IN MOTION AccessSPRING 2009 UPDATES FROM THE SYSTEM-WIDE ACCESSIBILITY DEPARTMENT Message from the Assistant General Manager Gary Talbot, Department of System-Wide Accessibility (SWA) Gary Talbot, Assistant General Manager of SWA What an exciting time to be here at the MBTA. The management commitment to improve accessibility has never been stronger. In addition, the workforce as a whole is demonstrating an increased awareness of its critical role in making the MBTA the global benchmark for public transportation and a system that is accessible to all. This issue of Access in Motion focuses on the new Customer Service Agent (CSA) Re-Certification Training Program; rail vehicle specification development for the next generation of Red, Orange, and Green Line cars; the busy Back Bay SWA office that issues reduced fare TAP (Transportation Access Pass), Blind Access, and Senior CharlieCards; and our first Featured Employee, an employee who consistently demonstrates world-class customer service and shows firsthand what it means to be Driven by Customer Service. You ll also meet the newest member of the SWA team, Rob Sampson, Senior Program Coordinator, Fixed- Route Services. Future issues will cover many other efforts that are underway to improve accessibility including the wayfinding project, the development of a new accessibility web page, and the new and redundant elevator project, just to name a few. More to come... this is only the beginning!
NEWS MBTA Launches CSA Training Program On the heels of its very successful Bus Operators Recertification Training, the MBTA s Operations Training School has launched the Customer Service Agent (CSA) Re-certification Training. This full day program provides an inclassroom refresher of the CSA s roles and responsibilities, as well as handson bridgeplate deployment training at South Station. Roughly one-third of the day focuses on the optimal ways to assist customers with disabilities. As part of this segment, participants are shown a training video, created with the help of customers with disabilities, which illustrates various accessibility-related topics, including: Feedback on the training has been positive, according to MBTA Instructor Ann Larson: Many CSAs state that they come away from the recertification class with a better understanding of their roles and responsibilities and all the accessibility features and different resources that are in place throughout the MBTA system. The program has been so successful that Motorpersons and Train Attendants are now attending, in addition to CSAs. The accessibility features of the Automated Fare Collection (AFC) machines The right and wrong ways to assist a customer with a visual impairment The MBTA s service animal policy Bridgeplates: How to properly deploy and assist customers at their destinations RTL Instructor Ann Larson teaches Red Line Motorperson John Stebbins proper bridgeplate deployment 2
NEWS Introducing SWA s Rob Sampson Rob Sampson, Senior Program Coordinator internal monitoring program. This program uses undercover monitors to ride all modes of transportation and evaluate the service that is being provided, identify problem areas, and report violations of MBTA policy and work rules, in an effort to improve service systemwide. In August 2008, Rob Sampson joined the SWA team after serving as a Customer Service Representative for two years with the MBTA s Customer Support Services Center. Rob s primary responsibility for SWA is to manage the Previously, Rob worked at John Hancock Life Insurance Co. as a Customer Service Representative for Long-Term Care customers. Rob attended UMass Lowell, earning his undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice in 2005, and his Master of Criminal Justice in 2008. Outside of the office, Rob enjoys spending time with friends and family, traveling, and participating in various outdoor activities. 3
FEATURED UPDATES Excellence in Customer Service Carol Foster-Doyle For the past 23 years Carol Foster- Doyle has been doing what she loves to do best, help T customers with a smile on her face. Whether working on the trains as an Attendant or Motorperson, in the station as a Collector or Collector Instructor, or in her current position as a Customer Service Agent (CSA), Carol s I like people attitude has made it possible for her to truly enjoy her career. I like our customers here at the T I ve been able to meet some extraordinary people over the years, she stated. Both my parents were in customer service, she added. My mother was a sales clerk with Jordan Marsh and my father was a Cambridge firefighter. Carol says that she likes her fellow workers as well. I ve worked with a lot of great people, she said, including her husband of 17 years Brian Doyle, who she met while on the job. Brian recently retired from the T where he worked as a Train Attendant, Motorperson, Yard Motorperson, Inspector, and Plumber. 4 CSA Carol Foster-Doyle assisting a customer in Malden Station In her current position as an Orange Line CSA, Carol assists hundreds of customers who pass through busy Malden Station each day. She responds to requests for use of the platform/train bridgeplate, the public restroom, public phones, etc.; provides subway/commuter, rail/bus schedule, and transfer information; and helps many customers use the new automatic fare equipment, which, she says, simply takes patience and time. Continued on page 5
