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ChineseThai New Years’ Festival Exposes the Success and Failure of Metro
Yesterday was the Thai New Years’ Songkran Festival, an event in East Hollywood (Thai Town) that has become increasingly popular in the four years it has existed. The celebration spans many blocks of Hollywood Boulevard, from Western Avenue to Vermont Avenue, and the combination of free admission, delicious food, cultural events, and Thai boxing means that those blocks are filled to the brim with over 30,000 people. I’ve personally seen the event grow in scope and popularity, as Thai Town was my first neighborhood in Los Angeles, and I moved in just in time for the first of what would become a yearly event. It’s really one of the funnest cultural events in the city.
The Hollywood/Western Red Line Station is ground zero for the Thai New Years’ Festival as the intersection of Hollywood and Western is where the road closures and festival begin. Parking in East Hollywood, and Thai Town in particular, is limited and tight, thus the Red Line is a popular way to get to the festivities. I rode up from Downtown around lunchtime and the majority of the people on the train exited at Hollywood/Western and headed towards the festival. It was inspiring to see so many people using our transit system. It was a cacophony of races, classes, and ages… a testament to the unifying power of transit and of a good food-based cultural festival.
Metro was a sponsor of the event, but I can’t say that they heavily publicized it or that they had a major presence at the event. No matter though, people went Metro on their own accord in droves. And why not? A quick train ride with family on friends on a warm spring day sure beats sitting in traffic and searching for parking.
Or does it?
After spending a few hours at the festival sampling a number of Thai delicacies and delights (sticky rice with mango, for the win) it was time to head back Downtown. As it turned out, I wasn’t the only one with that idea. As I descended into the bowels of the Hollywood/Western Station I saw something that I had never seen in my 4.5 years as a Los Angeles MetroRider… and incredibly long line of people waiting to buy tickets.
And when I say long, I mean long. Like Lil’ John long, from the windows to the walls. The Hollywood/Western Station only has two ticket vending machines (although there is plenty of space for more) and those two little machines simply could not handle the onslaught of festival goers. The two lines stretched from the TVM’s to the back wall and then around back towards the escalators. Sadly, my girlfriend and I had only bought one-way tickets and were forced to join the queue. At first it was inspiring, if a bit shocking, to see so many people eager to tax our Metro system. After 10 minutes in line it became annoying. After 20 minutes it became aggravating. After 30, I was once again pissed at how Metro takes perfectly good opportunities and completely fucks them up.
I wasn’t the only one who was pissed. Looking around I could see people’s faces turn from post-festival joy to waiting-in-a-long-line anger. Two men in front of me were trying to buy tickets for their entire party (who were sitting along the wall, out of line) only to find out that the maximum number of tickets you can buy at once is 8, for some reason. A large number of people tried to pay with credit or debit cards, only to face what I call the Metro credit/debit shuffle, a dance resulting from the poorly designed graphic that makes it hard to tell how to properly insert your card. After inserting your card the wrong way you are forced to start the whole ticket purchasing process over, a time consuming event, especially with a long line of people behind you. Others paid with tens and twenties, and received their change from the Metro jackpot, with dollar coins loudly falling one by one in another time consuming process. Many tried to touch the screen to choose the options, only to find that Metro’s technology is not that advanced.
At one point a man with a family approached another man near the front of the line and asked if he could get in front of him for he had a train to catch. The other man responded, “we all do, get in line!”, which the dejected family man did with a worried look on his face. It took me a few moments to realize that the family man most likely had to catch a Metrolink train from Union Station, and because of this line and Metrolink’s limited weekend schedule, he and his family would likely miss it and be stuck in Los Angeles. It’s not unreasonable to think that this man will never take his family to an event in Los Angeles again without driving.
After 35 minutes I was finally able to buy our tickets. At least 3 trains had passed in that time, and each time the passengers from those trains had to push their way through the two lines of people that were blocking the way. In this time I did not see a single Metro employee who could offer help, organization, or anything of the sort. After buying the tickets we headed down to the platform (nearly empty, as most people were still in line for tickets) and waited another 10 minutes for the train to come. In all, it took almost an hour to go from Hollywood/Western to 7th Street Metro Center… how much faster would it have been had we drove? How many people were thinking that very thought? How many people who gave Metro a try this year will simply avoid it next year because of this experience?
Metro has to realize that providing this service is not enough, they have to provide QUALITY service if they wish to increase ridership and encourage more people to Miss Traffic. The problem could have been rectified with some simple pre-planning from Metro. A few customer service people at the station to help people with the TVM’s, move the lines so that there would not be bottlenecks, and sell tickets by hand would have made a positive lasting impression on everyone who went Metro that day. Instead, it’s likely that many will remember Metro as a sore point of an otherwise great day. And they will not ride again.
