White	Hello BeyondDC. We are in sync! Yesterday I presented an update on the passenger information displays (PIDS) to our Board. I wholeheartedly agree with your assessment, and yesterday we outlined the solution. We will combine the information currently on display on the information board or PID to show multiple arrival estimates. We’ll post three lines on the screen. For example, one line will say Orange Line/Vienna/Arriving 2 mins. Second line: Blue Line to Franconia, 5 mins., etc. As I told the Board yesterday, the PIDS technology was based on early 1990s technology. The system as designed has basic limitations and we’ll have to live with it until we get a new system. In the meantime, you can expect to see some of the new sign testing in January and February.

Electronic train information signs

Author	Message
Robert Smith	Mr. White, It seems the information on these signs is very sporadic. Oftentimes the sign is not functioning and remains dark. Signs that are functioning on platforms with multiple lines often display information on only one line. Is Metro aware of these problems, and how can they be fixed? I enjoy Metro and feel that it is one of the finest mass transit systems (Europe excluded, of course.)
Richard White	That was one of the first things I noticed when I recently began to ride the system more regularly. And good news is on the way. You will be seeing improvements to our Passenger Information Display signs beginning in February '05. The signs will then show the next three trains coming into the station, by line at by how many minutes away the incoming train is from the platform. We are also making improvements to eliminate the "dark signs" that you mentioned. Thanks!

Service Kiosks at Metro Stations

Author	Message
Ray	If someone is interested in setting up a Valet Kiosk/Shop in Metro Stations who should he contact. I am repeating this as I am not sure my earlier posting went through. Thanks.
Richard White	We hope to move forward on some type of retail/concessions program in the spring. Oh the possibilities! Contact our property development and management office at 202-962-1589.

The $7 Rule

Author	Message
KLS	Good Afternoon, I've been waiting for this opportunity to participate in this session. I'd like to ask you about the $7 rule. Recently I lost my Smarttrip card, which has since been replaced. During the interim, I used a $30 Metro Chek to hop the train to Metro Center to buy bus tokens to get to and fro until my new card arrived. Now for the $7 rule: I do not ride the train. I take the bus to work. I have been stuck with a Metro Check for $28.65 (obviously accounting for the $1.35 already used to get my tokens). You promote the Smarttrip card, encourage EVERYONE to get one but I'm told that I cannot transfer my funds to that card until it gets down to $7... not $20 or $15 or $10 or $28. 65, but $7! Not only that, I can't even take my $28.65 Metro Chek and buy more tokens (I was misinformed by your customer service agent--I'm now down to $27.30!). NO ONE IN YOUR SYSTEM HAS THE ANSWER TO THE $7 RULE, so I'm asking to you explain it. And if you can't explain, PLEASE FIX IT! I anxiously await your response. KLSKLS
Richard White	A good question! Our CFO, Peter Benjamin, is going to help you through this. Send us you phone number and he’ll give you a call directly.

Advocacy

Author	Message
Tim	Mr. White, What roles are available for citizen advocacy groups who wish to provide input WMATA's development?
Richard White	Funny you should ask. Recently the Sierra Club sent us a letter with 10 proposals to increase and improve our interaction with our customers and the public at large. Among the Sierra Club suggestions was the creation of a citizens advisory group. We are very strongly considering that suggestion and think it would be an excellent way to get more feedback about how we can do a better job of delivering service to our customers. We are hoping that once the Blue Ribbon Panel recommendations are released early next year, people will speak up and support the need for dedicated funding for Metro.

Overcrowded cars

Author	Message
TMcG	Each day I get a seat heading into town. I get on at the Vienna station, last stop on the orange line. Each evening, whether I leave at 4PM or 5:30PM, people are standing shoulder to shoulder, sometimes all the way. What is planned for the increase in the number of passengers to come?
Richard White	Excellent point. We need more rail cars and we’ve ordered an additional 182 cars. We expect to start seeing the new railcars late in 2005. They usually arrive at a pace of about eight per month. When they all arrive, by sometime in 2007, we’ll be operating one third of our rush hour trains as eight-car trains providing significant capacity for you.

Public Announcements

Author	Message
Frank	The public announcements, both in-station and in-transit, are often difficult to understand. There's a problem generally with the acoustics in stations, and the operators sometimes put little effort into verbalizing thier announcements on the trains.
Richard White	Hi Frank. Hi. You’re right. Some of the announcements are hard to understand. Part of the reason has to do with acoustics and some has to do with the individual’s voice. We are replacing some of the public address system speakers as part of the 2006 budget. In the short term, we will be recording some announcements and providing elocution training for our employees who make the announcements.

Spiraling Costs of Metro vs Self Insured

Author	Message
Metrofan	I'd like to preface this post by first saying that I believe that our metro system is one of the cleanest most efficient systems in the US. You do have problems but I believe you have a good, aggressive plan to correct the problems that have plagued the system for many years. However.... I have heard that the metro system is self insured. In other words, the number of insurance claims from metros employees is so high that no insurance company will even cover them. I've also heard that there's nearly as many metro employees out on disability as there are actually working. And that some of these employees were on the job for a very short period of time before "declaring" themselves disabled, thus enabling them to full compensation without having to work. I understand that not all injured employees fall into this category, but there seems to be an usually high number of workers out on disability. If this accusation is true, it could account for the extremely expensive state of affairs that the metro system is burdened with and the subsequent costs that we metro riders are having to pay. Is this true? Do you know how many metro employees are on the payroll that aren't actually working and if so, is there any check and balances in place to determine if there's any evidence of insurance fraud? I cannot mention where I obtained this information however I believe the information is from a reliable source.
Richard White	Hi. Thanks for the kind words. The information that you have on worker's comp is incorrect. Less than 3 percent of our employees are on worker's compensation. This is not out of line with what others in the industry will see. If anything, we're below industry standard.

