So a childhood dream of mine was crushed just a few hours ago. You see, I spent 45 minutes to an hour in a Frontrunner train car and managed not to move down a single inch of track.
Now I understand that it is opening day and that glitches are bound to happen (indeed they are almost destined to) but when opening up a new public work that a good majority of the public rejects simply because it is mass transit, it is not wise to upset any people who may be either on the fence about the new system or (like myself) a firm supporter who wants to make the service work.
Mass transit, unlike water, sewer, or power, is a public work that the vast majority of citizens can opt out of using. If I don’t think that the train is worth my time, I will simply not use it and drive, thereby validating the self fulfilling prophecy that people don’t use mass transit. Mass transit, therefore, must be inherently geared towards customer service.
Today I received the worst customer service I can remember in a long time.
Let us start with the train that was approximately 20 minutes late (though I honestly don’t recall and admit that my memory may be hazy due to my current rage). Now this train is, understandably, filled with people, so I will give you that it may take a little longer at every station.
Next let’s move to the cattle call that was getting on the train and having standing room only. Again understandable, everyone wants to ride when it is the newest thing in town so there is a greater than average number of people using the system, again bogging it down.
Finally, just for show, let’s throw in a gaggle of children who either: a) have no interest whatsoever about being there and just want to watch Sponge Bob, b) are super excited about being on a big machine, or c) are too young to appreciate any of this. What is the result of all this? Either whiney, hopped up, or shrieking children. Again, UTA has no control over this; however I state it to paint the picture.
Here is the scene: My girlfriend and I are standing outside for what seems like forever, finally see a train arrive, get compacted into a train car filled with children who are less than endearing, and then wait.
And wait…
And wait…
And wait…
Until another train not only arrives, but unloads, refills, and departs.
Now I am no expert, but people should not be booing your new-fangled railroad. Yet when that train departed there was audible chiding from the crowd.
But we continue to wait; after all, we were bound to be leaving soon. Surely they would tell us if something was wrong.
Ooooooh no. We continue to wait. In fact the only thing I did happen to hear over the intercom was “The train will be departing shortly,” before the other train had left. Well, a good thirty minutes later we finally hear a second message: “Please depart the train and board the one across the platform.”
At this point I am just relieved to hear that we can leave this awful place and am more than happy that I have the opportunity to go home. Problem is they only open up one side of the doors, the doors that face the platform.
So what is the scenario we have here? We have two trains, packed full of people, one side going east to exit the platform from the newly arrived train, and the other side going west to enter it. Mind you, many of these people are already upset and irritable. None the less, I would wager that 1,200 to 1,500 (a high school football stadium worth of people) were all moving on a platform that had the capacity of perhaps a fourth or a fifth as many people. There is one easy way to solve this problem: open the opposite doors on the now out-of-service train. This logical answer was actually suggested to one of the Orange Shirts running the operation; I overheard him saying that he could not do it due to “safety issues.”
We did eventually escape this nightmare, but not without me seriously questioning my faith in the system. UTA, it is not in your best interest to upset 600, maybe 800, people on opening day, and politically it makes you look unreliable at best and a waste of money at worst.
