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Archive for the ‘customer service’ Category

Regional Transit System: A Thing of the Future?

Posted in All Systems Go, bus routes, Capital Metro news, community, commute community, customer service, Driving Progress, MetroRail, MetroRapid, planning, serviceplan2020, train, transit planning, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on February 15, 2013 | 1 Comment »

Capital Metro has partnered with other transit agencies in the central Texas region, like the City of Austin, CAMPO and the Lone Star Rail District to create a plan for regional high-capacity transit.

What would that look like?

Imagine a series of components like urban rail, commuter rail (like MetroRail), Rapid service, and express lanes where all services support one another in a network, easing access throughout the region.

Sounds nice, right? Well, it looks even better. Check out this detailed vision map with all the system elements to help you share our vision for how to create a connected central Texas.

vision_map

(Download PDF version)

Now, you too can view the full details of the Project Connect transportation plan and partnership at ConnectCentralTexas.com.

But, wait there’s more!

Well, now that the vision has come together, the partners want your feedback. What do you think?

It’s your chance to share your thoughts at any of the following opportunities:

Tuesday, Feb. 19, 5 – 8 p.m. Seton Medical Center Hays (Cafeteria), 6001 Kyle Parkway, Kyle, TX.

Wednesday, Feb. 20, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. Austin Energy (Assembly Room); 721 Barton Springs Road, Austin, TX.

Wednesday, Feb. 20, 5 – 8 p.m. Williamson Conference Center, 209 N. IH-35 Frontage Road, Round Rock, TX.

Tuesday, Feb. 26, 12 – 1 p.m. Webinar – Register online at ConnectCentralTexas.com/get-involved.

The Project Connect partners also invite the public to participate in an ongoing online discussion regarding the regional transit vision.

Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications are provided upon request.  Please call 512-369-6201 or email info@ConnectCentralTexas.com for more information.

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Twitter Name: Now @CapMetroATX

Posted in bikes, bus routes, bus schedules, community, commute community, customer service, detours, events, MetroRail, MetroRapid, rider tips, train, twitter, Uncategorized, Web, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on October 11, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Tweet, Tweet!

For those of you who follow our Twitter activity (or may want to), you may have noticed our recent change of account names.

In the past, we have communicated to followers using two separate Twitter accounts: CapMetroNews and CapMetroRail. Having two accounts made sense leading up to the opening of MetroRail, but now it’s just sort of confusing. People tweet us with rail-related inquiries at CapMetroNews and with bus issues at CapMetroRail. Plus, having two accounts sometimes contributes to a delay in us responding.

Going into our new fiscal year in October 1, we wanted to use that date as a benchmark for turning over a new leaf in our Communications efforts – including Twitter.

Going into the future, we have changed the name of our CapMetroRail account to @CapMetroATX. This will be our one and only account where we’ll provide bus and rail service updates as well as relevant news and rider tips. Over the next two weeks we’ll phase-out our CapMetroNews account.

We know by following one sole account, you may get more info than before. So, how can you filter the info you get notifications about, if you want?

By using certain apps, you can make settings to only get notified of certain hashtags, versus receiving all our Tweets.

We’ll be operating via these hashtags:

#MetroRailAlert: for specific delay alerts on MetroRail

#MetroBusAlert: for all bus-related service alerts

So, for example, if you began following our rail account and only wish to continue receiving rail-related messages, set-up your account to send only messages including the #MetroRailAlert hashtag.

How to set specific alerts up? This useful YouTube video helps you use TweetDeck for setting-up hashtag notifications:

If you’re not into Tweet Deck, there’s also Boxcar for push notifications as well.

This change may take some getting used to, but it’s for the better — to provide improved communications and customer service. So, jump right it, follow us at www.twitter.com/CapMetroATX.

Tweet you soon!

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We need your input on Proposed January Service Changes

Posted in bus routes, bus schedules, Capital Metro news, community, commute community, customer service, service changes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , on August 28, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

We need your input!

Capital Metro is proposing changes on several routes in accordance with our Service Guidelines & Standards. These changes are being proposed to improve transit access, efficiency and reliability. These proposals will go before the Capital Metro Board of Directors on September 24, 2012. If approved, these changes would take effect Sunday, January 13, 2013.

