For Immediate Release: Thursday, October 18, 2018
From the Office of Councilmember Berliner
Advice from Metro riders is essential to improving service
ROCKVILLE, Md., October 18, 2018—Today, in a letter spearheaded by Councilmember Roger Berliner, the Council requests that Metro’s Board of Directors maintain the Rider’s Advisory Council (RAC), which provides a way for Metro riders and residents in the Washington metropolitan area to suggest service improvements and provide feedback on proposed changes. The RAC has weighed in on issues ranging from fare increases to service hours as well as the 15-minute grace period on station entries and exits.
A vote on dissolving the Riders’ Advisory Council is scheduled for Oct. 25 at Metro’s Board of Directors meeting. Two days prior, the Council will discuss this issue and many others during its previously scheduled meeting with Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld on Oct. 23 at 9:40 a.m.
The Council letter states, “Eliminating the RAC at the same time Metro’s top priority is attracting riders back to the system with a greater focus on the customer experience is both counterproductive and counterintuitive.”
The text of the letter follows and is attached.
Dear Chairman Evans and members of the Metro Board of Directors,
We urge you not to amend the Board’s Bylaws to eliminate the Riders’ Advisory Council (RAC) at your Board meeting on October 25, 2018. The RAC has provided vital opportunities for our constituents to learn about Metro issues and suggest improvements and changes directly to their representatives on the Board. The fact that the RAC is established under the Board’s Bylaws is a recognition of its important role.
Eliminating the RAC at the same time Metro’s top priority is attracting riders back to the system with a greater focus on the customer experience is both counterproductive and counterintuitive. It would decrease transparency at a time when riders are being asked to deal with continued service changes and delays because of needed but disruptive maintenance. We do not believe that new methods for collecting rider feedback and social media are adequate substitutes for the type of direct dialogue the RAC provides. There are no adequate substitutes for face-to-face interaction with actual riders.
Furthermore, we are concerned that recent changes to the Board’s structure appear to have allowed some members of the Board to move toward dissolving the RAC despite promises that it would remain and be reformed. We appreciate the efforts of those who have worked on an operational review of the RAC. We believe the Board should seek to reform the RAC based on that feedback in order to make it as efficient and productive as possible rather than eliminating it.
Ending the RAC altogether is ill-advised and we ask the Board not to move forward with this proposal to amend its Bylaws to eliminate the RAC.
Sincerely,
| Hans Riemer | Nancy Navarro | Roger Berliner |
| Marc Elrich | Nancy Floreen | Tom Hucker |
| Sidney Katz | George Leventhal | Craig Rice |