So FixWMATA and I kind of got it on this morning on the Twitter over a blank PIDS screen being perfectly acceptable, and I promised a more detailed explanation of the way PIDS worked and why a blank screen was perfectly acceptable at Eisenhower Avenue inbound. I did the more detailed explanation on Schumin Web:
http://www.schuminweb.com/schumin-web/journal/permalink.php?id=1392
If I made any factual errors, let me know so that I can fix them.
I also was surprised to see how much I unloaded on FixWMATA in the same Journal entry, after the explanation. Was I too hard on FixWMATA, or is this an opinion that was probably too long in coming?
It is a hell of a lot easier to be an armchair commenter on twitter than it is to actually have to run the system and make decisions. I'm no fan of social media and the fact that twitter feeds and blogs that just happen to get attention are now regarded as oracles or expert opinions on the topics which they claim to profess knowledge about. Just get enough attention and all of a sudden you are an expert on any and every topic.
In terms of the PIDS displays, in London, the system there defaults to the "timetable" if it can't figure out when a train is coming, and you can tell this because the display will say "BAKER STREET 3 MIN." with a period after the minutes abbreviation if it is guessing when the train will come, otherwise if it knows the train is 3 minutes away it drops the period. Not sure PIDS could do that, not sure it is really worthwhile.
All transit systems have their faults, but I still think Metro is one of the better systems out there. I waited nearly 60 minutes for a bus home last night, we have no NextBus or any equivalent here, this was at a time when the buses were scheduled to come every 20 minutes, and I could have nearly walked home and back to my office in the time I was waiting. Shit happens to every system (except maybe in Switzerland), people need to deal with it.
Also, WMATA and other governmental agencies have a hard time adapting to blogs and twitter and the like because unlike the users of these social media forms, the agencies can't afford to be impulsive when they post things, it leads to trouble.
My first thought reading this was "FixWMATA" (ex-"PoptDC") is back? After she shut everything down and told people the best way to fix WMATA was for everyone to buy cars and deprive them business? I know the ColdCar/HotCar lists are a good resource, but after what happened I'm a bit amazed.
WMATA "PIDS" system is among the best I've seen (of course, I never really made my way to Europe or the UK and such). We don't have such a system in Philly (although provisions are being made for it...I think...) and even if they get it working in a similar fashion with the new signs they installed, it won't be as visible.
You explaination makes sense, especially if they are shutting down the trains at Huntington. At Fort Totten, you can always tell the next Yellow Line train by the "No Passengers" designation for the "next train".
Quote from: Scrabbleship on June 01, 2011, 07:38:46 AM
My first thought reading this was "FixWMATA" (ex-"PoptDC") is back? After she shut everything down and told people the best way to fix WMATA was for everyone to buy cars and deprive them business? I know the ColdCar/HotCar lists are a good resource, but after what happened I'm a bit amazed.
Indeed, PoptDC/FixWMATA is back after rage-quitting in October. Personally, I think that the rage-quit, as it was, destroyed any credibility that they may have once had. I think that's probably why I came down on them as hard as I did in my Journal entry, because they previously rage-quit (and I was glad to see them go), and I have no reason to think that history won't repeat itself (and perhaps the second rage-quit can be nudged along).