FEATURED UPDATES Excellence in Customer Service Carol Foster-Doyle continued from page 4 Of all her accomplishments Carol is most proud of the success of many of the students she has instructed, some of whom are now Inspectors. As an Instructor, I always told the class, You have to extend yourself beyond that glass (referring to the old collector s booth). We just don t sell tokens, she would say. The same is true now, she said. As a CSA, you have to approach the customers and ask, Do you need assistance? She added, You then must listen, and then you can resolve what needs to be resolved. Carol retires in March 2009 and will have more time to spend with her family, which in addition to her husband includes three grown sons and six beautiful grandchildren. SWA s Featured Employee Have you experienced exceptional customer service from the MBTA lately? We want to hear your stories! In each future issue of Access in Motion, SWA will feature an employee who has demonstrated his or her commitment to providing great customer service. E-mail your nominations to kcox@mbta.com. Interested in becoming a SWA fixed-route monitor? E-mail: rsampson@mbta.com or call 617-222- 4292; 617-222-5045 (TTY). To submit a complaint or commendation regarding accessibility, contact the MBTA s Customer Support Services Center at 617-222-3200; 1-800-392-6100; 617-222-5146, Hearing Impaired/TTY. 5
FEATURED UPDATES SWA - Back Bay Station Reduced Fare CharlieCard Program for Seniors and Persons with Disabilities One of the busiest offices at the T can be found in the corner of the Back Bay Station lobby, to the right of the AM- TRAK ticket windows. This is the home of the Reduced Fare CharlieCard Program for Seniors and Persons with Disabilities. This bustling office joined the Continued on the back cover From left to right: Natasha Brown, Jaime Garmendia, Sherry Sanchez and Matt Whalen 6
FEATURED UPDATES Ad-hoc Committee Formed to Improve Subway Vehicle Access A special ad-hoc committee has been meeting weekly at the MBTA since November 2008 to develop specifications for the accessibility-related features on the next generation of Orange, Red and Green Line cars, due to be put into service between 2013 and 2017. The procurement will include 146 new Orange and 74 new Red Line cars. The committee was formed under the Department of System-Wide Accessibility (SWA) per the directive of MBTA General Manager Dan Grabauskas. In addition to SWA personnel, the committee consists of representatives from the Boston Center for Independent Living (BCIL), the Access Advisory Committee to the MBTA (AACT), Boston Self-Help, the Rider Oversight Committee (ROC), and the MA Commission for the Blind. functionality of audio and visual messaging systems; appropriate print, raised letter and Braille signage; and on-board, mechanical solutions to the platform/station gap problem just, to name a few. The committee is expected to conclude the bulk of its specification work in winter 2009, but will continue to convene during key stages of the vehicle development and procurement process. Virtual vehicle mockups and physical vehicle mock-ups will be developed to flush out design concepts and improve the accessibility features before the final designs are complete. The two-hour weekly meetings focus on topics such as the proper configuration of vehicle doors and door size; priority seating; accessible seating areas; practical stanchion placement; location and Committee members discuss accessibility-related features on next generation Subway cars 7
SWA - Back Bay Station Reduced Fare CharlieCard Program for Seniors and Persons with Disabilities continued from page 4 T s new Department of System-Wide Accessibility (SWA) in January 2008, after nearly 20 years as part of the Office for Transportation Access within the Operations Directorate. Here s where each week Supervisor Matt Whalen and his team serve hundreds of customers who drop in for a Transportation Access (TAP), Senior or Blind Access CharlieCard, or to add money to their THE RIDE accounts. Whether we re helping a customer replace a lost card, obtain their first card, or answering any of a myriad of questions, our goal is to provide the best service possible and to solve each customer s problem on the spot, Matt said. In addition to managing 175,000 active CharlieCard accounts, the Back Bay staff is responsible for the distribution of reduced fare CharlieCards to all Massachusetts Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs) for their local constituents who travel on the MBTA. Matt and his team also issue T passes to registered Orientation and Mobility Instructors, who assist customers who are blind; to guide dog trainers; and to other travel trainers who instruct persons with disabilities how to use and benefit from the MBTA fixed-route system. Over this past year the Back Bay office has administered the distribution of reduced fare cards to enrollees in the pilot RIDE CharlieCard Program as well. Matt also supervises the reduced fare satellite CharlieCard office at Downtown Crossing, which performs some of the functions of the main office, and community outreach events conducted by the Back Bay staff in cities and towns throughout the MBTA service area. Customers who would like information about obtaining or replacing a reduced fare CharlieCard for seniors or persons with disabilities can contact the MBTA Customer Support Services Center at 617-222-3200, 1-800-392-6100; 617-222-5146 (Hearing Impaired/TTY).