Apr 16, 2008 5:45 pm US/Central
Passenger: CTA Emergency Communication Terrible
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
There was plenty of Monday morning quarterbacking Wednesday, the day after a mechanical malfunction forced an emergency evacuation on the CTA Blue Line.
CBS 2's Vince Gerasole reports some passengers are complaining that information could have been better communicated to those stranded on the trains.
Posted CTA apologies following Tuesday's emergency drew mixed reviews from riders Wednesday.
"They're showing a big sign of apology with these signs," said North Side resident Linda Frazier.
But for Blue Line passenger Joanne Losoya, they were too little, too late.
"They're always apologizing -- back hand apologizing for what they're supposed to be doing in the first place," she said.
Mitchell, a passenger stuck underground, captured jolting moments on the train and subway tunnel on video, and sent them to cbs2chicago.com
By phone, he described the sights and sounds underground.
"It was violent enough to blow out the left doors and there was a cover above the doors and that blew open as well," he said of one of two loud booms that resonated through the tunnel.
Mitchell was on the first train that broke down. He says a growing number of CTA employees kept examining the car, but riders only heard sporadic announcements instructing them to stay put, that a mechanical issue had developed, and they would be on their way shortly.
But the minutes turned into hours.
"It was a progression of ills on their part because they could have just told us what's going on that it's a more serious problem but we didn't get that information until we experienced those bangs," he said.
Following a more serious 2006 derailment and fire, the CTA was criticized by federal investigators for poor passenger communications.
Attorney Dan Kotin, who represents several of the injured, says announcements need to be not only frequent, but informative.
"As time goes on people need to be given some reassurance that they're not sitting there in vain that they're not in any danger," Kotin said.
Mitchell gives the CTA high marks for its escorted evacuation through tunnels and emergency exits, but the procedures that kept him and others stranded for hours with little information earns a C-, he said.
"They could have evacuated us a lot sooner and gotten the same results," Mitchell said. "We would have been evacuated and walked toward the station."
The CTA eliminated on-board personnel beyond the trains' drivers in a cost-cutting move. Critics say having those positions staffed could help the CTA better communicate with passengers in an emergency.
In the meantime the CTA tells CBS 2 it continues to evaluate its performance.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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