Tuesday, June 05, 2012

BART Service and Maintenance Quality at ALL TIME LOW

Matier and Ross posted something disturbing but not surprising on SFGate yesterday. There are currently 28 BART escalators out of service and many have been out of service for more than 3 months. The escalator that I frequent in Powell Station has been out of service for at least 2 months. It's sitting there collecting layers of fallen leaves, trash, urine, you name it. This is ridiculous!! I've seen people with large suitcases having to lift their load upwards step by step and people with injuries or disabilities grimacing in pain as they walked up or down the stairs. BART is so poorly managed and views customer service as a low priority, if a priority at all. Just the other day, there was a turnstile with a jammed ticket (one of two open turnstiles during prime commute hours), and no booth agent in sight for at least 5 minutes to help fix the machine. Lines getting through the ticket turnstile became enormous. And is it too much to ask for the booth agents to actually politely answer a question from a tourist?? If you're working at the Powell Station, EXPECT tourists to ask questions about where to go. It is part of the job. Don't just point to the map! You are an agent, you provide service, so put in some effort to actually help someone from out of town. Enough griping for now but this is just another example of how poor service is on BART.