This whole experience showed me something else as well. The honor system works. People buy tickets even though there are no gates and very few fare inspectors. I knew the chances of me getting my ticket checked were very slim. I could have saved myself a lot of trouble by just avoiding the lines and hopping on the train. But I didn’t. Nor did anyone else. And did I get my ticket checked? Nope.
It’s time to put a stop to stupid ideas (fare gates) and start working on good ideas (customer service).
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Discussion
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Up here in the Bay, BART will have extra tables with staff to take cash ticket sales when there are big events. For example, they have tables set up at Downtown Berkeley right next to the TVMs after Cal football games for flash passes to SF. Since BART uses distance based fares, they sell a flat rate $3.25 pass (it might have gone up a little now) to the downtown stations (Powell, Civic Center, Montgomery, Embarcadero which are all the same fare).
Muni also does this for events at AT&T Park (ie Giants games) at the major transfer points between BART and Muni (Embarcadero, Powell, Civic Center). They also sell tickets at AT&T Park in their Will Call windows after the game.
I remember running into this same problem for the Rose Bowl game a few months back. I thought driving into Union Station and taking the Gold Line would be a good idea, but it ended up taking longer and a bigger hassle than driving directly. The line for the TVMs stretched from Track 3 all the way back to the end of the tunnel (on the Alameda side). The interesting thing was there were plenty of Metro staff on hand, but they were just controlling the crowd rather than helping speed up the ticket process. When I asked if I could use buy my one way ticket downstairs at the Red Line TVMs, he said no. I explained to him that a one way ticket from Union Station should be valid regardless of where I buy the ticket. He thought about it, and then said “OK just bring it back to me and I’ll sign off on it.” So he initialed it and we skipped that line of 100 deep. However, had I not known Union Station from commuting through it everyday during the summer, I probably would have been one of the people in that long line…
And I’m not sure who was in charge of the shuttle service between Memorial Park and the Rose Bowl, but they really botched that thing up as well. The lines were very long (there were at least a thousand people trying to use the shuttle) and all they put out were 40′ Foothill Transit buses. Additionally, they made everyone board through the front door instead of just opening all doors to let everyone on, and they only boarded one bus at a time. Just imagine how much faster the process would have been had they used 60′ Silver Streaks with three doors to board and alight from (certainly they didn’t need 60′ to be deployed on the Silver Streak for a Saturday).
It is so heartening to read about some many people using the trains. At the same time it is so disheartening that Metro missed yet another opportunity. Hopefully they will read this post and do better next time. Go Metro!
“It’s time to put a stop to stupid ideas (fare gates) and start working on good ideas (customer service).” Fred
Yes. METRO needs to invest in customer service. Why can’t we have people who hang out to help?
I remember during the marathon, infreakinsane.
Browne
Hey Browne
For their benefit, metro did have some employees at the Universal City Station, although the were just sitting around talking oblivious to the passengers.
I try to avoid mass transit during huge events like this actually. This always happens and it won’t change without some serious changes by Metro.
It wouldn’t have been a big deal to set up a row of tables and sell tickets like mad. Perhaps they wouldn’t do that because they are afraid Metro’s employees would steal most of the fares anyway…
“Hey Browne
For their benefit, metro did have some employees at the Universal City Station, although the were just sitting around talking oblivious to the passengers.” rogedog92
I was thinking about that as I was typing my first comment. If METRO did have customer service it would probably be very bad. LA has some of the worse customer service in the US. In NY people know how to give good customer service. I think life out here is just too easy. Maybe with the worsening economy it will actually help in making people better employees. That’s why in NY everyone does a great job, because the job market has always been super tight, even for minimum wage jobs.
Browne
I went to this same event yesterday and rode the 2 from Westwood. The ride in was uneventful. The ride back was horrible. The wait was over 45 minutes. We saw one “2″ bus go by but it didn’t go to Westwood. It was packed to the gills. A second bus was going to PCH but was also packed. We managed to get on a third bus. I’m a seasoned bus rider but it was my first time riding the 2 during the day (I’d done a run on the 2 on Friday night to Hollywood). It was appalling how infrequently this bus ran on a densely populated corridor.
