Comment from Mitchell Berger
Mitchell BergerSupportIndividual
Summary: Mitchell Berger, writing in a personal capacity, supports the Request for Information by providing specific recommendations for defining "family-friendly transit." He suggests incorporating various metrics into the FTA's assessment, including safety reports, restroom availability, air quality, elevator uptime, and the impacts of construction on vulnerable riders.
To whom it may concern: I write in my personal capacity to respond to the Request for Information (RFI) on family friendly transit. My comments address two areas. First, I recommend a clearer and more explicit definition of family friendly transit service than the one implied in the RFI. Second, I respond to the RFI’s questions regarding how FTA should assess the quality of public transportation services and what performance metrics may be most useful across the five service quality performance areas. Please note that the views expressed are mine alone and not those of an agency, organization, or other individual(s).
Specifically I suggest considering metrics and consideration by FTA of: voluntary safety reports and harassment reports by riders and emergency preparedness metrics such as exercises and training (Area 1, safety and security); restroom availability and air quality on rails and buses and in facilities (Area 2, cleanliness); elevator/escalator availability paratransit; microtransit; fares and pricing; and collaboration and partnership (Area 3, universal availability). I also suggest metrics focused on construction time and impacts (Areas 4 and 5). Full comment is attached. Sincerely, Mitchell Berger