Regarding Smart Trip Cards

Author	Message
DannyBoy	Mr White, When I think about the choice of the name "Smart Trip" I see a mental picture of a card that allows passengers to take advantage of the savings that the weekly metro rail short trip pass and other weekly passes offer. When I use my card for short trips over seven day period however, I find that I am charged more than $22 - the cost of the weekly short trip pass. Also, when I get off a train and swipe my card in a metro bus within the two hour grace period, I am charged $1.25 instead of the $0.35 that I am supposed to be charged. This, to me, makes the smart trip card a "not so smart trip card." I believe the solution of these problems will make the smart trip card more friendly to users like myself. Currently, I have abandoned my smart trip card and simply use weekly passes and transfers. In a nut shell, I think you and your administration should seriously consider reworking the technology used in the smart trip card so that it ceases to remain less useful than the weekly passes are. DB
Richard White	We agree, Danny Boy! We have plans in place now to put in a system to give SmarTrip customers the most inexpensive ride possible. We expect this improved system to be in place in approximately 18 months. Today, the SmarTrip card should be giving you the reduced fee for the the rail-to-bus transfer. If you continue to have problems with the card, please call 1-888-SMARTRIP. Thanks for your suggestion and your patience.

Blue Line Metro Rail & 7E Bus....

Author	Message
Jeanette	Hi, For the past couple of days, there have been two or three orange lines arriving at Farragut West via Franconia Springfield at 3:30pm. Why is it that the blue line always late and there are a shortage of cars on the blue line? Also, The 7E bus do not run regular after 3:00pm. The times have a big gap...3:00pm, 3:30, & 4:03. Is there anyway the 7E can run every 15 minutes after 3:00pm. How can you improve the srevice on the 7E bus. By the way, I catch this bus at the Pentagon via Bureagard. Thanks Delays on the Blue Line
Richard White	At 3:30 p.m. on weekdays, there are two scheduled Orange Line trains in a row at Farragut West because of higher demand for Orange Line service. These trains are called "tripper trains." Blue line trains are scheduled every six minutes and generally run on time. That's why you're likely to see two Orange Line trains in a row on occasion before the next Blue Line train arrives. Our trains are scheduled so that the average number of passengers per car are roughly equal.

Extending Metro Rail

Author	Message
Candace	Does metro plan to extend beyond PG County to AA County (i.e., Laurel, Odenton, or BWI) to accomodate those riders? Metro does not run beyond PG County, has metro tho
Richard White	Hello Candace! Because of the large amounts of funding that is required for extension projects, state and local governments must seek federal funding which involves competing with many other areas around the nation. The decision is up to the local jurisdictions as to whether they want to pursue such funding.

Safety and Crime: School kids!

Author	Message
brightwoodboy	I am amazed that every single weekday, twice a day, DC schoolkids turn the trains and buses into mini-riots and crime scenes. Also, the streets between Metro stations and bus stops and the schools suffer the same. Most DC schoolkids are of course great, and many are simply animalistic. I've told this to Transit police and DC police, with no satisfaction. Can you do anything to promote increased officer presence to deal with this threat? It really is terrible to ride the trains and buses to destinations near schools, and this is an absolutely regular occurrence!
Richard White	Our Metro Transit Police regularly attend PTA meetings and school assemblies to articulate your concerns and observations, and provide information on proper transit ridership behavior. Recently, additional police officers have been assigned to a mid-day shift that will allow transit police to increase our "school kids" patrol. We are aware of this problem and are working hard to make imporvements in this area.

Trains that don't go all the way to the end

Author	Message
davidl25	Why does every other red line train stop at Grosvenor in the evening? Most riders go all the way to Rockville (transfer to Marc) or Shady Grove. Also what is being done to fix the kiss and ride mess that emerges everyday from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm? This includes people illegally parking in handicapped parking spaces. Thanks Red line rider.dl
Richard White	Hello Davidl25. We would like to run all the trains to the end of the line, but we do not have enough trains to do that. The only way we can do that right now is to run trains less frequently, which means thee will be less service downtown where most of our riders travel. As it relates to your Kiss & Ride question, our police will give special attention (increase enforcement efforts) to the Kiss & Ride on that end of the Red Line.

Elevators and Wheelchair Access

Author	Message
wolfgang_nj	I use a power wheelchair to access Metrorail, though I am not a frequent rider I often encounter problems. What does Metro plan on doing to ensure that elevators are working? Even though Metro provides shuttle service to the nearest station, that is extremely inconvenient and oftentimes causes people to the late. Does Metro have any thoughts about adding duplicate elevators to busy Metro stations? Another issue, that I consider to be dangerous, is that is a Metro elevator door is blocked for more than a certain amount of time the door will automatically close and can trap wheelchair users. This can cause damage to the very expensive medical equipment and can injure people. I understand the purpose is to prevent people from holding the door opening indefinitely, but there should be a way for the doors to retract when they hit an object. What are your thoughts? Thank you for your time.
Richard White	Our elevator availability is the highest today than it has been in the past five years–above 95 percent. Please check our website or sign up for our electronic elevator alert system to get the most up-to-date information.

Advertising?

Author	Message
jeremai	This isn't strictly customer service related but I was just wondering if selling increased advertising space would be a way for Metro to generate more funds? I guess it may be a drop in the ocean compared to the costs of running the system, but it just surprises me how few advertising posters are displayed in Metro trains compared to the New York subway, London Underground, etc.
Richard White	Hi. We agree. Keep your eyes open for wrapped trains, tunnel advertising, and in-station ATMs coming in the next year. These are several of the new advertising initiatives that we are working on.