Saturday, November 25, 2006
Metro Rapid Displays Bus Arrivals at Stops
Came to think of it. Metro Rapid bus stops use their electronic screen displays to display upcoming bus arrivals (on some routes). Not to inform about some upcoming road work.
So if they can do it for bus stops, why not for the subway stations? Has the Metro Rapid project gone over their heads? Perhaps they've now invested so much in them that they've forgotten about the subway. The Metro subway is the true flagship of Los Angeles' public transportation. It ought to come first in terms of 'posh' upgrades like scrolling electronic displays that display arrival times.
But the time displays at Metro Rapid stops, help ease the tedium of waiting. Because they give you feedback. On the subway stations though, there is no feedback other than a bout of air that pushes out of the tunnels prior a train's arrival. Wherever you look for feedback (information) on the stations, you're either reminded of rules and prohibitions, or of what's happening at some desolate Metro station's ecalator miles away.
There's this institutional feel to many of them, where you feel almost more like a 'number' than an actual customer. The sub-text is as though, "so you came too late...too bad.....ding dang dung...Attention all patrons: do not walk, sit or stand on the edges of the platform...".
I mean common, is this San Quentin or something? As in, "The Trains Will Come In time.....Until Then, Just Watch Your Behavior".
So if they can do it for bus stops, why not for the subway stations? Has the Metro Rapid project gone over their heads? Perhaps they've now invested so much in them that they've forgotten about the subway. The Metro subway is the true flagship of Los Angeles' public transportation. It ought to come first in terms of 'posh' upgrades like scrolling electronic displays that display arrival times.
But the time displays at Metro Rapid stops, help ease the tedium of waiting. Because they give you feedback. On the subway stations though, there is no feedback other than a bout of air that pushes out of the tunnels prior a train's arrival. Wherever you look for feedback (information) on the stations, you're either reminded of rules and prohibitions, or of what's happening at some desolate Metro station's ecalator miles away.
There's this institutional feel to many of them, where you feel almost more like a 'number' than an actual customer. The sub-text is as though, "so you came too late...too bad.....ding dang dung...Attention all patrons: do not walk, sit or stand on the edges of the platform...".
I mean common, is this San Quentin or something? As in, "The Trains Will Come In time.....Until Then, Just Watch Your Behavior".
