Metro is trying a new tactic in its campaign to improve its communications with riders: printed signs. Regular commuters may be familiar with the handwritten signs that have dotted the rail system for years. They have been scrawled on random pieces of paper and affixed to station kiosks, fare vending machines, fare gates and barricaded escalators to alert riders of the failures of the system. They have communicated the basic information riders need.
Now Metro has eight different printed signs, including “elevator out of service” and “customer restroom out of service” instead, agency spokeswoman Cathy Asato told The Washington Examiner. The agency is also considering adding other signage to the mix.
“This is just the first step in the process,” Metro spokesman Dan Stessel said. “The ultimate goal here is to give the station managers the tools they need to do their jobs.”
The agency began the new sign campaign in late October, Asato said, and all 86 stations in the Metro system have received the new signs.
But on Thursday morning, a bent and soiled paper that appeared to be a discarded fare reimbursement receipt was serving a new duty as a handmade sign at the Eastern Market station. “NO SMART TRIP CARD,” it proclaimed in pen, taped to a broken fare gate.
| Metro’s newest signs |
| The transit agency says it now has eight different pre-printed signs for stations: |
| » Customer Restroom out of service |
| » Elevator out of service |
| » Escalator out of service |
| » Faregate out of service |
| » No Receipts Issued |
| » One Day Pass |
| » Out of Service Please Use Another Faregate |
| » SmarTrip Dispenser Out of Service |
The sign didn’t appear long for this world, though.
A Metro worker was walking nearby with formal printed signs in hand. Already a nearby fare vending machine sported a printed sign saying it wasn’t issuing receipts.
But beyond the Eastern Market station, other stations appear to lack the new-fangled signs despite the October roll-out. They may even lack the handwritten ones of yore.
Late last month, transit advocate Dennis Jaffe noticed that the fare vending machines at Columbia Heights were not accepting debit cards. When he asked if a station manager could post a sign, he was told no materials were available to write a sign.
Stessel said it’s possible that station managers on duty may not all know about the new signs.
“Our hope is to get to the point where handwritten signs are not used,” he added. “But we understand that station managers may be in a position where handwritten signs are better than no signs.”
Jaffe praised the development of Metro getting new signs. “I give them credit for finally shaping up. This is a good sign,” he said, with a laugh.