To comment on the situation with the subway station, I’d like to point LA Metro over to what the DC Metro has done during big events. Note that DC Metro’s customer service is NOT flawless. Some of their bureaucrats have major attitude problems. But DC Metro has also done some major operations and communications planning for big events, like the Cherry Blossom Festival, sporting events and the Nationals baseball games. They dutifully try to use multiple ways to educate infrequent riders on how to purchase tickets for the system. They try to make sure extra staff is available to help riders buy tickets and figure out how to use the system. LA’s subway system doesn’t even have kiosks for customer service since the powers that be decided it would be more cost-effective not to staff the stations. Seriously! And you wonder why the subway station was a mess!!!
The Militant has to confess that he was in such a hurry to get to his next destination on Sunday, he just said “f with the long line” and got on the train (Kids, do not try this at home, or on the Metro for that matter).
Mind you, the Militant, who has been riding Metro Rail for almost 18 years, has only ridden ticketless twice.
Browne: Making cliche transie generalizations like that never solves anything.
Spokker’s comment should really be a wakeup call for people at Metro. Read it again, he/she avoids transit at big events…the very events that transit should be most utilized, because our agencies haven’t shown they can handle it.
That is not good news.
hmmm… seems to me that could be solved by using a monthly, weekly, or bi-weekly bus pass. Now I understand for newbies that have no idea, but come on, we should know better already (since most of us claim this is our main mode of transportation).
rogedog92:
That’s part of the larger point. Most of the people in line were probably first time or occasional riders, as evidenced by their need to by tickets. I work from home, so until Metro introduces TAP with debit capabilities, I don’t ride enough to warrant purchasing a pass. But the point is, if most of these people were first time riders, doing what Metro recommends (“take Metro one day a week! Try it on the weekends!”), then an experience such as this one leaves a very bad taste in their mouth about Metro and transit in general. No one likes to wait in line, and certainly not a 35 minute line for a 12-minute ride. Except for at Disney World, Metro ain’t Disney World.
militant angeleno:
There we go, Metro’s poor customer service actually promotes the very fare evasion they are hoping to stop.
Also, imagine how a situation like this would be compounded with the addition of fare gates.
I do agree with you there. However we should already know what’s up by now. And yup, no one likes to wait in line. I will say though like you pointed out, it is refreshing to see the subway heavily used and people actually getting in line to purchase their tickets. And by the way when Fiesta Broadway comes up, the crowds will be even larger. You would think that after the Dodger game fiasco Metro would do its job.
I was there and I am a monthly passholder so I don’t have to worry; although I only went to Thai Town one way since I had to drive one of the parade floats and return it in Van Nuys later yesterday (Yeah, the float organizer somehow saw me as the best driver of an articulated vessel, a GMC truck plus trailer, even though I don’t drive as much). I went one way to Hollywood to pick up the float that was decorated in the area.
I forget if this was the scene last year with the long line as I don’t remember such. What has changed from last year’s Songkran festival was that the Metro day pass went from $3 to $5 and that is why people are probably buying one-way tickets at Hollywood/Western to return home. I think more people bought the day pass last year. I recommended to a friend’s family living in Woodland Hills to buy the day pass and use the Orange Line to make the $5 pass a good value and save on gas and trying to find parking at NoHo.
I believe the Thai local media advises festival goers to go Metro; I would notice a lot of my Thai brethrens using the Red Line at this one time. The 2nd Songkran festival in April 2005 was my first use of the Metro Rail system (I was also curious of my home subway system after using the then recently opened Bangkok subway in July 2004).
Great point Tony. That’s precisely why I didn’t buy a Day Pass come to think of it.
Fred Camino:
consider me corrected, it makes sense….. just two machines huh?
I risked it and rode ticketless on the way home from the Thai Festival because the line was at least a 30 minute wait just to get a ticket. Thank you for the great write-up Fred. You address a serious issue and if anyone at Metro cared they could have easily remedied the situation.
man what an experiance!!! what i kinda hate to point out though is that buying a day pass would have been a lot quicker on your way over there. i always use the train to get to school and work and as result have a monthly pass and by pass all the lines by the machines. and totally it shows that the honor system works. no need for pointless and expensive barriers. they should use that money for more ticket machines.
once again metro has failed the public and shown its true colors. i wonder if any of the board members actually use public transit. whether it be to get to work or for fun. how can they claim that they know how to manage a huge agency like this with great potential to be better than New Yorks transit when they dont even use it. experiance and proper allocation of resources can be utilized if they actually ride and see what actually goes on.
metro should be filling all the slots for ticket machines in all the stations in all the lines, but especially the ones in the red line because when they do put in the turn stills this will be daily occurance at all stations. to all who do ride the ride line on a regular basis the trains are getting more and more crowded everyday. and with todays technology and timing during the off hours of use the machines can be atomatically shut down, and started up during rush hour, and other high traffic times such as festivals all controlled by a central computer. not that hard people. a little expensive at first but not hard.
