I intend to join your Board of Directors in the near future. Why, you ask? No, it is not so that I can add such a thing to my resume. No, it is not so I can wield power...well, okay, yes it is so I can wield power. Power to change MARTA for the better. I know that you are losing money. A lot of money. In fact, so much money that you had to cut service and change routes. This was probably more inconvenient than you could imagine. Because, do you, MARTA Board, actually ride the trains and buses? I venture to guess that is a no. I haven't done my research on you yet, but I guess it is a no because if you did, you would have already implemented my below suggestions for improvement. MARTA Board, watch out. I am going to steal a seat from one of you. Not on the train, not on the bus...a seat on the Board.
1. Wi-fi. Not pronounced wee-fee, pronounced Why-Fye. So that anyone who has a job that important, can work while commuting. Or, so that my 3G iPhone can access the internets while I am in a tunnel.
2. Remove those silly TVs. Really, you should have spent that money on Wi-fi (see above).
3. The seats really need to be long benches lining each side of the car. None of this 2x2 seating facing front to back. Check the NYC subway cars for examples. It is much more efficient seating.
4. Line the ceilings with bars low enough for even someone my height to be able to reach, so we can hang on. You could add those hold bars or straps like they have on the buses. This would reduce the amount of people like me, who cannot reach the ones you may or may not have, and have to crowd around the vertical poles near the doorway.
5. Every 12 minutes during rush hours? Seriously? Let's try every 8 minutes, maybe. It gets awfully crowded. Or perhaps you could add an extra car or two. Or maybe if you followed the above suggestion, it would just seem a lot less crowded.
6. Let's talk about these bus stops. Mine, in particular. If I miss it, I have to wait 50 minutes for the next one, then I am screwed. Or, if I am running errands, sometimes I have to wait like 30 minutes for the next bus to show up. We need to talk about efficient routes and such.
7. Or...and here is a crazy idea...extend the trains!! Like, build some more tunnels and extend the train service to more than two routes N/S and two routes E/W. Seriously. You could put a lot of unemployed people back to work, building tunnels. You'd be contributing to the economy. Wow, what a thought.
8. Re-brand. Hire my designer friend to re-brand your 1970's looking logo. Refresh yourselves. Guaranteed a fresh look and brand will improve your image.
9. Strategic pricing. Do you really need to charge $2 for each ride? Maybe you do, I don't know. But maybe you just need to be more strategic about your pricing. We can discuss this in further detail once I am put in a position to wield power and authority and research this.
10. Elect me to your board. Clearly, your aged leadership team isn't cutting it. You need fresh eyes, young blood and a new vision and direction. You have a whole new generation of green riders to please. I am just the person to do that.
Respectfully submitted,
HotPants Blogger
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