Every few months, it seems, I run the same story about the MTA and text message alerts. But I — or at the least the MTA — swear that things are moving closer to reality on this technological front.
The saga started in August when a flood knocked out subway service in New York and a crush of visitors downed the MTA’s Web site for the better part of a day. Shortly thereafter, the MTA announced their desire for a text messaging alert system, something sports leagues had managed to produce for a few years. Then, in November, the MTA announced a call for proposals from external companies to provide just such a system. Apparently, things move a bit slowly through the MTA bureaucracy.
Now, nearly four months later, the MTA has announced that it is still another three months away from implementing the text message alert system. But at least it’s on the horizon with a debut date set for June, just two months shy of the one-year anniversary of the flood. Marlene Naanes of amNew York has more:
Within the next 90 days, transit and commuter rail riders are expected to be able to go to the MTA Web site and customize alerts they want sent to their cell phones or computers, MTA executive deputy director Chris Boylan yesterday told the MTA Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee.
“We are looking to see if we can get all of our messages distributed in five to 10 minutes or less,” Boylan said.
The agency also will redesign its Web site, and add an online lost-and-found service. Transit riders will be able to log on to inquire about lost items. Metro North already offers this service. The new face of the Web site will be less cluttered and easier to navigate. It’s unclear when it will launch.
Before getting to the juicy stuff, let’s just review this text message alert system. I love the idea; it’s a long time coming; what took so long? In August, MTA CEO and Executive Director Elliot Sander said this idea had been in the works for a while and the flood “made it clear that timely text and email alerts are necessary.” Seven months later, the MTA says they’re still about three months away from a launch. I can only wonder how long this would have taken had there been no flood.
Meanwhile, I eagerly anticipate a redesigned MTA Web site. The current incarnation has a lot of information and no easy way to access it. Separate agencies maintain their own pages, and everything is just jumbled together. Any redesign aimed at uncluttered the site is a huge step in the right direction for an agency that, over the last year, has shown a willingness to embrace technological innovation in a big way. That is good news for straphangers.
5 comments
Copycats! 😉
Actually, that’s my recycled graphic from November. Who’s copying whom now? 🙂
As one of the unsuccessful bidders for the MTA contract, the speeds mentioned in this article will be a major challenge and may not be technically possible.
The highest speeds available are 60,000 a minute, with a 3-million phone number database, a mass text messaging blast would take a minimum of 50-minutes. Is that fast enough?If the users are allowed to submit more then one number or more then one email, what will the delivery speeds be?
The Request for Proposal documents stipulated that the system had to be fully functional within 60-days from award of contract. That date is the time frame you should be working from.
Um, I meant – great minds think alike?
Honestly, I didn’t start reading your blog until December at the earliest 😉
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