Metra today launched “Customize Your Commute,” allowing riders to individually choose when to receive email service alerts and also giving them the option to sign up for a variety of other emails about specialized topics.
The changes will benefit all riders, as well as businesses interested in Metra’s DBE program; parents, educators and schoolchildren interested in Metra’s Safety Poster Contest; and passengers with disabilities who need to know about the status of elevators or other ADA issues. The enhancements to Metra’s communications arsenal were made in direct response to rider feedback.
“Our riders have asked us to improve the way we communicate with them, and we are working hard to do just that,” said Metra Executive Director/CEO Don Orseno. “We have designed and launched ‘Customize Your Commute’ to provide more information, and more useful information, that can be personally tailored by every individual to fit their specific interests and needs. And, based on the rider feedback, which we appreciate, we are exploring other options for enhancing the rider experience. Nothing is more important to us.”
Metra riders who are signed up to receive email alerts about service issues will now be able to tell Metra precisely when they want to receive them. Earlier this year, Orseno had committed to having this enhancement in place by June.
Under the former system, riders who signed up to receive email alerts about delays or other service issues for their preferred line or lines would receive every alert sent during the course of a day. Many riders suggested the alerts would be more useful if Metra gave customers the option of choosing to receive them only during certain time periods – for instance, during their regular morning and evening commutes. The enhancement therefore allows customers to select windows of time during which they want to receive email alerts.
Riders who are already signed up to receive e-alerts don’t need to do anything if they wish to continue to receive every alert. However, if riders wish to narrow the times during which they receive e-alerts, they will need to:
- Log in to their “My Metra” account at www.metrarail.com.
- Make sure they check the box for “Receive email notifications for their favorite routes by setting up your email preferences.”
- Under “Train 1,” select “Favorite Route 1” by picking the Line, and then the Departure and Destination Stations.
- Check the plus sign (+) to expand the “Favorite Time Preferences for this Route.”
- Uncheck the “All times interest me” box to use the drop-down menus to select the Days of the Week, the Start Time and the End Time that they want to receive the alerts.
- Repeat steps 3-5 for their “Favorite Route 2” under “Train 2.” Many riders may wish to select their morning commute under Train 1 and their evening commute under Train 2 to receive alerts only during their specific morning and evening commute times.
- Check the corresponding boxes of “Additional Email Notification Preferences” if they wish to receive emails about those topics.
- Click the orange “Save & Submit” box.
Riders who do not already receive alerts can sign up to receive them by going to the Metra website and clicking on the “My Metra” tab in the upper right corner. They will be prompted to enter an email, create a password and then be taken to a page where they can follow the steps above to select their customized notification options.
Also included in the enhancement is the ability to select additional emails from Metra. Those will provide notifications about the status of elevators on our system, give information about ADA issues, include news about Metra’s Safety Poster and Essay Contest and include our On the Bi-Level newsletter and a newsletter from our DBE team. Riders can opt to receive any or all of those communications simply by checking the designated boxes on the sign-up page.
Metra will be sending an email to all of our riders signed up to receive alerts explaining the enhancements and containing instructions about how to make the changes. There also will be instructions posted on Metra’s website.