Metro will soon make it easier for rail passengers to learn the length and cause of delays. In about two weeks, passengers will be able to call Metro’s customer service line and hear a recording about any significant delays and their causes.
“It’s another way we can help our customers,” said Ray Feldmann, Metro’s assistant general manager for communications.
Feldmann said the exact launch date has not been determined and Metro officials are still deciding how long a delay needs to be to qualify for a mention on the recording. Passengers could check the line when planning their trips, Feldmann said, and passengers with Verizon cell phones (the only ones that work in Metro’s tunnels) can check for delays while riding Metro.
“It just came out of a conversation we were having one day,” Feldmann said. “We said that if we can already put a recording on the media line about service disruptions, there was no reason why we couldn’t have a similar line for our customers to call.”
Passengers often hear partial in-station announcements about delays when their trains arrive at a station but the doors on the train close before the announcement finishes.
“That’s frustrating to me and frustrating to customers,” said Feldmann, who rides Metro to work daily. “You’re wondering how the delay will affect you and whether you should switch trains and take a different line. We hope the customer service line will help people make those decisions.”
Feldmann said Metro is also working to improve communications between its operations staff, dispatchers and train operators to get accurate information on delays to passengers aboard trains. Operators often only tell passengers that there is a delay, but do not say what the problem is or how long the delay will be. Coordinating the information flow, he added, is complicated.
“It’s like turning a big boat in the ocean,” Feldmann said. “It’s not easy and it takes longer than you want it to, but eventually you get it done.”
