Metro Connects
Service Quality Investments
CUSTOMER COMMUNICATIONS Metro Connects envisions a mobility system that is rich with easily understood information that will make the system accessible for all. People will know about their options and how to use services. Figure 22
Metro Will Explore New Ways to Provide Customer Information
Left, middle: Paris has explored bus shelters designed as multi-purpose public spaces that include fare vending, neighborhood information, coffee or food for purchase, electrical outlets, integrated bikeshare stations, and more. (Photo source: Human Transit, humantransit.org) Right: Onboard screens can provide information about connecting service, transit alerts, and other information. (Photo source: Redeye Chicago, redeyeChicago.com)
What will customer communications look like? In 2021, Metro customers can get information and assistance from a range of sources—Metro’s website, trip planning app, Customer Information Office, email and text alerts, social media, marketing and promotion programs, and other sources that rely on data provided by Metro. Metro drivers play a major role in customer communications as they interact with passengers. Metro will build on these resources by emphasizing:
New types of information and ways to share it with customers
More accessible methods of communication, such as making information available in multiple languages and for different abilities, developing strategies for communicating directly to priority populations, and partnering with community members and community-based organizations to spread information
Continued emphasis on customer service training and support systems that enable Metro operators to provide the best service possible
A suite of tools that make navigating the transit system easy, including wayfinding signs, announcements, promotional materials, and interactive options for questions and comments
Emerging technologies will enable the delivery of enhanced information or new communication platforms. Imagine if smartphones let customers know a traffic accident had blocked their bus, told them how full the next bus was, or showed the availability of a bikeshare service or park-and-ride. Or, Metro might install softwarebased passenger counters on its entire fleet, enabling real-time tracking of the number of people on a bus. Metro Connects proposes to make this information-rich future a reality as customer service solutions evolve.
King County Metro Long Range Plan
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