CTA response on lack of info on accident
Following is the CTA reply to my email about why no CTA Tattler wireless alerts came from the CTA yesterday on the Red Line accident. I had also asked in the email why passengers weren't getting good info from motormen or customer service assistants. The CTA didn't respond on that. (Click here for my reply to this response.)
From Cindy Kaitcer at the CTA:
"While we do everything we can to ensure that emergency alerts are posted accurately, occasionally there is a miscommunication. In this case, staff on call thought that the Red Line Sheridan incident was related to an earlier incident that had been resolved.
"We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience to our customers. As you know, the alerts are a new service that we have been doing on a test basis. As we learned this week, there are still some bugs we need to work out in terms of our internal procedures. But we have identified what went wrong and will do our best to not have it happen again. In the meantime, we are moving ahead with plans to launch an email alert system early next year that will allow subscribers to choose to receive alerts only for those rail lines or bus routes that they use most often. So we appreciate the patience of those who have received multiple alerts over the past few months for routes that they don't use. We think that the Tattler system has provided us with a great opportunity to provide valuable information to our customers.
"At that same time, it has helped us refine our own process, so that next year we can have a system in place that will allow subscribers to receive only the alerts that they want to receive."
Thank you.
Cindy Kaitcer
General Manager, Marketing & Advertising
Chicago Transit Authority
567 West Lake Street
Chicago, Illinois 60661
kevin - nice work. thanks for all that you do to demand better from the CTA. i'm sure the progress feels slow sometimes, but i truly think that your efforts have made a difference. keep it up!
Posted by: katie | November 18, 2005 at 06:17 PM
Wow. The patheticness of the CTA never ceases to amaze. Let's run down the truly breaktaking highlights of Ms. Kaitcer's reply:
1) As Kevin points out, Ms. Kaitcer completely ignored half of his question--why motorpeople and the never-useful customer service assistants were yet again so uninformed and uncommunicative. This question has come up numerous times, and the CTA has yet (to my knowledge) to provide an adequate answer.
(To be fair, the motorman on my train provided what little information he had, with a sense of humor--and when we finally reached Belmont, even suggested that passengers contact CTA Customer Service with their comments on the incident.)
2) It hardly inspires confidence in the CTA's ability to respond to a truly serious situation (fire, derailment, accident, terror attack) if their internal communication system is so prone to "miscommunication." How reassuring to know that for, what, 15? 30? 45? minutes, CTA "staff on call" didn't bother to check on the reality of the situation, but blithely assumed that it was an old incident, neatly concluded (does that EVER happen at the CTA? seriously.). Perhaps the CTA should use its multimillion dollar cell phone equipped tunnels to communicate. (Is that even up and running yet? Or is yet another boondoggle that will cost twice as much and take three times as long to complete as advertised? I know what my guess is--I remember the woefully late Chicago Card rollout very well.)
The agency is rotten from top to bottom, though I'm sure there are a sizable number of hardworking, well-intentioned people chafing under the conditions. I find it very telling that most CTA front-line employees, when there is an urgent situation of some kind (stuck doors, for example), never seem to hurry. I would think that if someone took pride in their job, they would want to solve a problem under their control as quickly as possible. The CTA's culture must be soul-deadening, if the listless reactions from many CTA staff are any indication.
Again, I repeat the question I include in almost every comment: why does Frank Kruesi STILL have a job?
David Gunn, the head of Amtrak until he was fired last week by the Bush administration's Amtrak board, was originally hired for that job based on his success in turning around the NYC subway and other large rail systems. Can you imagine what a qualified, proven rail administrator could do a the helm of the CTA? Too bad we'll never find out so long as Daley is mayor.
P.S. As Mr. Kruesi apparently wants his legacy to be the airport express (let's spend countless hundreds of millions to shave 15 mins. off the airport trip for rich people!) and/or a new Circle Line--while letting the existing rail lines and bus routes ordinary Chicagoans CURRENTLY use crumble to dust--let's make sure we minimize the amount of money wasted on these assured boondoggles.
Let me be clear: if money were no object, an express train to the airport and a new Circle Line would be great. But why on earth would we support expansion of the system when the CTA clearly can't cope with the system it already has? I'd love a Circle Line--once the north branch of the Red Line, and other lines in need of maintenance, have been overhauled. And once a vastly different management structure and institutional culture are in place. But for the time being, I plan on speaking out as often and as loudly as possible against any more Kruesi-managed megaprojects.
P.P.S. I'd like to echo Katie's thanks to you, Kevin. It's great to have a place to learn what's going on, and to vent frustrations. :-)
Posted by: Chicago Jason | November 19, 2005 at 01:11 PM
Why all the effort into setting up text alerts, web sites, email lists etc? Anyone who has ever ridden the London Underground would be familiar with their extremely effective....and low-tech....way of informing customers of problems...
A chalkboard.
WOW! It's not that hard. They've been doing it that way for decades...using telephones and 2-way radios. All the CTA needs to do a communicate better among themselves and spend 30 seconds writing it down at the entrance to a station. (Or maybe update those electronic marquis signs.)
Kevin, has anyone run that one up the CTA's flagpole?
Posted by: LowTechSolutions | November 21, 2005 at 11:34 AM
When are we going to hear CTA's management say "Sorry, we f*%ked up royally. I got repremanded by my boss, and no longer get my 15 minute coffee break every hour. A copy of my punishment is in my permanent H/R record. I will try harder to keep the public's interest above my 2 hour lunch interest."
Posted by: cmama | November 21, 2005 at 03:09 PM
cmana, we will NEVER hear that. Honestly.
Posted by: Tim | January 17, 2006 at 12:17 AM