More Comments on my proposed Agenda

Another RAC member expressed thoughts:

1. Unorganized as we are we are not equipped to properly receive public comment.
2. We will get nowhere if we spread ourselves too thin. As we sink institutional roots and gain expertise the number of subjects that we can tackle will grow.
3. It is premature to push WMATA for financial resources. It is particularly inappropriate for the RAC to suggest or hint that members receive any financial compensation. The position is voluntary and we all knew that coming in.

My Response:

I can appreciate your cautionary approach to “concentrate on a few issues” and tackle additional initiatives as we grow institutional knowledge. But, my concern is that we become institutionalized, rather than representative of the Riders.

We, the RAC, are coming into existence at a very precarious time, given the events of yesterday. Not that this event wasn’t foreseeable given the talk from a few months back. I feel that it is important for us to use this opportunity (search for a new GM, plus startup of the RAC) and take the initiative to give the “riders” a voice in the direction of WMATA.

Likewise, given the size of our group, it IS possible for us to cover a large number of issues, if we work in parallel efforts. The establishment of committees to do the real work of the RAC will allow us to drill down into the many facets of WMATA’s business and look for opportunities to “empower riders.” If you look at the list of Sub-Committee’s that I proposed you will see that there are numerous opportunities for us to make a difference in so many ways.

If you look at the cross-section of RAC members, you’ll see that we all have different ridership patterns, use different modes of transportation, come form different geographic regions, and have different backgrounds. We can use our differences to make an impact on the lives of the riders that we represent. I’ve had some discussions with some other members of the RAC as well as RAC applicants. Everyone has a different agenda. This is realistic, because Metro serves many people in many different ways.

I say, strike while the iron is hot and be highly proactive in addressing as many of the multi-faceted aspects of Metro as we possibly can. Let’s let WMATA know that we “the riders” thank you for letting us get involved in your operations, financing, planning, and future. Now, lets get down to business and look at all the places Metro is broken and create a culture of “customer service” from bottom to top, not just in a few distinct areas of their operation.

Sorry, I’ll get of my soap-box for a moment.

1. I still believe that a public comment period is appropriate at every single “open” event. We need to remember that we are not the elite; we represent the “riders”. It is very comforting to the “riders” to understand that they have a say in what we and Metro does. Sending that message should be our “mantra.” But, given the state of our organization, I would offer a compromise and provide a “brief” comment period at the end of the meeting. But, allow the RAC to vote on whether to proceed with it given the progress of the meeting.

2. I don’t think we can spread ourselves to thin. We are 21 RAC members, but we can draw on 920 other interested “riders” to get some help. We also have 1 million daily riders that want to see better service. As I said, earlier, we represent a vast array of rider patterns and we need to target as many possible initiatives as we can. I’m not willing to stand back and let my “agenda items” fester, while three or four other initiatives progress based on a “take it slow” approach. I’m guessing some of my other RAC partners would agree.

3. The financial resources that I seek are not to line my pockets. I know this is a volunteer position! What I seek is a commitment from WMATA to provide “dedicated funding” (analogy intended) to achieve RAC objectives. Yes, I don’t know what they all are, but in committee I’m positive we can come up with some very good, and specific goals. We need to have more than a single administrative support person to assist 21 RAC members in canvassing Metro.

Back on soap-box! Hard to tell the difference, eh!

My bottom line is that WMATA is broken. There is not an attitude of “customer service.” That’s why Dick White is out. He let the customer service component of Metro slip away. We need to be sure that every employee of Metro understands that they are a customer service organization and they are empowered to make our experience better. Everyday I see another anecdotal example of what is wrong.

For example, yesterday I saw a first time rider of Metro confused about what fare to pay to get from Eastern Market to her destination. Why? Because, the fare listings are hidden around the corner from the fare machines. The layout is wrong. When she brought this to the attention of the Station Manager, she was told that she’d heard this problem may times before, but couldn’t do anything about it. The customer must call and complain. This is wrong. The Station Manager needs to be empowered to get Metro to fix her station.

Second example … restrooms. I don’t think I have to dwell on this one.

Bunching of Metro busses, or busses running ahead of schedule. The bus drivers know when another bus is in front of them, or they are trying to beat the schedule for a longer smoke break. They need to let dispatch know. They need to help correct the problem. Ignoring the problem is not customer service!

I could go on and on … and plan too!

Thanks for the listen, and sorry if I come on too strong.

Back to one of my other jobs (;-)>,

Michael Snyder
wmata-rac@imsnyder.com

In a follow on post the RAC member responded:

You misunderstand me. I am neither cautionary nor do I wish to go slow. But, it is a bit tough to elect officers since we do not know each other.

As for committees, Why do we want to mirrors WMATA's board, as WMATA is, as you suggest, a broken organization?

I have little problem with a public comment period at the end of our meeting to serve as precedent setting.

Twenty-one RAC members is not very many. It is not enough to address every aspect of WMATA. We need to prioritize a little. Our strength will be our unity informed by our diversity.

[I apologize for paraphrasing others' comments. My goal for this BLOG is to share my thoughts and ideas. I offer up these email posts only to clarify my own thoughts. I invite other RAC members to comment directly.]