Comments on: Thai New Years’ Festival Exposes the Success and Failure of Metro

By: Wilshire Center Car-Free Earth Day… O RLY? | MetroRiderLA

Wilshire Center Car-Free Earth Day… O RLY? | MetroRiderLA — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 03:13:48 +0000

[...] took the car-free pavement without care. Tents lined the middle of the street and a moderate crowd (Songkran Festival this was not, at least at this time) of young and old walked down the boulevard. It was only when I [...]

By: Transit Bits | RailBlogr

Transit Bits | RailBlogr — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:31:50 +0000

[...] Huge L.A. Metro crowds for Thai New Years’ festival highlights the success and failure of the rail system’s operations. [MetroRiderLA] [...]

By: Fred Camino

Fred Camino — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 22:57:50 +0000

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.

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.

By: Metro

Metro — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 22:47:38 +0000

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.

By: calwatch

calwatch — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 06:20:57 +0000

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.

By: Steven Chan

Steven Chan — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 04:50:44 +0000

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.

By: calwatch

calwatch — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 02:58:11 +0000

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.

By: JohnQPublic

JohnQPublic — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:34:42 +0000

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.

By: Fred Camino

Fred Camino — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:38:34 +0000

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.

By: Mark Panitz

Mark Panitz — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:33:27 +0000

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..