Capital Metro is making several changes to routes in South Austin, Northeast Austin, and Northcross areas. Visit our website now for a complete list and maps of the proposed January 2013 service changes and details about how to give us your feedback. The proposed route realignments, extensions and adjustments would improve efficiency, service coverage and increase ridership without an increase in cost.

We want to hear from you! All riders are encouraged to join public involvement opportunities listed below and provide your feedback. Capital Metro will conduct a series of public meetings, a webinar and public hearing. See our service change webpage for schedule details. Become involved, join the conversation and comment on specific proposals in efforts to provide effective services that meet the Austin area’s transportation needs!

Upcoming Public Involvement Dates:

Sept. 4, 2012, 12:00 – 2 p.m.
Capital Metro Transit Store, 323 Congress Ave.
Served by downtown routes

Sept. 4, 2012, 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.
North Village Branch Library
2505 Steck Ave
Served by routes 3, 325

 Sept. 5, 2012, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

University Hills Branch Library, 4721 Loyola Ln.

Served by routes 20, 37, 323

Sept. 5, 2012, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
ACC South Austin Campus, 1820 W. Stassney Ln.
Served by routes 3, 311

Webinar

Sept. 7, 2012, 12:00 p.m.
Sign-up today

If you require captioning to participate in this event, please select the link below. You may need to resize the window to view both the caption and the presentation simultaneously.

Link to webinar caption service

Public Hearing with the Capital Metro Board

 Sept. 17, 2012, 5:00 p.m.

Capital Metro Headquarters, 2910 E. 5th Street
Served by routes 17, 300

For opportunities to continue providing input to our system, please visit capmetro.icanmakeitbetter.com, email feedback@capmetro.org, or call 512-474-1200.

Thank you for riding Capital Metro!

–Follow us on Facebook and Twitter–

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MetroAccess: Change is good

Posted in accessibility, customer service, MetroAccess, tagged , on September 27, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

“You can’t expect to meet the challenges of today with yesterday’s tools and expect to be in business tomorrow.” 

That famous (but unattributed) quote is what I thought of when our MetroAccess staff gave a progress report to our operations and planning committee this month.

We have been systematically reinventing the service over the past two years, and the progress report showed dramatic improvements in terms of cost savings, consistency and quality of service. The biggest indicator is the improvement in our customer service metrics, which have been mostly exemplary for the past few months.

There’s one major change on the horizon, a new eligibility process, which will be implemented in November of this year. Here’s a video preview of that change:

I’ll go through all the changes and the compelling results in a moment, but first, a quick refresher on the service itself. MetroAccess is an on-demand, shared-ride, door-to-door service for people with disabilities who are unable to ride the fixed-route bus system. In the industry it’s called “paratransit” because it is a parallel service to the bus system.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires paratransit within ¾ of a mile of regular local bus routes. It’s also important to note that the existence of a disability does not qualify someone for this service. It’s how a disability affects your ability to use the fixed route bus system that determines eligibility.

Here’s a look at the changes and progress: (more…)

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Show me the way

Posted in customer service, visitors on September 1, 2011 | 2 Comments »

Have you seen Capital Metro’s award-winning visitor’s map?  Here’s an electronic version. But to get the full experience, you can swing by the Austin Convention and Visitor’s Bureau (ACVB) to get your very own hard copy free of charge. We just found out this week that the American Public Transportation Association awarded our map first prize in the coveted AdWheel competition.

The AdWheel Awards recognize outstanding work in transit marketing and communications. The award demonstrates that we’re doing our part to help make sure that out-of-towners have a positive experience as they travel in our city.

“The Capital Metro visitor map is a great tool to help visitors navigate the downtown area – especially for visitors traveling by foot,” said ACVB Director of Retail and Visitor Services Cheri Winterrowd. “The map features comprehensive points of interest, is easy to read – and the downtown hotels have said it’s a great tool for them as well.”

This award is also a great honor for my hip colleagues down the hall who work so hard to provide the maps, schedules and other materials that make riding Capital Metro a breeze.

