Usually, communications between customers and the Maryland Transit Administration are a  tale of angst and woe (at least the ones I hear about), but there are exceptions. One is this exchange between Metro rider Alisa Bralove-Scherr and MTA Administrator Ralign Wells regardiing the MTA's pilot project of reviving its once-faulty emmail notification system for the subway.

Wells says the test is going well and that he hopes to relaunch the service for all riders soon.

I wanted to let you know how happy I was to receive my first text message alerting me to a delay on the subway today. That, and the three updates that followed, were very helpful in keeping me informed of the power outage that shut down service between the Old Court and Owings Mills stations.

The best thing of all? The subway was back on line to Owings Mills soon after I boarded for my commute back home. As a state employee whose job it is to handle complaints, I know that it is rare for people to let you know when things are going smoothly. That's why I want to make sure you know how much I appreciate the text alert.

Thanks,

Alisa Bralove-Scherr

Hello Ms. Bralove-Scherr,

Thanks for the kind words.  We are still in the early phases of bringing the system back on line and are still making some minor tweaks.  In a sense we are using our riders who were already signed up for the e-notification as a “test” group before we open it up for others to sign up for the service.  I expect that we will be officially bringing the system on-line very soon.

As always, I appreciate your feedback…especially when it’s good news.  Take care of yourself and thanks again for helping me start my day out in a positive way!

Ralign