My friend and I had day passes, but we had to ride the 81 just to get to the Red Line, so it was kind of worth it.
FWIW, when Hollywood/Western first opened in 1999, there were four TVMs (ticket vending machines), and over the years it was pared down to just two.
Had the day pass still been $3, the Militant would have bought it. Or if they still had the round-trip ticket going he would have bought that. But ever since the day pass when up to $5, he only buys a one-way ticket unless there’s a transfer involved.
Fred Camino:
The Militant would have done some Olympic-style high jumps then.
Sounds to me that this blogsite should be called SometimesMetroRiderLA, los angeles occasional transit oriented lifestyle.
I myself have been buying monthly passes for the last 2 years and would not have had that problem at the ticket machines.
Didn’t mean to stop there. I do have to strongly agree that more ticket machines are necessary, and that’s just one of Metro’s areas that needs improvement. But this topic is not the place to list all of those areas.
Robert C:
Hey dude, WordPress is free and anyone can write a blog. I welcome you to start AlwaysConstantMetroRiderLA, los angeles everyday transit oriented lifestyle if you feel my lack of a monthly pass hurts the credibility of this site.
The whole, “get a monthly pass, problem solved” is a very Metro solution to this problem… blame the customer!
Great article, Fred.
Did you try to contact Metro customer service regarding this issue?
I would very much encourage to write a letter,
and – better yet – send a copy to Westside Sector Director Mr. David Mieger.
if you bought a day pass instead of a one way ticket you wont have to stand in line to buy a another one-way ticket
also who already have metrolink tickets tehy do NOT NEED TO BUY red line
tickets as the Metrolink tickets are vaild on the Red Line
for the rest of that day..
Mark Panitz:
True about the Metrolink. Forgot about that. Sure many others did too, or just didn’t know (it’s not really advertised on the ticket itself).
As for buying a Day Pass, duh, but a Day Pass costs twice as much as two one-way passes, and if you didn’t know there was going to be a line you might be compelled to save $2.50 if you were only planning on riding there and back. Just like I did.
The Metrolink machines are the absolute worse to use.
Last year I went to a USC football game at Cal Berkely. The lines at BART machines in SF was horrible, and the wait for trains after the game break was bad too. I took ACTransit up the hill to the football stadium, but when the game was over I could not find the buses so walked all the way back down to BART. Every transit agency has issues with large events. Metro can’t have 40 machines sitting around a rail station for a once or twice a year event when only 3 are needed on a normal day.
I suspect they’ve cut the budget for the ticket vending employees, though, because I have seen them at past events. Last year I went to the Long Beach Grand Prix my friend and I parked at Willow station. There were a couple of Metro employees sitting around selling day passes for $3 (at the time). We ended up buying them. So these people did exist.
JohnQPublic: Every transit agency has issues with large events. Metro can’t have 40 machines sitting around a rail station for a once or twice a year event when only 3 are needed on a normal day.
AC Transit always seemed to be prepared for large Cal games. We always saw a string of articulated 60-foot and 45-foot buses sitting ready near Berkeley BART and College/Durant to pick people up.
And people would pay the $1.25 (when I was going to school that was the fare) for them too, over the free Cal “Bear Transit” shuttle. Bear Transit and AC is poor after the game but that is understandable because they leave immediately once they get full. In additional, the walk is downhill and in a cooler time period so it is less taxing on some of the Old Blues.
Metro apologizes to everyone who was inconvenienced using our system at the Thai New Year Festival last weekend. This is an event that started small and has grown over the years. Even though Metro was an event sponsor, it mushroomed beyond what we anticipated for this year. We have a variety of practices we normally put in place when we anticipate an overload crowd. This includes assigning fare collection personnel to expedite customer movement at key locations, along with security personnel as needed. We are already beginning now to be better prepared for this event next year to address this specific problem of fare collection at Hollywood/Western Station along with other issues identified by staff. Thank you all for your support of public transit.
Rail Operations
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Rail Operations is committed to operate and maintain
a safe, clean and efficient transit system with professionalism,
courtesy and integrity throughout the Los Angeles region.
Well thank you for your response Metro Rail Operations! We as MetroRiders appreciate that you acknowledge that there was a problem and plan to rectify it for next time! That’s what customer service is all about.
Thanks for reading and commenting. We rely on the service you provide, and thus are critical when it does not live up to our expectations.
[...] Huge L.A. Metro crowds for Thai New Years’ festival highlights the success and failure of the rail system’s operations. [MetroRiderLA] [...]
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