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Everyday heroes

Posted in customer service, happy passengers, visitors on May 31, 2011 | 2 Comments »

We’d like to share a wonderful email we received from a customer thanking MetroRail Field Supervisor William Brown and MetroBus Operator Vincent Moore, two of our everyday heroes who keep our systems running for you. (By the way, if you’re a regular MetroBlog reader then you may have seen Vincent in action before. Remember this video?)

Dear Capital Metro,

We are writing to tell you how much we appreciate the kind actions of two of your employees last week while were in Austin for the Texas Library Conference, April 12-15.

After our meetings at the conference center on Wednesday, the 13th, we decided to ride the MetroRail from the Hilton on 4th Street to the end, and then back to the hotel. You guessed it; there was no return ride, since that was the last trip out for the evening. Three lady librarians, stranded at the end of the line, and did not know how to get back. (You would think since we are librarians, we would have researched this a little better, wouldn’t you?) Even our fellow passengers assured us there would be a return train, were very friendly, and suggested other activities for our time in Austin.

(more…)

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Making Your Day

Posted in customer service, friendly bus drivers on August 20, 2010 | 2 Comments »

Bus operator Abdel Tenouri and Linda S. Watson

Linda S. Watson thanks Bus operator (and international bus roadeo champion) Abdel Tenouri.

The leadership of StarTran, Inc., who employs 2/3 of our bus operators, arrived at Capital Metro HQ about 3:30 a.m. this morning to make bus operators’ day.

We proclaimed today Bus Operator Appreciation Day, and new CEO Linda S. Watson joined StarTran management in the wee hours to serve breakfast and personally thank our professional bus operators for their work that results in thousands of people in our community getting to work, to school, and to anywhere else they want to go, every day.

THANK YOU, CAPMETRO BUS OPERATORS!!

Why did we select today?  (more…)

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Talkin’ Dirty

Posted in customer service on October 6, 2009 | 2 Comments »

Capital Metro’s shuttle service for the 2009 Austin City Limits Music Festival was very successful. We ferried 105,422 riders to/from Zilker Park over the course of the three-day festival. It’s always great to see so many people riding the bus, and from all over the country, too.  We ♥ to see a full bus!

10/4/2009 - Jay Janner/AMERICAN-STATESMAN

10/4/2009 - Jay Janner/AMERICAN-STATESMAN

Of those 105K+ riders, more than 16,000 (muddy) people rode from the festival back to Republic Square Park on Sunday. I was not here to see it personally, but I heard our bus interiors were looking (and smelling) pretty shabby when they rolled back home after ACL ended Sunday night.

Perhaps this is a good time to briefly outline the stringent cleaning process we have here at Capital Metro that ensures your ride is a clean one. (more…)

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Don’t Leave Me

Posted in customer service, friendly bus drivers, the basics on April 28, 2009 | 1 Comment »

You step off the bus and walk the short distance to work. You’ve already had your coffee. Perhaps you were just promoted the day before. Or your kids are doing extremely well in school. Whatever the case may be, you feel good. You reach into your pocket for your wallet and, oh, my gosh, it’s not there.

You think you might have left it on the bus. “Yes,” you say to yourself. “I remember I pulled out my monthly pass.”

What to do if you leave a personal item on the bus? The first thing to do is contact customer service at 474-1200. This number is posted at every bus stop. If you remember the bus number, perfect. This works to your advantage because customer service can contact the driver a lot faster. If you don’t know the bus number, don’t worry. Tell customer service which route you were on and at what time. Customer service, along with a radio dispatcher, will do some digging for you.

Capital Metro will work quickly to return a lost item left on one of its buses with the owner, be it a valuable item, like a wallet, purse or cell phone, or just lost marbles that someone wants back.

Once customer service has located the right bus, a radio dispatcher will call the operator and ask her or him to search the bus for the lost item. The operator will do so at the next bus stop. The operator then reports back that the item is in his or her possession. This is communicated back to the owner and arrangements are made to return the items to their owner. The owner can wait for the bus to make its return trip; sometimes a street supervisor is sent to retrieve the item; or, the owner can pick-up the item at the downtown office at 4th and Congress.

Here is a friendly reminder. Just before you deboard the bus, look up at the advertisements. Notice the one with a picture of a set of keys, purse, cell phone and other items and these three words: “Don’t Leave Me.”

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