MTA keeps tight grip on information
The first thing I want to make clear is that Terry Owens, the new chief spokesman for the Maryland Transit Administration, did not put me up too this. I asked some pointed questions and he gave honest answers. I hope that doesn't get him trouble.
What I asked Owens was simply whether he received a log each morning of incidents that occurred over the previous night. To me, it seems like a no-brainer to provide such information to the public affairs office as a matter of routine. But his answer was no. Logs of the previous day's performance are shared with "senior managers" but not the person in charge of answering questions from the media and the public. If somebody inquires about an overnight lapse in service, the public affairs officer has to go dig out the information from the operations managers.
My experience suggests that these worthies are often less than forthcoming when approached by MTA spokespeople.
This pattern of jealously guarding information is hardly unique to the MTA. It is a disease of many bureaucracies. But more than most agencies, the MTA is in the direct customer service business. Its every failing is almost immediately known to riders. Only the explanation remains in doubt.
What gets lost when the public affairs people aren't informed about what went wrong and why is the opportunity to take advantage of their expert judgment in crafting a response before an issue blows up in their faces.
There's a simple solution to this problem. Every morning the same log of the previous day's problems that MTA Administrator Ralign Wells and his chief deputies receive should find its way to Owens' desk. If the top public affairs person isn't treated as a senior manager, there's something seriously wrong with the MTA.
Or better yet, post those logs online so that everyone can get a look at them. What's to hide anyway? It's about time for some radical transparency at the MTA.
Comments
What's not to hide?!
Posted by: bryanintowson | June 29, 2010 2:24 PM
The first word that came to mind to describe this is "unbelievable", but then when I remember that this is MARC, I realize that it is all-too-believable.
I've been a regular rider for nearly 20 years on both Camden and Penn lines, and the one thing that has been extremely frustrating is the way that information is (not) provided to customers.
I'm on the e-mail lists that issue information about delays, but they often arrive too little too late. Even then they skimp on issuing announcements about every train that is delayed, as I've been delayed by a 1/2 hour or more with no corresponding e-mail. Even in Union Station, when we are waiting for a delayed train we are given very little information about the nature of the delay, the extent of estimated time, etc. A MARC representative will sometimes come walking around the waiting crowd and shout himself hoarse trying to tell the passengers that the train will arrive in 10 more minutes (why can't he use the message board or PA system?), then he'll come back 10 minutes later to say that the train will be 15 more minutes late.
Some of us have the option of riding an alternate line (Penn vs. Camden), taking a bus, etc., but we cannot make good choices when we are (deliberately?) kept in the dark.
Also, in many other stations the PA systems don't work well. Sometimes while waiting for a delayed train you'll hear an electronic humming noise indicating that the PA system is trying to be used, but no voice can be heard. Also, many of these systems have electronic message boards but they are not used nearly as frequently as they should be.
Even on the trains themselves the PA's are often either too loud, too quiet, squealing with feedback, or emitting other electronic noise. I don't know if it's the PA itself or the way the conductors use them, but it's important to hear the on-board announcements as for many of the stops only a few of the cars will allow passengers to get off the train (which again is something the conductors need to announce beforehand).
Speaking only for myself, the trains I take run smoothly for the majority of the time and most of the conductors behave professionally, but MARC's had a longstanding problem with conveying information to its customers during periods of delay.
Posted by: MARC CRAM | June 30, 2010 10:16 AM